Sunday, January 31, 2010

AT THE WEDDING

I was seated with my nieces and nephew and a good friend (Olive ... to my right). Had a good time having fun with them. Fun bunch of kids who grew up together.

I sang a song for my nephew on behalf of my sister (nephew's mom) cos she wanted to present a special item to him and needed my voice (as I said on stage haha).  My brother took a video clip of me singing.  But he only caught the last 6 seconds cos he thought I was going to sing more!  haha.  but it's good enough.  they were all looking at the screen where the words of the song was flashed.


On the whole the dinner was pleasant.  But it started and ended really late.  Jonathan didn't want to go.  He just refused to and start crying quite badly.  We couldn't be able to deal with his secretion and phlegmy throat if he went so he stayed home with Harith.  He was smart ... didn't want to nap earlier.  Now I know why.

In times like these, I really miss having both of my man around special occasions.  But there's really nothing we can do about it.  One thing I'm beginning to realise is that he prefers to go out during the day than night time.

Friday, January 29, 2010

NICK & STELLA'S WEDDING

We're looking forward to their wedding tomorrow!  Printed these shirts for them for their photo shoot.
Wishing them God's blessings as they unite in marriage!  Love you both!

We won't be there for the church wedding @ 9am.  Harith couldn't change his student's schedule and we'll also be missing the tea ceremony.  Jonathan has been told he has to go to the dinner that's why we are staying home during the day.

Hope to take some pictures with them :)

NEW EQUIPMENT

The "thank-you" card that I made for Make A Wish Foundation.

The poster they did for Jonathan.

The goody bags he received


Playing a game.  To build a line as long as we can using any objects.  Jonathan and his old buggy was the starting point.  We also took off his shoes :)
 


The magician to entertain everyone.

Gift presentation and photo taking.

The boy on Jonathan's right had a motorised wheelchair.


Jonathan using his new chair at home.  Yes...he managed to cross his legs :)



The bath chair that was given to Jonathan by close friends who found out that this could not be in the wish list of Make A Wish (which is ok cos I'm thankful for the tilt chair already).  He thought it was a comfy recliner for him to use while watching TV! haha
As I mentioned earlier in the POST a few days ago, I'm thankful to God for my friends who took it upon themselves to buy this bath chair for Jonathan.  God bless them abundantly!

And thanks to Make A Wish for a stella party!  The volunteers and service they provided was impeccable!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A WISH CAME TRUE x 2

Saturday, 23 January 2010, we were invited to a presentation ceremony by Make A Wish Foundation Singapore.  The party was shared with 3 other recipients.  There was a magic show and balloon sculpture.  Besides the main gift of the Convaid Rodeo Tilt Chair, Jonathan also received a big goody bag and a large poster made by the volunteers.  There was also a sumptuous buffet spread.  After the fun and games, each recipient was presented with their fitted chairs.  This is what Jonathan received.  He chose the burgundy color earlier (pictures of chair fitting later).




I applied for assistance to get Jonathan a proper seat for home use and MAWF approved and granted the wish to Jonathan.  Thank you Make A Wish!

I've been so busy that I will post pictures (not many) of the chair later.

On the very same day, a good friend, Mabel, surprised me with a gift.  The gift is not for me, but for Jonathan too.  A bath chair!  An Otter bath seat for Jonathan to use.




Bathing time is usually Jonathan sitting on Harith's lap while I shower him and carry him out from the bathroom to the mat to dry and dress up.  When Harith's at work, sometimes Jonathan doesn't get to shower till he comes home in the evening.  I don't really like this.  But have no choice.

But now with the new bath seat, I can bath Jonathan anytime!  Yippee!

I want to thank Mabel, Ms P, Ms B and Mr A {you-know-who-you-are} who gave this gift and I'm thankful to Jesus for an answered prayer!

Pictures later!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

THERE'S ALWAYS A "BUT"

Called the clinic this morning about the secretion problem after Jonathan took OSPAMOX, in my earlier post yesterday.

