FEEDING BOTTLE STERILISER TABLETS

We have been sterilizing feeding bottles and teats since Crystal was born. Initially we used the old method of boiling the bottles and teats but after a while we found out that the bottles and the teats do not last long under the repeated heat of the boiling water and I always get my fingers burned when taking them out from the hot water.
We then try to sterilize the bottles and teats by using the sterilising tablets from Boots. In fact at first I was not pleased with the smell of the solution and there is also doubt of any side effect for my baby by immersing the bottles in this "smelly" water. After reading the directions for use and the benefit of using this method, I am willing to give it a try for it says “Convenient, Safe and Proven Effective”. Guess what, I have been using the product since with that one try. Now I just clean the girls’ bottles and utensils with dish washing liquid and immerse them into the solution until the next feed. It is so much convenient for me. No worries about burning fingers and cracking bottles.

A box of Boots Feeding Bottle Steriliser tablets consist of 32 or 64 tablets, can be bought at any hypermarkets. The directions for use is very simple:

1. Thoroughly clean and rinse the bottle, cap and teat (I use dish washing liquid and brush to clean them).

2. Fully dissolve one Steriliser Tablet in 2 litres of water, using a non-metallic container (I use filtered water and a big Tupperware container).

3. Completely immerse the bottle, cap and teat in the solution for at least 30 minutes before using.

4. Drain the bottle and teat, without rinsing, and then fill with the feed.

5. Renew the solution just once every 24 hours.

That's it.

FULL MOON PARTY FOR ISAAC CHONG

Isaac Chong is one month old today.Little Isaac is the precious son to Lesley and Allison. Happy Birthday to ISAAC!!

The party was attended by family members and friends of Lesley and Allison at The Grand Port View Restaurant. Datuk Yong Teck Lee and Melanie were there to greet everyone too…(campaigning on the eve of the election).

It is also with such occasion that I have got the opportunity to meet up with my ex-Innosabah’s colleagues, present there were Angie, Vivien, June, Jenny and Doris (we shared the same table). The kids also enjoyed the night playing with the balloons and chasing each other around.

Qing,Crystal and Pearl enjoyed each other company

Qing, Vivien, Angie, me and the balloon

Doris (newly wed), Jenny (our bride-to-be), June and her only Jeremy

Prawn Salad, one of the dishes served for the party

SCHOOLS TURN POLLING CENTRES

Today is a holiday for students whose schools are selected to become polling centres for tomorrow’s 12th national general election . These schools have to make way for the authority to enable them to have sufficient time to turn them into polling centres. Most of the parents either have to take leave or seek others’ help to take care of their children for the day. Crystal’s kindergarten is one of the selected schools for that purpose. she has to follow us to work today and she seems to enjoy it. She felt asleep in the car after lunch because she is so used to the routine of having a nap in school every day.

People that I met today have been asking me which party I support, I was a bit reserved at first, much to my surprise that majority of them are very open to disclose which party they will vote for this time. Since they are so open, I tell them who I will vote for too lah..

ANTIBACTERIAL HAND GEL

Kids tend to have “many” hands because of their curiosity in everything, they would touch just about anything that they see because by touching and feeling the things that they see would be the most satisfying. We can not stop them by doing so because these are the learning process of the children. Adults too, aren't we like to take a look at descriptions or ingredients on the shampoo bottles and cereal boxes in the supermarkets? We want to check them out before buying bah..

Since we know there is no way that we could stop our kids from touching and grabbing toys from the shelves at the departmental stores, touching the floor, or the table or chair at the eatery, where dusts and germs are everywhere only our eyes can not see. It is quite impossible to wash our hands immediately all the time, that’s when a bottle of Quicklean Instant Antibacterial hand Gel comes in handy. It can be placed in our bag everywhere we go, it can be used instantly on hands without rinsing. This bottle of Quicklean is given by my sister in law as she knows we have got two very curious daughters, especially Crystal with thump sucking habit and Pearl eating with hands habit.

A bottle of hovid Quicklena Instant Antibacterial Hand Gel with moisturisers costs RM10.50. It is a new rinse-free, safe and effective gel that kills 99% of most common germs. There are many other brands for sale at Watsons and Guardian stores. Check them out for more clean hands..!!

