Sunday 30 March 2008

Achtung! Changing Time Today!

How many of you woke up this morning to clocks having different times, an hour apart, throughout the house? I personally awoke to see my TV and VCR with one time, my Computer and Phone with another. Daylight saving time comes to an end pula sudah. Althought hubby talked about it yesterday I forgot all about it today. I only changed my clocks when half of my Sunday almost gone. During the night between March 29 and 30, clocks in Germany and elsewhere should be moved forward one hour as Summer time, or dayligh-saving time, begins. Start from now people can enjoy the day a bit longer, can get more light of the day, can take advantage of the bright evening (now can enjoy sitting and sipping German beer in the beer gardens hmm!) but in the morning the sun appears to rise one hour later..we have to get up when its still dark...oh that will make me extra hungover!. Now, some mums (maybe I´ll be one of the confused mom) have to try adjusting our small kids. They must go to bed an hour earlier and must be tired an hour earlier, they must eat their snack and wind down 60 minutes earlier than usual!! .. Oh whatever...Spring has Sprang!, Itu yang penting! hehe...I am ready to enjoy seeing greenery soon!.

Thursday 27 March 2008

Spring In My Heart!

I just love those flowers. Aren´t you? That´s what I love most when Spring comes...FLOWERS!. Tulips, Irises, Daffodils And Hyacynths...those are my favorite!. We went to a shopping complex a few days ago, my intention was to do a little bit of shopping therapy..the boys need some Spring clothes but the crowd was unbelieveable. Many people still on holiday, school children still on holiday and everybody prefers spending their time in a shopping complex like me (except that I am not working!). Its difficult to move around what more shopping especially with small children tagging along plus buggy!. So I was actually went home empty hand!. Trying to escape the crowd I went to the top level where there were less shops, less shoppers...While strolling around the shopping complex we found this small island garden full of spring flowers...Luckily I had my camera with me I quickly snap the flowers with my little models in it haha...Seeing those flowers I remember our trip to Keukenhof in Holland sometimes in Spring a few years ago. Keukenhof is the most beautiful Spring Garden in the world!. I would definitely love to go there again, but I don´t know when..Only time can tell!. I cannot get enought seeing all the colourful tulips display over there...gatal hati mau cabut bawa pulang bah! Haha...

Wednesday 26 March 2008

Back To Normal!

Some of those!

Easter is over, hubby is back to work and Kenneth back to school. Despite heavy snow storm here, I still have to drive Kenneth to school, he seems to miss playing with his kiga friends after a short break. He would never want to skip kiga even for a day!. So what about Easter? Gisela and Charlie, our nice neighbours showered the boys with tones of chocolates. If we have had spent Easter with Oma I am sure we got more because Oma and grand aunts like to pamper the boys with sugar!. I was actually glad that we stayed home hehe...Now we have a whole year's worth of chocolates at home, and the boys would be jumping off the walls eating all those.
On Easter Sunday the Kenneth was eager await the arrival of Easter Bunny, due to extreme bad weather outside, Egg hunting had to be done indoors. Hubby did the job, hiding some egg chocolates upstairs, living room until the basement while the boys still in bed!. Kenneth enjoyed and excited doing the hunting while Kyle who still doesn´t understand enjoying eating!. Poor Kenneth still delighted about rabbit and egg! LOL. We had a blessed Good Friday, I say so, because my family and I went to church. They had a service especially for children. The priest was very children friendly!. It was a short service, only last for 30 minutes. Eventhought it was only a short service but to me, is a wonderful blessing from God this Easter! as the closing, children went up to the altar and placed flowers on the cross.
I did enjoy the long weekend, because I don´t have to get up early and be anywhere. Sometimes I feel like I'm constantly running, so I have been slowing down a little bit. It's not like I do NOTHING, I still have the laundry to do, cleaning, meals and beds to make. But I do it more at a pace I would prefer, leisurely, a bit lazily.
Easter Sunday was nice, sunny but bitterly cold!. Initially, our plan was driving to the nearest mountain (Mountain Arber) which located just in the boarder between Germany and Czekia Republic. Its only one hour driving from our place. It could be so much fun sleighing one more time before the snow season over, unfortunately, they forcast strong wind in the highland so got to changed our plan. It is always blowing up there even in the best of weather and on sunday it was bound to be a bitterly cold wind. So hilang harapan mau main snow. BTW, we have been there during the new year holiday, we had so much fun sleighing.
After breakfast and did the egg hunting, we drove to hubby´s place, Munich city. We brought the boys to the Deustches Museum. Its a museum of technology and Science and its the world´s
largest museum. Luckily it was opened that day but not long. When we reached there we had to join the long queue to enter the museum but the waiting periods are surely short, fortunately. You cannot figure out how big it is before visiting the museum. The size is unbelievable…its huge!. The boys seem to be fascinated from this and I was so impressed!. I enjoyed it very much. I took photos from every angle with my old Sony dig cam, after taking a few shots the battery habis! larr... The museum’s exhibition area spread over four floors. It has over 15.000 exhibits. I was absolutely amazed by the size of the exhibits such as aircrafts and ferries and locomotives, submarines, sailing ships and many more. Due to the time limit, we didn´t see all the exhibits, there is still a lot there we haven´t discovered yet. We promise will come there again with the boys another time when hubby has a day off from work. If some of you intend to visit Munich one day make a point to visit this museum (only if you´re interested in technology and science hehe), I think its really worth to see.

