LET IT OUT...

Once in a while...something sharp hits me in the heart and I will cry and let myself cry until the tears dry out.

today ...

I let the Holy Spirit minister to me ... draining me of all the tiredness ... the "Lord-I-Want-To-Give-Up" feeling ... then I feel better ... so much better ...

UNWELL...AGAIN

I want to believe that Jonathan's health is better. That's what I'll do.

He had a sudden attack of flu and phlegm last night, both of us didn't sleep well {shutting our eyes on and off} until 5am when the weather was cooler with the onset of rain.

Woke up this morning at 9am. He said he was hungry and so...we started our day.

Praise the Lord he's ok now. But I'll still let him rest at home tomorrow.

Officially...only been to school maybe 1 or 2 days in October 2008...and I'm not very proud of it.

We have received his report book. H has signed it and quite happy with this results despite the fact that we have very irregular attendance {yes...stated in the report book} for various reasons.

Next year, Jonathan will be in the functional classes {as I requested} but he will still do the primary 3 syllabus...*0*

Oh well...it's 2 months away to 2009 so I'm not going to think too far. Will wait and see...

DENTAL APPOINTMENT

I prepped Jonathan this morning. Didn't want to do it last night fearing he might not want to sleep. When he got up this morning at 9am, he got the >NNEEEWWSS<.

"Jonathan....you have appointment with the dentist today." No reaction.
"Will you be brave and open your mouth for the doctor?" "Yes".

Prayed over him and we left.

National Dental Centre...just next to the Health Promotion Board is quiet during schooling days, except for a few teenagers and some adults. 6th floor is where the pediatric dentist is located for special needs children. We only waited 10 minutes for our appointment.

Dr Toh...a very nice lady who attended to Jonathan. He allowed her to pry open his mouth and let her count all his teeth from the outside. She recited the numbers D35, M16, etc to her nurse who quickly jotted them down without looking up, lest she missed something.

The biggest obstacle was for Jonathan to open his mouth so Dr Toh could push a piece of wedge between his teeth. That was the most difficult despite the coaxing. In the end, she was satisfied with the initial check but told me that his baby molars will start dropping between now and 13 years old. She's not keen to do a general anaesthetic cleaning because she wants to wait until some of the molars are showing signs of dropping then when they do a major scaling, she can remove the shaky ones. The last major cleaning we did was in December 2006.

Since Jonathan doesn't eat by mouth, the time for his molars to drop will probably be extended but that's fine by me.

She advised that fluoride toothpaste is still the best because it not only cleans but protects the teeth too. So it's better to alternate between the natural toothpaste. She's not concern about his teeth being slightly yellow (due to the switch to natural toothpaste). All we need is a tooth whitening toothpaste and it will help remove some of the yellow stains.

She said she's seen worst teeth than Jonathans :)

Jonathan got a sticker for his bravery. And the funniest part....he was so quick to wave goodbye when I told him to, something that will take a few promptings from me if he's waving to others around him.

So that's the dental visit. Next visit...April 2009. Paid S$8. Which is fine compared to my friend who paid S$70 for a check at KK Hospital. With cab fare, it's still cheaper. And on top of that, we went to Tiong Bahru Plaza to feed Jonathan and had lunch and a walk around. Jonathan loves buildings and there was loads of them along the road at Tiong Bahru. It was a treat for him.

We took a train to Marina Square for a short walk and took a cab home.

FUN BALL EXERCISE

Picture is a blurry because of the constant bouncing we were doing then.

Jonathan loves the big exercise ball. I try to put him on it whenever I can .. AND .. only when H is at home. He will help me carry Jonathan onto the ball cos this boy gets all excited even before he gets on it! He will wriggling with excitement and carrying him then will be a tough one for me! LOL!

What do we do? I let him lie down facing up and roll the ball back and forth, each time landing on his feet and bearing weight for a few seconds, repeating this a few times.

The next thing we do is turn him on his tummy {ie picture above}. This is to exercise his neck. I do a little bouncing so that when he holds his head up, he will use his neck muscles to keep this position. After that, I will roll the ball forward and with all the blood rushing to his head...ask him to raise his head again.

I don't do this ball exercise for a long period of time. After 10 minutes, it's time to come down cos my back cannot take it :0! Mummy needs more exercise too!

"A" YOU'RE ADORABLE

I sang this song to Jonathan...he likes this song...so enjoy

A NEW YEAR

So...I started my 42nd year yesterday with a cold and body ache. Woke up today still feeling heavy on the head because of Zyrtek, the flu medication.

As the effects wear off...I thought of everything that has been happening. Jonathan missing so many days of school, found out that a friend has cancer of the bladder {that made my heart so heavy}, have to finish some work, need to work with Jonathan and do scrapbooking in my spare time.

So...what do I do? Nothing! Just lazing around. Letting time pass: praying in tongues, speaking to Abba Father, chitchating with friends online, updating my blog .... whatever comes my way.