Another doctor was on duty.  He said to "come for review because you were prescribed with Axol that's for phlegm".

Ok...we went in.  I told him Jonathan was like this yesteray before taking the antibiotics, ie  "Soundless".  He checked.  Jonathan's lungs and airways are clear.  He said "to take Jonathan off the antibiotics.  Sometimes certain antibiotics is not really needed for certain diagnosis."  Talked about viral against bacterial which I don't really comprehend.

Never mind.  So long as Jonathan is healthy.

BUT ...

"Please give Jonathan the ventolin inhaler (we do it via the aero-chamber) 3 times a day, each time 2 puffs.  This is to prevent the airways from clogging up."

There's always a "but".

BUT ... Jonathan is all clear.  Surely there's no need to go this way.  That's what I tell myself, not wanting to say out loud to sound as if I'm questioning his diagnosis.

I gave the doctor a smile.  Said ok.  Left the treatment room, told that there's no consultation fee and left the clinic.  Finally telling myself that there is really no harm in giving Jonathan the ventolin inhaler.  It's not into his system like oral medication.  I'm fine with it.

So he is secretion free and I'm less worried about him.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

IT'S A MYSTERY ... WHERE IS HIS TOOTH?

Another tooth on the lower jaw is missing.  I only realised it at 6pm today.  I was cleaning his teeth and felt something missing on the right side of Jonathan's jaw.

Could it be while the doctor was pressing his teeth down with the tongue depressor that the tooth broke off?

I asked Jonathan.  He said it came off in the afternoon.  The tooth was loose already.  That means it didn't happen at the clinic this morning.

I checked his mat, nothing.  I asked Harith if there was any blood stains on the bed linen, he didn't checked and the bed linen was washed today.

No wonder for the past few days he has been drooling.

Last night, he was drooling big time.

And I kept thinking it's probably because he has an ulcer on his lips.

I keep forgetting these signs.  Have to be more observant in future {yup ... always the same reminder}

Speaking of clinic, I brought Jonathan to see the doctor today because last night, he woke up at 5am to wet nostril.  Yup the runny nose returned.  I thought that with medication since Monday, his stuffy was kind of clearing up.  But it didn't.

I didn't want to risk having it become worst because we have to go for the gift presentation by Make A Wish Foundation {which I will post later after Saturday}.

The GP prescribed a set of new medication and said better to put Jonathan on OSPAMOX, an antibiotics.  I'm not pro-antibiotics.  But since he said it was needed, we went ahead.  I can't actually remember if Jonathan has taken this type of antibiotics before.  But on first dosage today, I noticed he started gagging.  There was secretion that made him gag.  I thought it was probably his mucus flowing back.

In the evening, I gave him another dose of anitbiotics and the secretion increased.  They are thick secretion and he was having a hard time handling it.  So I had him sit with me for more than an hour so he could cough it out, which he did finally.  He was still gagging until his slept at 11 tonight.

I searched on OSPAMOX and this is what I got:

Side effects
The occurrence of side effects from taking Ospamox are considered rare. However you may experience:

  • upset stomach
  • diarrhea
  • vomiting
  • mild skin rash
Some people may also experience more serious reactions to taking Ospamox. If you experience any of the following side effects you should seek urgent medical attention.
  • severe skin rash
  • itching
  • hives
  • difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • wheezing

 Better to call the clinic tomorrow and ask the doctor if I could stop this antibiotics.

Monday, January 18, 2010

TAGS


Finally finished them after putting it off for a few days.  All 600 pieces of tags for my nephew's upcoming wedding dinner.

A brilliant idea by his wifey, these tags will certainly come in handy.  If you are attending their wedding dinner, you will know what they will be used for that night *-*

I actually wanted to rubber stamp on them the double happiness sign or a bride & groom clipart that I bought a long time ago:



But it is too big for the 2 inch scallop punch that was used to punch out the tags.  And the ink doesn't come out nice on metallic paper.

