All About Your Child

This morning, Allan went to school to collect all the worksheets Keatkeat and Binbin had missed during last week.

Only 10+ students were seen in Keatkeat’s class. The full headcount is 27. Chicken Pox has almost ‘Wiped Out’ the class. *laugh*

After the instructions were given, Teacher P looked at Teacher C, “How should I tell him?”

Allan: “I’m alright. You can just tell me. What is it?”

Teacher P: “Errr… maybe I shouldn’t. When will he be coming back to school?”

Allan: “The M.C. ends next Monday, but I’ll probably let him stay home for another week before bringing him back. What is it that you want to tell me? If it concerns my child, I think I should know.”

Teacher P: “But you are not suppose to know. Errr…. I think I’ll better check with the Principal first (who was not there then). I’m sorry, I can’t tell.”

I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DO THIS!!!!

IF You have something to say, just say it. If you know you shouldn’t tell me about something, then DON’T EVEN BREATHE A WORD in the first place!

When Allan told me about the conversation he had with the teacher, I picked up the phone and gave the Principal a call immediately.

Me: “Hi Principal, I’m the parent of Cheng Keat in Kindergarten 2. He has been absent from school for a week because of Chicken Pox. Does the school has some kind of arrangement which I should be inform about?”

Principal: “Just make sure you get the doctor to certify that Cheng Keat has completely recovered from Chicken Pox before you bring him back to school. Bring the certificate along with you on the day you bring him to school. That’s all.”

Me: “Is there ANY OTHER SPECIAL arrangements or issues I should know?”

Principal: “No.”

I was unhappy when I hang up the phone. I always believe in the chinese saying: ‘Wu-Feng-Bu-Qi-Lang’ (direct translation: without wind, there will not be wave)

I hate this type of feeling. Knowing that there is something going on and yet I do not know what it is. Its like having a splinter stuck on your palm. You see it staring back at you, yet you can’t get it out. *Urrrgghhh*

Tell me how can I shake off this feeling?

Other than the obvious ~ more fun, pain and laughing moments with them; I get to sharpen my culinary skills.

People who know me personally are aware that I hardly cook for my family. I know I’m a terrible mommy and wife in this area. I am still learning how to ‘control’ the fire intensity on the stove. My dish is either over-cooked or unfit for consumption. *laugh* But Allan doesn’t mind at all, this is why:~

I’m the ‘theory’ and Allan is usually the ‘practical’. I observe how my MIL cooks whenever I’m with her every Sunday. Its so difficult to learn from old folks, ‘cos they cook with their heart. They don’t use measurements like a teaspoon of salt or a tablespoon of sugar. NAH! None of that. But I still jot down whatever I can based on my estimation from what I see.

So if Allan is not in the mood to cook, we’ll eat out. In fact, to cook is a luxury to us. ‘Cos eating out is relatively cheaper for us. Serious!

But when kids are sick, ‘Something‘ in me comes forward.
I COOK. Without any help. Just Me, the Food and the Kitchen.

Weird??! You can say that again. I’m pretty good at cooking food-for-the-sick. So you can imagine the taste. *LAUGH*

First 4 days we were told by different sources to give Keatkeat ‘Cooling Drinks’ to help his body purge out ‘all’ the pox(s) faster.

So for the first two days, we gave ‘Leng Yong’ and the next 2 days ‘Barley’. There is also another option of Chestnut with SugarCane. I didn’t give that cos’ too much work needed.

Food to abstain from for 14days:

Egg, cucumber, pineapple, ‘outside’-food, pig head meat, pre-prepared minced meat (in case there is pig’s head meat in them), Seafood except certain fishes, meat from a Rooster.

Food specially for Keatkeat:

Lean pork meat. Meat from a Hen. Vegetables. Certain fishes.

For 14days, that’s all he gets to eat. He dislike vegetables, except carrots and potatoes. He is not a big fan of pork too. So it was a test of creativity skills for me. How to get different combinations out of these limited choices. But I’ve survived for 4days and there are still ideas in my head for the next 10days. *wink*

I didn’t take photos of them, cos’ I don’t think they are any good in appearance but they are tasty enough for my Keatkeat.

On day One, he vomited everything he ate when he was half-way through. We wanted to stop him from continuing, but when asked if he wanted to finish the other half in his bowl, he said YES. And he did, without any problem.

His reason? “The food is very nice.”
Do you know I almost cried?

Allan sat beside him throughout all meals. He did not hurry my boy like he used to. So its super good news! Do you understand what I’m trying to get at??!

Remember my post on how worried I am about Keatkeat’s occasional eating disorder? These 2 weeks might just be a great opportunity for Keatkeat to get out of that.

Due to his poor appetite and his sore throat (Chicken Pox popping there too), I have been giving him really small portion. He’ll ask for more when he felt that he needed it.

Hence, he finishes everything without complaining. Not fast though (but who cares about speed anyway; ok, I’m sorry, Allan does). But NOT when his boy is sick. Allan becomes a totally different person. Speed is no longer important to him now. *smile*

Siblings fights are normal. All parents know that. I took this great chance to prevent this. I lied told Binbin that he can’t touch his elder Brother, or he’ll get Chicken Pox too. He saw how uncomfortable Keatkeat had been, how restricted his diet was, how ugly his body looked, so that was the LAST thing my 3year old wanted.

So I’m killing 4 birds with one stone:

1. Spend more quality time with my boys
2. Improve my culinary skills
3. Eliminated the fightings between my boys, and
   
4. We just might SOLVE Keatkeat’s eating disorder once and for all!

Whoo-Hoo!!!! *clap clap clap*