CHILDREN PLAYGROUND AT COMPLEXES

Children playgrounds can be found in most of the shopping complexes around Kota Kinabalu City these days. I would say there are pros and cons of having the facility in the complexes. I personally find that it would bring much inconvenience to me and hubby. What do you think??

Kids would not be able to resist when comes to playground where they can slide, climb and swing.. Some of the playgrounds having too many kids, especially the one near the food court outside Giant Supermarket, Kolombong. It could be hazardous to younger toddlers, as the possibilities of them being knocked by other older kids are high. Most parents would have to hang around there to accompany their kids, by doing so what they initially plan to do are therefore delayed. Playtime for kids never end. Sometimes we have no choice but to drag our kids away from the playground if persuasions do not seem to work. Most of the time the kid would start to cry and shout in the public which is very unpleasant and un-called for. That’s what happened to Pearl at Complex Karamunsing the other day where we were supposed to attend a birthday party at McDonald invited by Crystal’s classmate. She refused to leave that little playground at 3rd floor where we had spent more than half an hour and it's time to leave for the party.

After experiencing few of such situations, hubby and I would try to avoid going near to the areas where playgrounds are situated or even avoid going to complexes with playgrounds altogether.

We also wonder whether any maintenance to those playgrounds. Hygiene is another factor to consider too. We always make sure to clean the kids’ hands after visiting the playground, can not afford to pay visit to clinic every now and then.

UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD STEM CELLS BANKING

I got to know about umbilical cord blood stem cells banking about 3 years ago when a sales representative was promoting this facility at my gynea’s clinic. She was handing out leaflets to the expecting mothers who were sitting patiently waiting for our monthly reviews. Like usual I would try to avoid any sales persons with my unapproachable look. I just took the leaflet as she distributed to me and that’s it, so she would rather share this opportunity with other expecting mothers.

The StemLife leaflet appeared in front of me while I was tidying up my bag a couple of months later. After browsing through the leaflet, I find this was something amazing and that I was eager to know more. We sought both our gynae and child practitioner's opinions on this and their responses are that if you could afford it why not...After much thoughts, I told myself that this is the best thing I could do for my daughter. I quickly get hold of a sales person to brief me through and signed up almost immediately. I was in my 34 weeks pregnancy that time. I told myself that if I don’t do it this time then I never will.

There are proven records show that stem cells are used to treat many prevalent diseases in the world nowadays, especially leukemia, thalassaemia, hear disease and diabetic ulcers. Studies are being carried out in finding the use of stem cells for the treatment of other deadly diseases. Countries like Korea and Taiwan have poured out millions of dollars by their governments in support of the research. I personally feel that this is the best protection that I can give to my child.

I would encourage parents to seriously consider taking this once in a life time opportunity to store the umbilical cord blood stem cells for their little ones and the family. IT COULD SAVE LIFE…..

There are two Stem Cell Banking companies that I know of in Malaysia. They are StemLife and Cryocord. Please view their websites at http://www.stemlife.com/ and http://www.cryocord.com.my/ for further information.

The fees involved then was RM2,500.00 (can be paid by 3 instalments). Annual storage fees is RM250.00.

HER PASSIONS IN ART

My little princess, Crystal, is very much into drawing and colouring. We noticed her passion in art at the age of two plus. She loves drawing so much that she could just drop her school bag immediately reaching home, grab some papers and her box of colour pencils, quietly and freely unleashing her creativity on papers (still with her socks on most of the times). We encourage her by providing her crayons and various types of colour pencils, draft papers and colouring books and most importantly our compliments for her lovely drawings. We believe by exposing her to art would stimulate her brain, which lays the foundations for her future learning ability. Researchers find that children as young as six months are believed to benefit from artistic stimulation.

Artists are messy bunch. Colour pencils and papers all around the floor when her inspiration flows. She is very persistence in getting the results she wanted and tends to get frustrated when she could not get the desired results. Her hard works did not disappoint her during the colouring competitions both in school and outside especially the one organized by the OCBC Bank in 2007. She got 1st and she was stunt with the outcome. The mummy and the daddy too…

Crystal is letting her creativity flows....