So ... I finally decided this is the best solution.  Simple, nice and all's there.  PTL! cos punching the hard cardstock was a little hard.  The Carl Craft Alphabet punches are only 1.5cm in width, height and length!  so I had to use my golden thumb haha!  but it was worth the effort.  I like the way it turned out and even though there's no colored backing behind, it's still visible if placed against a dark background.

Equipment used:  Marvy Uchida 2" Scallop Punch, Carl Craft Alphabet & Heart Punches



On a health note:  Little boy is now down with cold (aka stuffy nose for his case) and we have to miss school again :( and we haven't even started school this year!

My bad cos I had the flu again so whenever we are close together ... the inevitable happens.

And as usual, when this happens, work gets pushed back.  Next is to finish up sister's polos and the church wedding booklet.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

THESE TWO CANNOT COME TOGETHER!

When I'm stuck with a printing problem, trying to solve it quickly...
+
Jonathan starts making a fuss about the show and starts bawling...

They just come at the same time and it's certainly a wrong time!

Ok...so I got a little frustrated .. angry at his sudden crying.  So I stayed away from both the printer and the little boy.

I know I have to go to him first.  But I just sat one arms length in front of the television screen and took out the tape that was the cause of his bawling.  Sat there while he was still crying and said a frustrated prayer out loud.

Then Jonathan became quiet.  Thank you Jesus ... and I decided that the printer can wait.  Cover left opened and ignored for 10 minutes.

Went to Jonathan gave him a kiss.  Wiped his tear-stained face and gave him something he liked.

I went back to my printer, took out the hot roller and managed to solved my printer issue.

It took a prayer ...

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

SORE THROAT AND IT'S MY FAULT

Ok..I admit.  I just couldn't resist some cookies, peanuts and ice tea.

That really aggravated my throat, especially when it was already healing.

I was greedy.  Started coughing again.  Another round of antibiotics .. stronger this time around.

My fault :(

Cos Jonathan caught it yesterday and I quickly started him on porridge water, which I'm glad I did, because he started throwing up mid evening.

Thank God it wasn't serious.  By 12 midnight, he was able to sleep.

And this time, I remembered to set my alarm clock for extra water feeding and diaper change.

His diaper didn't leak and he was kept dry throughout the night.

He's ok now.  But still has sore lips because when he retches, he tends to bite his lower lip and clench them until he slowly opens his mouth.  For us, just accidently biting our lips is a painful affair.  What more when he has a full bite and holds it there because his reflexes doesn't act as fast as we do.  The more painful, the more he bites down.  We just have to keep coaxing him open his mouth which he did eventually.  But now the bite marks have turned into mouth ulcers.  Have been giving him panadol to ease the pain.

Kenolog is coming and we will miss school again this week

Thursday, January 07, 2010

GOT INVITATION!

Sample #1



Sample #2 (ignore the shiny twirls ... it was just a try-out)


Sample #3


Sample #4


Sample #5


Finally my nephew and his wifey settled with this design (below) and we got "served" with the invitation last month.  haaha.  It's a 2-fold card, text printed directly on the cardstock.  I used metallic lavender cardstock which i found at our local bookstore.

Used scallop punch and cut the 4x4cm squares myself.  Used the corner chomper for all corners.
Ribbons used were 1.2cm thick.  Dark brown and maroon.  Funnily the dark brown ribbon turned out great with lavender.

The front. 

The back:  Original idea was to tie the ribbon on the right side of the card.  But Harith suggested I tie the ribbon behind which was an excellent idea!


Closeup of the monogram designed by the bride.


Can't wait for the wedding!  Congratulations Nick & Stella!