Sunday 23 March 2008

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny There's a story quite funny, About a toy bunny, And the wonderful things she can do; Every bright Easter morning, Without warning, She colors eggs, red, green, or blue. Some she covers with spots, Some with quaint little dots, And some with strange mixed colors, too -- Red and green, blue and yellow, But each unlike his fellow Are eggs of every hue. And it's odd, as folks say, That on no other day In all of the whole year through, Does this wonderful bunny, So busy and funny, Color eggs of every hue. If this story you doubt She will soon find you out, And what do you think she will do? On the next Easter morning She'll bring you without warning, Those eggs of every hue. ...M. Josephine Todd, 1909

I truly hope everyone has a wonderful Easter, Happy Resurrection Sunday! May you be blessed this new season in your walk with Jesus and May the Lord send many Blessings your way, today and always.

Happy Easter!

Saturday 22 March 2008

Check Your Pram!

A German couple made a shocking discovery when they found a handgun in a baby stroller they purchased in an internet auction. As the woman was cleaning the pram, she found a loaded nine-millimetre pistol in a side pocket, Hamburg police said on Wednesday. The 39-year-old who sold the item could not explain how the weapon came to be in the stroller. A search of the man's apartment yielded no further information for investigators. The baby stroller had apparently been in the man's cellar for some three years. Isn´t this shocking?

Easter Miracle?

This is in the headline today...Birthday cake saves German driver in crash A German driver walked away from a car wreck unhurt after finding a soft landing in her own homemade birthday cake, police said on Friday. The 26-year-old woman skidded on a snowy street and slammed into a tree near the city of Freudenstadt in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg. The car was completely wrecked. But the woman escaped unhurt after being caught by her airbag and birthday cake, police said. Miracle!

