At the doctor's....

I'm just like any other mum, worried when my child gets sick. No matter how much confidence we have in our ability to care for a sick child, having our child checked-out at the doctor's always seemed to alleviate our worry, even for just a bit. This is what I decided to do yesterday, despite my instincts telling me that perhaps I could just "wait and see" and just ensure my child was taking enough fluids and having as much rest as possible and he would recover soon enough.

So I took my team of 4 kids to the clinic and joined the long queue there. They had been fed, so the first half hour was quite uneventful.The 3 little ones went about their usual "trying to read every single pamphlet or magazine available" mode and shared ideas on how to make the wait more tolerable. Then the next half hour began and the two boys decided they had spent enough time on the chairs sitting nicely. The moment they set their feet on the floor, I was in for more trouble! They spent a good 10 minutes trying to assess the space available to them for running around. Then another 10 minutes devising a game of hide and seek around the clinic space. As we entered the last 10 minutes of our one and a half hour wait, they began to become really excited and loud that they didn't hear me anymore! That's when the doctor's assistant popped her head out the door and yelled at my kids to pipe-down and threatened my kids with being injected by the doctor!!! Boy, was I cross! Alas I didn't have time to do or say anything as we got called into the other doctor's room!

If not for the peace-of-mind of having medication to last the weekend (though he seemed okay whilst creating a storm at the clinic), I think I may have got into a tiff with that doctor's assistant! Yes, in this case, patience is definitely a virtue! Well, lesson learned, try not to go to the doctor's on a Saturday morning. Secondly, always be prepared to endure the bored-child turns "Energizer rabbit" phenomena and be able to develop "thick skin" to handle the kids! Well, kids will be kids wherever they are!

Alhamdulillah, he has his supply of meds (in case he needs them) and I have my composure intact. We'll try avoiding Saturday morning crowds at the doctor's next time...or better still, let's try our best to stay healthy! InshaAllah!!!

What say you? Conversations my kids and I have on a daily basis....

I: Ummi, please close your mouth whilst eating. And don't talk with your mouth full. U: Okay. Thanks for reminding me. I forget sometimes. I: Yes, we do. It's our job to remind each other about these things. Did he just turn 5 or 50?

Interesting the way Irshad put it whilst helping me bring in the laundry this afternoon, "Yes, we had a lot of things to do today at school, we were quite busy. So what about you? What did you do, other than driving around?" 

M: Ummi, you must get Adik away from here! Ummi: Why? She's biffing my Thomas, Annie and Clarable. Ummi: Okay, I will. (Oops, too much Thomas! Well, at least he asked nicely instead of "biffing" her physically himself!)

Ummi: Are you full? I: I'm done eating, but I'm not full. U: Eat more then. I: Why must I eat until I'm full? Even the prophet said we shouldn't eat until we're too full. U: So how must we eat? I: We must eat only until we don't feel hungry anymore. Then we must leave space in our tummy for water and air....


 I: Ummi, what's your job? U:My job is taking care of Ayah and all of you for now. I: O. Do you get paid? U: Well, my reward is special, it comes from Allah. I: Is it a lot of ringgit? U: My reward is so much that Allah has to keep in a special place for me to get later. I: Wow, you must be rich! U: Yes, you are making me richer everyday! I: How? U:When you learn and do things that pleases Allah, it pleases me a lot! I: Okay Ummi, InshaAllah. I'll always solat and do good things because I know it pleases Allah. (Alhamdulillah!)

Independence is...

I: Muhammad, let's go drink milk before we sleep. M: But it's dark downstairs! I: It's ok, I can turn the light on M: Ok (and starts to creep downstairs on all fours, it's his eye thingy) I: Stand up and walk down the stairs M: No, it's scary I: It's ok, I'll hold one hand and you put your other one at the wall. Struggles but trusts his Abang. After a while, I hear them putting (more like throwing!) their plastic cups in the sink and they both come up. They then brush their teeth and get in bed, waiting for their storytime. I: Ummi, you must read to us or we can't sleep! M: Yes Ummi, now please! Well, at least there's something I can still do for/with them....

My new workstation

It was finally done! Thanks to my kids and my brother for their help in setting up and the decluttering effort. I finally managed to move to my new workstation (my girls' previous study room) and it is beginning to look more "organised" and a little more inviting. Now to actually sit down and do some serious "creating"....

Water babes

Alhamdulillah, after many weeks, we managed to squeeze-in a nice session of mid-morning swim!!! The kids and I had fun and a wonderful workout. The best part was probably starting-off the boys on water confidence with lots of help from Kakak, Angah and my brother. The youngest of my water babes didn't want to miss out, putting in a a solid 1 hour in the water, partly in her floaties and partly trying to freely tread water in her sisters care. They came out happy and hungry, but as always, we came prepared with F & B! The boys agreed that it was lots of fun in the sun and can't wait to do it again next week!!!

Tongue-tied?

As much as it's amusing to listen to my 32 month-old son speak sometimes, I can't help but be concerned that he says "weady" instead of "ready" and "chleepy" instead of "sleepy"....Anyone thinks seeing a speech therapist is a good idea at this point? Or is this another phase he will eventually outgrow?

Karate kids

Today was a little unusual. Alhamdulillah we began the day well. However it took a different turn when my 2nd and 3rd children ended their "school day" crying. One was crying because he didn't want to join karate, my other one was crying because she wanted to join, but couldn't because of extra classes!!! It was truly heart-wrenching to see them crying quietly and trying to put on a brave face in front of the other children. I could only console them in my own "motherly way", but deep down inside I was all fired-up to try to make them feel all good again. I just hope what I've said and done was at least good enough for them at the time. If there's anything I find hard in motherhood, this would be one such situation....