I'm embarking on another scrapbook layout for my 大姐. Hope to finish it so that I can start on my Christmas cards. Hope....

SHE SAID....

We went for lunch at the mart. On the way home, we passed by a group of kids probably between 7 and 12 yo-s. They were playing on the exercising machines at the park.

There were 2 boys and 2 girls. As we walked pass, the boys were busy playing and didn't pay any attention to us. The 2 girls were nearest to us. When we walked pass, the little girl looked at Jonathan and then back to the older girl.

The next thing we heard: "Cute".

I don't know who the older girl was referring to but I would like to think it was for Jonathan!

SHORT CONVERSATION WITH JONATHAN

Jonathan loves to talk to me. Sometimes he will turn his face to look at me and start ooh-ahhing.
This is how he goes:

"ah ou n ma wu er" then he will end with a slur sound upwards that sounds like it's a question.

After I reply him, he will go on again until he's satisfied.

This is my conversation with Jonathan when he initiates it.

2 weeks ago, we didn't go to school because he was not well. He was supposed to take his English and Math test but I have asked to be excused.

So the day before the test I asked him:

Me: Kai Ming, do you want to go to school?
Jon: No
Me: Do you want to take your English and Math tests?
Jon: No
Me: If you don't go to school .... and you don't take your tests .... do you think you will succeed in life?
Jon: Yes

There you go...my intelligent boy...LOL!

SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT FOR ROY

Finally! Another layout that took me about 2 weeks to finish. These photographs of Roy {Harith's nephew} were taken by Arthur (Harith's brother-in-law) on Christmas Day last year. Have been with me so decided to do a scrapbook layout.

Harith suggested laying the photographs in a different way instead of just straight up. So the results...above.

I sandpapered the edges of the photograph and distressed the sides with Tim Holtz Distress Ink to give it a border feel. Then I applied Mode Podge over the words of the labels so the ink will not fade.

I found the poem online. It's rather unique and totally describes Roy who is a fun-loving and easiest-going kind of guy.

Materials used:

• Bazzill Red Bling Cardstock
• Patterned Paper from Provo Craft {Color Wheel Paper Collection} from Scrap-n-Crop
• Dymo Labelling Machine
• Scrap-n-Crop Rick Rack Ribbon {Double layer ~ Dark and Light Blue}
• Prints Ribbon (Polka Dot)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink
• American Crafts Thickers Foam Letter Stickers {Subway ~ black}
• American Crafts Thickers Chipboard Letter Stickers {Prancer ~ green}
  

FLORIDE?

I switched Jonathan to a natural toothpaste that doesn't have floride in it. It's supposed to help with gum care and teeth cleaning. But I noticed that his teeth is turning a little more yellowish.

Ever since I switched to the new toothpaste, I noticed that even swallowing this toothpaste, it doesn't affect him much. But when i used Colgate {which he has been using for a long time} last night, this morning, he started being phlegmy.

I don't know if it's the floride that he swallowed or not. But then again, he woke up with a stuffy nose this morning.

I don't know. But thank God he's able to handle it and cough to clear his throat if it bothers him.

Looks like we will miss school again. I haven't been sleeping well either. Sometimes wake up feeling hot and then breathless. Then I end up sleeping in Jonathan's room {cos it's cooler there}, then having to lie down in a funny position so that I won't "crush" Jonathan. He also likes to cuddle up next to me then I have to move into a tight corner just to give him space...

I need wisdom Lord!

DENGUE

Environment Officer came over and inspected my kitchen and bathrooms to ensure there's no trapped water around the house.

There was a case of dengue fever at block 337. Just 2 blocks away from where I live and the officers are going around this area checking every household.

SCRAP-N-CROP'S BLOG FACELIFT

I'm a fan of Scrap-n-Crop. Their cause for starting this business and their hearts toward charity.

They have a new BLOG! A fantastic facelift {above} was given to the previous one. More information, more links, more ideas, much..much more!

NEW BLOG IS HERE!!

Be a follower of SnC's CROP.mmunity Blog now! CLICK HERE

SCRAPBOOKING MATERIALS

Made a bold move and order some scrapbooking materials from twopeasinabucket.com. They arrived on Thursday 2 Oct afternoon.

The chipboards were on sale big time and I wanted to get the scallop, star and heart shapes that were not available in the local stores here.

So with the help of Er Jieh {2nd sister} from USA, I embarked on this journey...LOL...and at the same time...included some really nice pattern paper that were going for US0.50cents. Got it mailed to my Er Jieh and then she redirected the parcel to me.

My Er Jieh is an excellent packer. She put all the chipboard tags into individual ziploc bags so they will not get wet! Great thinking sis! All the years of travelling to Singapore with loads of goodies really put into good use! haha!

Total number of items: 31 pcs (chipboard tags, papers, tag and stickers)

Also....everything was far cheaper than buying them here.