Thursday 20 March 2008

Easter In Germany

I was hoping to have sunny and warm Easter day this year but it seems like it will be the other way round. Easter holidays won’t be very spring-like in Germany this year. Bundle up for the Easter egg hunt, the German weather service warned, because a major low is rolling in just in time for the weekend with unseasonably cold, wet weather. Heavy clouds bearing rain and snow arrive since yesterday and temperatures drop to the low single digits. We will have to get used to snow again, even in the flat lands like our place....urrghh!. There will also be strong sleet and thunderstorms. The weather service said today´s temperature will continue to drop below freezing and Germans living in the country’s southern regions (our area larrr) can expect snow showers (infact its snowing pretty much outside right now...want some? Can make Ais Batu Campur hehe..), especially at higher altitudes...this give more benefit to the people who spend their holiday skiing, they will have 15 more inches extra snow for skiing!!..sioknya!. Windy storms are also in the forecast for the night before Good Friday...So there goes our Easter weather forcast...So how to do egg hunting like this? Maybe my boys will end up digging egg bunny inside the snow this year kaka...but never mind I am going to do it anyway..Easter bunny always cheer the children up right, no matter how the weather is....I am pretty sure they will enjoy hunting egg at the same time enjoying rolling on the snow..LOL (I hope this is the last snow for this season!). Thank God today is Wednesday, Kenneth´s last day at school. He will have short breaks until Tuesday, Gosh, am running out of idea to entertain my kid during the break!. We supposed to spend Easter with Oma this weekend but hubby is still coughing and having slight cold, its dangerous for a 91 years old Oma, hubby might spread the cold to her, so we postponed our visit to a later day, oh well, a bit disappointed but we only have one Oma and that's more important, don´t want to risk her. I have done our BIG groceries shopping yesterday, I have to make sure we have enough food during holiday because shops and supermarkets will be closed for few days here. Stressful shopping with these two little cheeky monsters..Sudahlah crowded, anak-anak running here and there, wanted to buy this and that, and when time to pay, Ghosh! what a long queue at the counter and I have to wait for ages until my turn to pay my stuff (Not my likey!) because some customers in front of me really doing MUCH MUCH bigger shopping than me haha..Some people are scare to starve, you should see their shopping trolleys, they shop enough stock for world war LOL, common!, we only have a few days break. Anyway, no more complaining hehe..sorry about that!. Anyway, I guess it is interesting for you to explore facts about Easter customs in Germany. Here are ideas about Easter celebration in Germany: - Have a good read. • In Germany, Easter commences on the Good Friday with the draping of cross. It is on this day, people eat fish as a part of Easter feast. (I bought my fish yesterday, the freezer was almost empty, everyone bought the same fish..lucky me I was fast!). • In the menu of special Easter lunch on the Easter Sunday, colored Easter eggs and lamb shaped cake acquire prominent positions. In the sweets, people relish the cookies and chocolate candies. (Yess..I mine all ready!). • As a part of Easter traditions in Germany, egg hunt game is very popular among the Germans. Another game that is enjoyed by kids is Chocolate kiss. (This year have to dig in the snow larr). • To give a warm welcome to the spring season, there is a tradition of burning the old Christmas trees in a specially chosen venue. • Green colored Easter eggs are used on the Maundy Holy Thursday. • In the Oberammergau town of Germany, passion play is held which is based on the life of Jesus Christ. It's a play in which about 1200 villagers participate and the play is a real long one, extending up to six hours. • Before the start of Lent season, a special carnival called Fasching is held. Its major attractions include a parade in which people showoff their masks. • Kids light huge bonfires on the Easter eve. • German people prepare a special recipe called Cruller, which is a kind of thick doughnut.

What love means to a 4-8 yr old‏

This is very sweet cannot help but to share, take a few minutes to read this. It is so worth it. Touching words from mouths of babes. A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" Happy Reading. The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think: "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca- age 8 "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4 "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5 "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6 "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4 "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7 "Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8 "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!) "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." Noelle - age 7 "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6 "During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8 "My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6 "Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5 "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7 "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4 "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 6 "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image) Karen - age 7 "Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6 "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." Jessica - age 8 And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Monday 17 March 2008

Some More..Food Alert!

