Grandma's To The Rescue

This Mommy's crazy.

We have been given the birthday invitation like weeks before, but she could not decide if they should go. Gadget-daddy's priority, so we were waiting to have him confirm his schedule.

Then a new addition to the family arrived in Penang, 2 weeks ahead of schedule. We wondered when to make the trip to see the baby boy. date finally set, and we are going for the party this weekend.

Theme: Safari.

So last minute (hmmm... I seem to run into these with my kids quite a bit), I went to the mall to get some materials, nice leopard prints, and got Ah-Ma to sew a costume for both the boys. If only I knew how to work the sewing machine...

So I cut out the costume and Ah-Mah did the sewing. Think the boys will look savagely cool in them!!



Thanks, Ah Mah!! You sure dote on your grandkids.
:D


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Myron has some viral infection that causes sores that look like ulcers in his mouth and has spread to his face.
This has been for about a week now, and it's really taking a long time to heal.

So Myron looks like he has 2 pimples on his cute face and aspot on his neck, thanks to the endless drooling. Because of the sores in his mouth, he has also refused to nurse directly. Hence a feeding session becomes a 2 person job sometimes. Mommy, moomy the cow expressing milk and Mil feeding with a cup... And this happens even like at 3am, which is why I am up.
Then this evening, Myron ran a fever.
Mil did her usual dough-rub for him.

I really don't know how such super moms like Mott and Lia do it, especially when the boys are/were young like mine. *Salute*

Whenever anyone asks how I manage 3 boys, well, I say that it's with the help of my in-laws.


Thank you, Mah-mah, for going through all the growing pains with me for these 3 precious darlings.

Playgroup Update

The party I mentioned we went for at the playgroup 2 weeks back, was this sweet little darling's.


Calista is 1!

Look at her cake, baked by Aunty Mary.



The coordinator also showed me the rest of the crafts they did for the theme of sea-creatures.


They were made with paper, foams and old newspaper.

It was also at this party that I realised hoe ready Myron is for a regular visit to the playgroup.


Of course he was fast asleep at the end of the exciting event.

I Can Only Imagine

My dear friend,

I bumped into you the other day and we talked as we walked to your car.

I can only imagine your pain.
I cannot say I know because that would be untrue.
I am not going through the grief you have to wrestle with every day, every night.
The pain that comes like spasms sporadically throughout the day.
Spasms that paralyzes you.

I can only imagine your pain.
I can only imagine how hard it is to sit in front of the computer wanting to blog, to keep a record so you will not forget.
You sit staring blankly at the screen, your fingers occasionally touching the keys at the key board, but most of the time your hands fell heavy and limp.

I can only imagine...
You sitting like a block of wood, unmoving.
But your brain is in a frenzy,
Like a whirlwind, spinning around in a kind of madness.
Time is being rewound and fast-forwarded.
Flashes of places and events.
Voices requesting, squealing, crying, protesting, repeating new words;
Conversations recalled,
How favourite songs were sung each time.
But everything is held by the one same golden strand -
Your beautiful boy.
Your beautiful beautiful boy.

I can only imagine...
You sitting quiet and still,
but your eyes occasionally lights up,
then dims,
then the tears begin to fall.

I can only imagine...
The emotions come like a tidal wave that breaks the dam.
The happy and joyous mixed with the pain of grief and loss.
Regrets. Gladness. The unbearable emptiness.
The tears can't seems to stop.
The pain has no end.

I can only imagine...
You crying as silently as you can, but as much as you can.
Then you crawl into bed to try to rest... or
Then you wash your face and put on a brave front to face the world.

But I can somewhat understand.
Though I cannot grasp the greatness of your pain, I have a hint,
For I, too, have lost a love one before,
But it cannot be compared.
Each heart knows only its own joy and pain.
The rest of us,
We can only imagine.


Here's remembering you and your family:
(Photo extracted from your blog)

The Lariche family at home on Christmas morning last year (2007),
Jien's second and last Christmas with us

Everyone's So Jealous

This is really a post of appreciation, though it'll make many eyes green with envy.

My sister has been declared the wonderful sister and the wonderful aunt by the many moms in the playgroup.

She helps bake cakes and cookies and make pasta for me and my boys.
She did this for the playgroup too when it was actually my turn to bring the snack - made my boys' favourite pasta so that they would eat well.
At one point when the boys were into soups, she would make all kinds of yummy soup for them, especially the butternut pumpkin soup.
She generously buys gifts for the boys, especially books on cars and trains and trucks.
She thinks of them constantly, and there are just all kinds of goodies that she will get for them, if she thinks it'll not indulge them too much, but she does indulge them - just not too much (by her standard).