Amount saved : $20 {Singapore dollars}....compared to prices at our local stores here.

2 LAYOUTS

What do I do to destress? Do layouts. And for 2 weeks, these 2 layouts have been lying around in the house and I just finished them back to back.

MEET THE COUSINS

I've been wanting to make a layout using this photograph taken when Jonathan's American cousins came here this year. They are close in age-group..starting with Matthew {Singapore cousin} who is 12 years old. Ruel {9 years old} didn't come.

On the right side are crystal stickers with words like 'friends', 'pals'...

I used rolled up transparency {soft sheets} and arranged them to make a frame around the photograph. Inspiration for this comes from Jonathan's school Teacher Sharon who used this to do picture frames during art lesson in class.

Materials used:
1) Bazzill Cardstock {light blue}
2) Ursus Flattblatteh Transparency {Various colors} that I rolled up and arranged them to form a frame around the photograph.
3) Kids 'R' Cool Crystal Stickers
4) Plain cardstock for printing journal
5) Heidi Grace and Heidi Swapp chipboard alphabets
6) Hamptom Art {Sassarilla Font} rubber stamp
7) Scrap-n-Crop.com Brads {black} to fasten the strips
8) Making Memories Acrylic Paint {Red}
9) Stickles Glitter on the arrow letter 'C' {Pink}
10) Maya Road Chipboard Arrow to make letter 'C'

I used the stickle glitter to go over the letter 'C' {above} to make it shiny.
It's actually a Maya Road curved chidpboard arrow.

I painted the background red to make a difference instead of leaving it plain {above}

Names of cousins: "Lizzy .. Matthew .. Brandon .. Samantha .. Jonathan"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

SHARED MOMENTS

This layout was done for Molly {Harith's cousin}. Picture was taken about 3 years back. So when I found it, I thought it's time for a layout. Molly and her son, Roy, are very close. It's really a nice picture of them together.

Materials used:

1) Bazzill Cardstock for base and backing

2) DCWV Pattern Paper

3) Maya Road Chipboard alphabets

4) American Craft Pattern Paper which flowers I cut out

5) Basic Grey chipboard dragonfly and butterfly

6) Stickle Glitter and Glitter Embossing Powder

7) Ribbon on the photograph

8) Zig Glue Pen {which I used to glue the thin lines of the pattern flower paper}

9) Making Memories Acrylic Paint

I added a little embossing glitter to the butterfly and bottom of the chipboard alphabets
to make it stand out a little {above}

Another Basic Grey chipboard dragonfly {above}

Journaling {above} : "Shared passions ~ Dancing...Cooking...Travelling...Love"

ISSUES WEIGHING ON ME

It's not good falling sick. This is one of the bad flu I have ever had and 4 days into my flu, Jonathan caught it again after just recovering. Thank God this time I'm prepared with his medication and it was arrested before becoming bad. He's ok now except for stuffy nose. Gave him Illiadyn {nose drop} prescribed by GP last night and side effects appeared. He was so phlegmy that it took him a while before clearing his throat and going to sleep. He was so tired and so was I.

I had to have double dose of antibiotics to clear this flu and it's driving my body system crazy!

I'm just thankful that we are on the road to recovery :)

I hope to return to school soon for Jonathan. He's got 2 assessment coming up but I've asked for him to be excused.

I've been struggling Jonathan's educational issue for a while now. Although I'm quite peaceful about what God has shown me earlier...somehow I keep feeling that I'm letting Jonathan down by not allowing him a chance of proper academic education.

I regret not working hard enough for him. There....that's the truth!

Spoken to VP and Teacher about the situation and Ms Go said we will have to meet to see which is the best and ideal program for Jonathan...although she feels that the other programs are not so suitable cos he's higher cognitively.

We'll see...Abba Father...I need your wisdom.

MY TURN

Body aches ... low-grade fever ... sniffy nose ... sore throat ... cough ... headache ... these I don't want but am having it now since Thursday.

Jonathan has been good. He hasn't been disturbing me. Watching tv while I rest and allowing me to recuperate. PTL for him.

SPEECH THERAPY SESSION

This is how I communicate with Jonathan at home and anywhere else. Video clip was taken by Speech Therapists Kunal during Monday's ST session.

{background noise coming from the school's swimming pool site that is being repaired}

MONDAY FLU

Jonathan came home from school and started having phlegm on Monday. by evening, it was obvious that he was struggling with the increased of secretion and was coughing quite badly. I gave him medication but it didn't work...last resort..to the doctor's.

Dr Ong administered antibiotics...something which I don't like cos it affects his bowel movements. But thank God...this time around, not so bad.

He said Jonathan has actually fared better than children who go to main stream school because he hasn't treated Jonathan with antibiotics for more than 6 months already. He has seen other children more frequently.

Thank Abba Father for His protection over Jonathan.

So...we are not going to school this week again.