STOMPer Celine came across an article from the New Straits Times about hawkers in Johor Baru who allegedly coat fried snacks with plastic to meet the demands for crispy snacks. The article reads as follows: "CONSUMERS' demand for crispy snacks like goreng pisang and keledek has allegedly caused hawkers in Johor Baru to literally coat fried snacks with plastic, creating a health scare. "Emails are said to have been sent out warning people to keep away from consuming extra crispy fried snacks or even chicken. "The emails tell how some hawkers had allegedly been seen adding plastic straws and bottles into boiling oil before frying their snacks. "The snacks thus produced would remain crispy for several hours, the emails said. "A factory worker, Rauf Hamdan, 24, claimed he actually saw a goreng pisang seller in the city throwing a plastic bottle into boiling oil, causing the bottle to melt. ""When I asked the hawker about it, he just matter-of-factly said his customers had not complained of any health hazards from eating his goreng pisang. ""He also said this 'recipe' was now popular among many hawkers like him." "Rauf said it was shocking that sellers of fried snacks were not bothered about the possible health hazards to their consumers. "Plastic bottles are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which can cause various forms of cancer and birth deformities, if eaten. "According to the emails, the trend alledgedly started in Thailand, for frying ikan bilis and onions. It spread to Kedah and Perlis, then the rest of the country. "The sender of one of the emails said his uncle had allegedly seen a goreng pisang seller adding plastic drinking straws into hot oil in Perlis. "A friend said he had seen a hawker in Cameron Highland allegedly melt a five-litre empty cooking oil bottle in boiling oil by stirring it in. "Consumers Association of Penang research officer T. Subbarao said CAP would launch an immediate investigation." Now i am wondering if the person who cooked it, eat it? or served to his/her own family. That was so mean of them to serve customers with melted plastic just for the crispiness and money. Dunno what is safe to eat anymore in this world kan, macam-macam tukang masak boleh ubah and tambah.

Beware Of Fried Food

Found this in my email today, I know there are a few friends living in Malaysia reading this here so if I do offend anyone with this article, I'm sorry. Still prevention is better than cure right. No wonder people got sick, all kind of weird sickness .. we've been consuming all kind of things out there.. cooking at home is still the best option :D This is a REAL TRUE STORY, recently also happend in Tunjang, Kedah.... It happended to us too, in PERLIS (Titi Chai Kangar..the pasar malam area where they always selling GORENG PISANG at noon ..) Mom said , my uncle saw that when they fried the GORENG PISANG they added the STRAW ( which we use to drink water) and melted into HOT OIL before frying that's why, the GORENG PISANG, GORENG UBI..etc all very crispy for hours.... And, my uncle could not explain why, and he asked them , they just keep quiet..and then when my uncle told my mom, and we realized this is how to make the foods crispy for a while.. my mom said, be careful of Thailand stuffs too example: Crispy Ikan Bilis, Crispy fried onions ..which if you leave in the open air for hours still stay crispy.. Like in GERMANY, our place only, we only have rain 5-times or less a YEAR. so , if we leave our bread in the open air overnight, next day it will stay crispy...otherwise it will never..because the environment.... here is very dry.. but in Malaysia, it should not be because too moisture there. Please forward to all your friends if you can.. DO NOT EAT CRISPY FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD especially from the hawker !.. Try leaving it in the open air for hours and see..
Here's another one: The world is changing, I read some news oh my my...not only the Chinese are wicked but everywhere... here the news comes... I have been to Cameron Highlands with my family, It was 3 pm ++ We were hanging around the market area, we saw many hawker stalls doing their business, suddenly something attracted me... One of the stalls, there was a big wok of oil and there was a half-5-litre empty oil bottle on it! It was melting slowly in the hot frying oil... I freaked out, I thought it was an unintentional act by a 7-yr-old girl .but when I looked at it closely, I saw a pair of chopstick stirring the bottle.. seemed like it was done purposely. Immediately I asked my family to come and check it out... at that moment, the parents of the girl who sat beside, were looking at us ferociously. Oh my god... they were using melted plastic to fry food... the reason is that the tit bits will not soften after placing for sometime due to plastic had been harden after melted. Experiment had been done as below. One without plastic - food is kind of soft after a while ¼ add plastic, and fry another once again... it crispier than KFC !! Please stop eating this hawker's fried food... Ask your mum to fry if u want to eat.. This is their secret receipe.