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

SLEEPLESS IN TAMPINES

Yup...i couldn't sleep ... again.  Had loads on my mind.  But I had work to do too.  Took a cup of tea and presto!  My eyes didn't blink blink till 5.30am.  Didn't help that Jonathan woke up a few times disrupting my work that kinda got pushed back that's why.

But maybe God was using him to tell me to rest.

Sometimes I'm stubborn in this area.  I mean ... when I get started on my work ... I'd rather finish it especially when the motivation is there.

It didn't help that I was awoken at 9am by the hammering of the drilling machine downstairs.  Hacking away at 9am is not an ideal time when people like me sleep pass that time!  ha!

Yup ... they are rebuilding the playground area at the park.  Probably will fix some funny equipment that children can play on although to me ... the new-age kind of play equipment do give a "welcome-to-accident" risk.  They don't built playground equipment like they used to now.  What happened to the see-saws?  The slides?  The swings?  When will there be playground equipment that are suitable for children with special needs?  Someone ought to think about this!

Oh well ... the waiting continues and here I am talking about it.



Sigh ... this will never happen again soon ... I mean ... the sleepless in Tampines.  It only happens once in a while ... phew ...

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

AT HOME THE FIRST WEEK OF 2010

When we are supposed to go to school today, I'm down with flu carried over from the weekend.  Was feeling better yesterday morning but last night felt a little feverish.

But still good enough to finishing 2 shirt orders and one for my kid brother.  Jonathan chose the color of the shirt.

It's the whole chapter of Psalm 91 in Mandarin Chinese pressed on drifit.  I kinda burnt it a little but it still looks ok.  Hope he likes it :)



 

 

Sunday, January 03, 2010

HIS EYES SPEAKS

Whenever we talk on the phone, the first thing she asks is "Where is Kai Ming?" (Jonathan's dialect name).

When she comes to our house, she will straight away walk to where Jonathan is, extends her hand and Jonathan will automatically take hers and give her one of his big smiles.

So yesterday was like this.  Jonathan said he wanted to visit her.  So we brought him there.  When he saw her resting on the bed, we pushed his buggy near her.  He reached out to her but we had to help him lift his hand to shake hers because the bed was a little high.  He held on to her right hand for a little while ... his grip was tight ... and she managed to catch a glimpse of Jonathan beside her.

He didn't take his eyes off her for a while.  Looking at her as to why she's different in her looks but I could see his eyes were full of love for her.  His eyes showed it all.

Jonathan has compassion and it was shown so vividly that day.  He said he prays for her and told his uncle there was an angel at the end of her bed watching over her.

Thank you Jesus for our son ... whose love for others is shown in his eyes even though he can't speak it.  Let him continue to be like Jesus ... full of compassion even if he cannot yet do it physically.

Friday, January 01, 2010

JANUARY 1 HAS COME AND GONE

31 December 2009 at 11.50pm.  We sat together on Jonathan's mat, Harith brought out the guitar and we started music worship.  Then Harith led us in prayer and we prayed for many things including getting Jonathan ready for school, prayed for his teachers and classroom.  Prayed for our mothers and good health for all.
We ended the prayer by breaking bread.

Jonathan woke up real early at 7am today.  Got a little upset.  I prayed for wisdom to understand him and found that he actually thought he was going to school today.

Of course he calmed down after I told him "no school today."

January 1st has come and gone.  I look forward to better days ahead.  Although i've come down with another sore throat, that doesn't mean it's a bad start to the new year.  I'm reminded to rest and more so ...  rest in the Lord.

I searched for bible verses for the new year to encourage friends and was encouraged by these verses:
    Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.(NLT) 
    2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.(NKJV)

"Lord, I thank you for what we have gone through in 2009.  With 2010 already here, we thank you for a perfect 10 year ahead.  Thank you for your blessings, good health, peace, joy, love and wealth.  Heal those who need healing, protect us all and thank you for being omnipotent that we can draw from You.  Let 2010 be a year of blessings that we can bless in return."

Hope all reading my blog will have a great 2010!