A piece of her creative artwork

some of Crystal's drawings

Pearl, at the age of slightly over two is following her sister closely. She started to scribble at first and now she is able to draw as well, her favourite drawings are faces, sun and balloons.

This one is from Pearl, it a sun, sun..

We make sure that the type of crayons and colour pencils that the girls used are non- toxic. The most commonly used ones are from Staedtler and Faber Castell. The daddy once introduced them to water colour painting, it was so messy and requires a lot of supervisions as Pearl is too little to handle it. We have to put that on hold for now..

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

March 8, marked the International Women's Day, coincidentally, the forthcoming national election day is also falls on the 8th March 2008. Let's us women cast our sincere votes to the next government of our choice. Our votes will make a big difference to the future of our livelihoods.

The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States. There are many relevant events happened relating to this special day as women all around the world strived for better working environment, and better pay. Many countries declared IWD as official holiday, among them are China, Russia, Cuba, Italy, and Vietnam.

In many countries, to appreicate the women of their lives, men are giving flowers or small gifts to their mothers, wives or girlfriends. One would agree that it is not an easy task for a woman these days trying to balance being a woman, wife, mother, while pursuing a career. So let's shower ourselves with something good on IWD, be it small or big, cheap or expensive.

THE BEST COMPLIMENT EVER

What is the best compliment that you received so far?

To me, the best compliment comes from my precious little girl, Crystal. One day after fetching her from school, both of us were waiting in the car for the daddy who was meeting a friend in his office. Out of a sudden, she hugged me by using her little hands around my neck and there came a sweet voice "Mummy, you are the best mummy ever in the whole wide world, I love you mummy".

"I love you too, girl" I replied. Then I asked her, "But mummy always scolds you ah?"

She looked at me and replied "because I naughty bah! and.. I don't want you to die!" She showed a sad face after saying this.

To reassure her and take these insecure feelings out from her, I said "Oh, don't worry, mummy is not going to die, mummy want to see you and your mei mei Pearl grow up and become useful persons."

She puzzled for a while and asked "what is a useful person, mummy?"

In order for her to understand what I meant in a little mind sense, I said "to be a useful person means, listen to your daddy and mummy, study hard, help others, do not cheat or lie to people....OK?"

"OK" she replied. "Can I kiss you, mummy?"

"Can..." I replied. Then she gave me a tender kiss on my cheek.

"I love daddy too and why daddy so slow...?"

"Little while more, your daddy is coming..."

It was so sweet and pure, it touches my heart so much that this will last forever. Undoubtedly, it's the best compliment in a my life....

PRIMARY 1 REGISTRATION

It's the time of the year when parents are busy choosing a primary school for their kids. Registration is now opened for children born in the year 2003 (children of the sheep year) to Primary 1 two years later, i.e. 2010. I am one of those parents this year. I am planning to register Crystal to Shan Tao primary school where I studied before. It is near to where we live too. It was advertised in the newspaper that the school only accept the max of 300 students due to limitation of classrooms, that's really makes me worry whether I will be able to secure a place for my little girl. James & Jenny will be registering Joshua to the same school too.. Guess we have to be there as early as 6am to queue up for the form.

There have been many cases that children are sent to primary schools that are far away from their residing address, that cause a lot of troubles and stresses to the parents. We wouldn't want to be at that kind of situation later.

For those whose children were borned in 2003, please get ready and bring along the neccessary documents to the school for registration. The documents are: birth certificate of your child (both original and duplicate), IC of both the parents (Original & duplicate). Some school even ask for a copy of the electricity or water bill to show the actual resident's address.

SUNDAY SCHOOL

My 2nd attempt to register Crystal to a Sunday School went quite smooth so far. Unlike the 1st attempt, she wouldn’t let go off me and hold me tight like a crab. In order for her to get comfortable to the new environment, I accompanied her in the class this time. She gets livelier in the story telling and the colouring sessions which are her favourites. After the class, she is as eager as ever to show her daddy and Pearl her work. However, we have got a little problem, Pearl is so attached to her elder sister that she won’t want to go any further from the classroom, the daddy has to hang around with her outside for the whole 1 hour session for the past few weeks unable to attend the mass at the church. Sometimes Pearl even join in the class too.. just for a little while lah..