Friday 14 March 2008

Yeahh It´s Movie Time

I was just thinking just now what I am going to do with Kenneth in the afternoon while Kyle is having his afternoon nap...Kadang-kadang bingung juga mau fikir how to keep kids entertained other than switching on the TV. He said he wanted to play Papa´s computer, he likes to play some German children games like playmobil, Lowenzahn, Sendung der Maus and a few more..But I only allow him to have the computer on weekend, so he was really looking forward to have the computer today but suddenly the phone rang...his friend´s mom invited him to come along with her son (Felix) to go to a cinema in town...At first I was reluctant to let him go because the movie is only for children above 6 years old...who knows the film will be too much for his age, maybe its too wild nah....but then I was thinking, why not, let him have a try...my son is only 1 year younger for the movie and after all it´s Friday, I decided to let him go with his good friend and enjoy the movie....bukan main lagi budak2 skarang oh kan. They have been to a cinema together a few times already but most of the time Kyle and I came along...but today I just let the big boys enjoy the film...If only the film is for children age O I am sure I will drag Kyle along hehehe... but I guess not this time. Its a german children film..so please don´t ask me what´s the film about haha because I don´t know....I never be bothered to look at the preview... Aren´t the children today so lucky? At age 5 already can go to a cinema (of course with parent´s company). They even have film for age O haha...these people in the cinema really know how to make money right. I brought Kyle once to see BEE MOVIE...in the beginning I thought he would not be sitting down, I was thinking he must be climbing up and down or running around in the cinema room while the film showing....but I was surprised he enjoyed the movie very much, teriak teriak lagi tu whenever he saw bee flying haha..he just sat there with us watching while enjoying his cup of popcorn...haha..nasip jugalah, the 4 euro ticket for Kyle was not wasted. I don´t let this to be a our habit but once a in while is ok especially when the weather outside is no nice...kalau selalu matilah mama pokai!. I remember when I was still a child living in a small village, I never went to a cinema....we didn´t even have a cinema in our small town... The only home entertainment for my siblings and I was the 14 inches black and white screen tv. That was more than enough for us LOL.

Nasty Weather Here!

Weather has not been so good the past few days - Stormy, cold and rainy on most days ... Spring is just around the corner but it looks like autumn aka winter here. England and France are hit badly by the storm, but thank God, it hadn't been too bad in Germany...itu storm macam limpas saja di sini. Nevertheless, there had been interruptions in our tv cable transmission, and making our internet connection slow at times. The days are really grey...It makes me feel so down at times ... don´t ask me why ...but I believe we all have the up and down for no reasons sometimes hehe... Yesterday morning I went shopping I had to fight pushing my shopping trolley..I almost couldn´t make it to the car, very windy plus rain wahh...I could feel the wind slapping hard on my face!. Kalau pakai skirt memang naik atas punya tu hahaha.. We do need rain tho' to wash away all these yellow pollens that have been creating havoc to people's health...sore/scratchy/itchy throat...drippy nose and runny eyes! One of them is hubby, suffering from this blossom season. Some people really suffering from it, they even have to go for jab, I am glad, touch wood! the boys and I don´t have allergy when Spring comes... Kyle is fully recovered from his fever and bronchitis now, for me thats all what matters!...hubby was suffering bad soar troat and heacheache but still had to go to work because there is an important matters he had to attend at work (poor guy!), now recovering but still very tired. Thank God today is Friday yeayyy..I, myself had a slight soar troat a fews day ago but luckily its totally gone now..cepat2 saya ambil medication to prevent its getting worse..I cannot afford to get sick!, everyone at home depend on MAMA!. School children will have their 2 weeks school holiday start next week (Spring Break) and some parents already looking forward to this break. That means there will be a heavy traffic on the road especially the highway heading to Austria and Italy cause many people want to go skiing in the mountain. I am unfortunate cause there will be no break for pre-schooler like Kenneth. He still has to attend pre-school during the break, I cannot dream of having extra sleeping beauty especially when the weather like this, its nice to tuck myself in bed with my soft thick blanket hehe...Well, I still have to get up early to get breakfast for family but at least Kenneth will have break from Sport, Music School and Kyle doesn´t have to attend his weekly therapy..so I hope I will have a good relaxing time with the boys at home, I guess that must be every moms dream to relax when they can right. I guess I better go and prepare some Chicken ginger soup for myself soon...its nice to enjoy hot soup when its cold...give me more energy hehe... The good news is they forcast good weather at the weekend, the temperature will be 11 degrees celcius with sunshine (not so warm yet tapi bershukur sudah tu haha). We plan to go out of town to make use of the nice day!.