Because she works near the boys' school, she accompanies me send and pick the boys up :
4 hands are better than 2 when you have to take 2 boys - make sure they have their shoes on - and their bags out of the car, occasionally to have to cross the street, and up the stairs.
On mornings we do not detour to pick her up on the way to school, either on of the boys will ask, "Mum, aren't we picking up Ee-ee*?"

Once, while I was having my confinement, Gadget-daddy was tied up in a meeting, so Ee-ee was called to help out at the emergency: She had to pick the boys up after school and keep them safe and entertained for about 30 minutes before their father could get to them. She took them to a classy cafe for pasta and cake! Our protest is that we could not keep up with her treats should the boys ask for it and think it's a regular affair. *gasp*

Then last night, Gadget-daddy and I went for a friend's engagement party. To find some relief for mil, who would have to handle the baby, we got Ee-ee to come in to play with the boys. She took them to the park, got them showered after that, made sure they took their dinner, gave them a treat and got them to sleep by the time we got back about 10.30pm.

The boys love to sit with Ee-ee during meal times.
You get fed and entertained with a story too.

More recent:
Before Myron was born, she had already bought him 4 sets of clothes.
She also bought me 2 preggy blouses then.
A few days ago she bought me another 2. She knows it's hard to go shopping with my tag-a-long's.

Thank you, Ee-ee for loving us so much and making the world a better place.
You are indeed wonderful to us.
Everyone's so jealous. *wink*

P.S -Thanks too for the conversations we have every morning while the boys are at school: The gossips, the news, the "intellectual discourse" and psychoanalysis of the people around us. It's so good to talk to another adult. Keeps me sane. ;)



* In the Chinese language, in all the different dialects spoken, very specific titles are given to relatives, which will indicate if you are a male/female, from mum's /dad's side, and if you are older/ younger to the parent, sometimes indicating your position in the number of siblings. It also indicates which generation you belong to.
Ee-ee is your aunt on your mother's side, and usually is younger to your mum. If there are a few aunts, they will be indicated by number. Cousins to your parents are address by their name tied to their title.

A Time To Heal

Time heals all wounds.
It's just that some wounds take more time than others to heal.

Scars tell the tales of pain and loss.
Some scars will always stir in us a sadness in the heart.

Today, my friend messaged me to help her remember her child.
She will blog as a record for herself and her family.
I read her latest post on Matthew.
I am sure there will be more to come.
Two and a half years of all sorts of memories.
Every single day was precious.
Some, I am sure, that words would fail to capture because it can only be felt in the heart.
Some, words would fail to capture the magic and chemistry of a moment when some things clicked.

Another friend sent me this article and it talks about coping with loss. It was really helpful.

Remembering the ones we have lost helps the healing.
Crying helps the healing.
The need to grieve and then to walk on in our own journey on this earth helps to heal.

On a more personal note,
My father has passed away 7 years and there are moments I still miss him and shed a tear - especially when I think of the loss on the part of my boys never knowing such a wonderful man.

So time will heal... eventually.
Meanwhile, we desperately try to keep a record of the ones we love,
because time also makes us forget...
For better, for worse.




P/s - Sorry for not visiting your corners of the world.
Part of my coping mechanism is to spend more time with my boys and less on the computer.
If we are on the computer, I am with the boys looking at what they like and being with them.
Nevertheless,
Have a good week.

Coming Out Of My Grief

Loss of A Child

When you lose a child,
You lose a limb;
You lose a chunk of your heart-
You lose control of your whole being
and feel like you're going insane-
Because of the loss of a child.

Like a jig-saw puzzle with missing pieces,
The picture can never be completed;
Like a shattered mirror
That cannot be glued back together,
Like a compass
That has lost its needle,
There is just no replacement
For such a loss
As a loss of a child.

What would ice-cream be like
If there were no taste-buds on the tongue?
What would velvet be like
If all our sensory nerves were numb?
What would a rainbow be
If one cannot see light?
Some things just cannot be described -
Like the loss of a child.

Yet you need to function still,
With such pain,
For there are still others
Whose life revolve around you -
And you need to still
Hold it together.
Yes, Brain, hold it together,
Be careful, Heart, not to build walls of fear.

Time and seasons still moves on:
There will be beautiful days,
There will be gloomy days,
There will be days of hope
And days of anguish.
We carry on,
We carry on,
As we carry in our heart
The loss of a child.