MY GIRL IS NOW 5 YEARS OLD

February 15 each year would be a joint birthday celebrations in the family. Crystal and Zac coincidentally borned on the same day in year 2003 and 2007 respectively. Crystal is pretty much excited about birthdays. She would ask when is her next birthday not long after her last birthday party..To avoid all the nagging, we only told her about our plan for her birthday just few days before that. I get her to help prepare 30 goodies bags for her little friends at shcool, particularly she would like to give to her best friends, May, Meagan and Kelly. We celebrated her birthday both in school and with family members where she enjoyed to the fullest.

Little blackforest cake to celebrate with her little friends at school

A princess strawberry cheese cake for the party at night (it supposed to be a pink colour one and I got 5% discount for the mistake the cake house made).

The birthday stars for the day

FEVER DUE TO "FALSE MEASLE"

It was not an enjoyable start of the Rat year for us as Crystal was down to fever from the 30th January night till the 9th February 2008. One would be surprised why the fever persisted for so long. We were very worried about that too as from doctors’ and our past experiences, fever should subside in 3 days time. The fever still coming back after the 3rd day after taking the medications that the doctor prescribed to her previously. We went to our regular kid’s clinic for consultation on the 4th day, antibiotic was given in addition to fever, cough and flu medications. The doctor asked to come back if the fever does not subside in 2 days time, that would be Chinese New Year’s eve. We were very hopeful that Crystal would recover by then as we won’t want to see doctor on the eve when everyone is in celebration mood and we are very much looking forward to Edward’s 50th birthday party. Unfortunately we have to visit the doctor on the 6th February and waited for 3 hours. We were informed by the doctor that Crystal obviously had a viral infection due to the fact that now the flu has surfaced and the fever should go away in no time and the rashes on her chest was due to the Vicks that we applied on her to relief her chesty cough and nose block. However, contrary to doctor’s advise, she still suffer from high fever and becoming weak with so many days of medications for her little 5 years old body. We were also very stressed out with sleepless nights to monitor her high temperature and think of all sort of stuff just to persuade her to take her medicine.

We decided to bring Crystal to a Chinese doctor on the 3rd day of New Year (glad that they open) early in the morning and was confirmed that the rashes on the chest and back were actually false measles and Crystal should avoid angin and heatiness stuff in her diet. There were no oral medications given except some herbs for bathing for 3 days and thereafter some herbs for cooling. We were so pleased that her fever went off the next day after the 1st bathe. Thank God for that!!

Herbs for bathing (need to be boiled for half an hour, though..)

Herbs that have cooling effect (Dried Chrysanthemum & Kim Yun Fa) add some rock sugar for better taste

Just thought we could get live back to normal after all the stressful days, Pearl’s turn again. What a start of the Rat year for us, I wonder??? We bathe Pearl with the same herbs in case she got the same virus. So much so we tried to avoid them get close to each other but the virus is highly contagious that there is not much we could do especially when they are in the same house all the time. OMRON Gentle Temp Instant Ear Thermometer MC-510 comes in handy again. It makes life so much easier when body temperature can be obtained with a few clicks. pearl's fever still comes on and off despite having flu, really need to monitor closely.

CHINESE NEW YEAR & EDWARD'S 50TH BIRTHDAY

We had a double celebration on the 6th February 2008 as we celebrated Chinese New Year's eve and Edward's 50th birthday at Atlantis restaurant. There were 2 birthday cakes too...good things must come in pair....

The cheese cakes are so so yummy...

BRIDAL BOUQUET

I was busy arranging a bridal hand bouquet and some corsages for a friend's brother wedding yesterday afternoon. I put together a dozen of each red and pink roses as requested, yellow peacocks, decorated with pearls and laces, and I got Cletus to finished it up with a ribbon as soon as he got back, took some photos and off we go to deliver the bouquet. My friends were pleased to see the bouquet this time with a pearl heart in the bouquet, I purposely added it on as a symbol of love for the new couple.