Thursday 13 March 2008

Anyone? Please Help..

Sorry to ask but since I am new in blogging thingy...I cannot help but to ask question hehe...maybe some of you can see whats happening in my blog...I attached a few photos in my blog but I am disappointed everytime when I log into my blog I cannot view the photos, all I can see is RED X, all the photos turned into RED X, bikin sakit mata sia....why is that ah? Tolong gia advice...
Muches Gracias!!..
Danke (German)

Monday 10 March 2008

Joy Ride

Germany was hit by Storm Emma two weeks ago and because of the storm people were asked to stay home and no long travel if possible. But thank God we were spared from the storm..we had very strong wind in our place, our neighbour´s roof was blown off but they managed to fix them at the same day...but it was not as bad as other areas..luckily!..some pilots have to fight with their flights during the storm but luckily no disaster occurred...before that only two hours driving from our place was earthquake, I was scared when I saw it on tv..once again I praised Lord its not at our area... a few scary things happened recently... Actually we planned to go out of town but we didn´t want to take any risk from the storm so we decided just to look at shops nearby...we remembered Kenneth needed a new bike. His old bike was almost too small for him. Normally during this season they have bikes on sale everywhere....so we dragged our boys along and hoping to find a good bargain at the bike shop not far from our house. Eventhough it was very windy and drizzling but it wouldn´t stop our mission that day. We let Kenneth choosing his favourite bike.. he couldn´t made up his mind after seeing plenty choices of boys bikes there....rambang mata terus dia hehe...but he was clever he chosed one with blue colour...which suited mama´s taste too. He made a good choice, its a brand. Do you know the brand of the bike? PUKY..LOL..( sounds like bad word kan? nasip bukan ended with I LOL) the first time I saw this word on the bike I laughed to my head haha....apparently the brand that he was taking is very popular cause its very reliable and tahan lama...his old bike has the same brand eventhought Kenneth fell off so many times..basikal hampas2 on the ground, donno how many times...but the bike is still in good condition now...tahan lasak!.but of course the price also bikin potong leher...but knowing my son will ride more often when Summer comes so we guess its better to get him a good new one eventhough I was thinking just to get him a second hand bike from a bike bazaar here....the price is much much cheaper of course but well we don´t know how long does the bike last after somebody has been using it right...After all one day Kyle can “waris” the bike from Kenneth. When I saw my son trying on the new bikes I realized how my boy has grown up...tida sedar oh..early last year he was still riding three wheels bike haha...We were really lucky cause that was the last type of bike standing there...so we grab it!.

After getting his NEW TOY he couldn´t wait that long to try it but too bad we had to leave the bike standing in the garage for a few days cause its still quite cold for him to go out riding (very windy bah). In some areas were still snowing...luckily not in our area...brrr....btw, I can see many Tulips coming out in people garden..its so nice to see those flowers... a few days ago we had one fine sunny day and since Kyle is recovering we took the boys went out for a long joy ride....Kenneth had a sweetest day with his new bike and I was glad Kyle manage to inhale some fresh air....its good for his lung!.

Saturday 8 March 2008

Where I have Been?

Where I have been? Well, I have been so stress and down for a couple of days when my younger boy sick!. It was my another nightmare! But our bad days just over, Kyle feel better now. Thank God that we didn´t end up to the hospital this time (he was admitted twice before because of lung infection). Kyle is a premee boy, (will blog about this another time...such a long story) he seem to catch every respiratory infection that goes around every winter. He is more sensitive to cold climate in general. That is why I really wish I can get away from the winter because my son prefers warmer surroundings. Last week his bronchitis came back again and went down with fever for almost 6 days. My heart broke seeing my small boy with frequent hacking cough. His cough and breathlessness would be worse at night time because of the collected mucus in his lung and this really disturbed his sleeps for a few nights. He was wheezing most of the time and coughing endlessly...because of that I didn´t sleep well as well for a new nights..I was worried like hell!. So my job was nursing him, keeping my eye on him for 24 hours, waking up and giving him medications in the middle of the night....During day time I felt like a zombie!. Twice I had to bring him to see our Children doctor to have his lung checked-up. During the examination doctor found out that his left lung was already a bit infected but he got all the prescribed medicines that can help open his bronchial tubes and clear out mucus from his lung so it´s easier for him to breathe....which we need to give through inhaler....and now he is under two different antibiotics treatment. He needs to take his medicines with the inhaler for 14 days now and after that we´ll see..I have to get him check-up again and hopefully he will be fully recovered by then... I really pity my son..because of his sickness, his appetite had decreased. His body weigh dropped a little...I tried in every way to offer him food but he just rejected it. Most of the times he is playful and cheerful child, never sit quietly in one place but when he would not be keeping in good health he would become very mild, occasionally got irritated so easily and got very angry if not obeyed. Thank God my son is slowly recovering now, still not eating much but at least he started drinking more fluid again and trying to catch up his sleepless nights...He started to be lively again and I am so glad to see his improvement. As his mom, I will be very glad if one day he can get rid of his dependence on bronchodilator drugs and inhalers and hopefully he can start lead a normal healthy life.

Friday 7 March 2008

True Story..Its Worth Reading!

At the prodding of my friends, I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines , Iowa . I've always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons-something I've done for over 30 years. Over the years I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a prodigy though I have taught some talented students. However I've also had my share of what I call "musically challenged" pupils. One such student was Robby. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single Mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer that students (especially boys!) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student. Well, Robby began with his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my students to learn. Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play someday." But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but never stopped in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but assumed because of his lack of ability, that he had decided to pursue something else. I also was glad that he stopped coming. He was a bad advertisement for my teaching! Several weeks later I mailed to the student's homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby (who received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out he really did not qualify. He said that his mother had been sick and unable to take him to piano lessons but he was still practicing "Miss Hondorf I've just got to play!" he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital.. Maybe it was his persistence or maybe it was something inside of me saying that it would be all right. The night for the recital came. The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends and relatives. I put Robby up last in the program before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my "curtain closer." Well, the recital went off without a hitch. The students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd run an eggbeater through it. "Why didn't he dress up like the other students?" I thought.. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" Robby pulled out the piano bench and he began. I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen Mozart's Concerto #21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo. From allegro to virtuoso. His suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by people his age. After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on their feet in wild applause. Overcome and in tears I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that Robby! How'd you do it? " Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well Miss Hondorf . Remember I told you my Mom was sick? Well, actually she had cancer and passed away this morning And well . . . She was born deaf so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special." There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into foster care, noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy and I thought to myself how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I've never had a prodigy but that night I became a prodigy. . . Of Robby's. He was the teacher and I was the pupil for it is he that taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself and maybe even taking a chance in someone a nd you don't know why. Robby was killed in the senseless bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April of 1995. May God bless you today, tomorrow and always. If God didn't have a purpose for us. We wouldn't be here!

Saturday 1 March 2008

Easter Gift.

I know it is Lent Season but its 23 more days until Easter. Most shops and houses already showing the spirit of Easter by putting up Easter Decorations. Apa lagi Easter Eggs and Easter Bunnies can be seen everywhere now. Kids already got their advance Easter Gift from our neighbour who live just a few block away. My boys are lucky cause these people are sooo children friendly...they have been pampering the boys...they shower them with many presents.... Whenever they appear to our doorsteps they must have something to the boys...untung lah durang ni selalu dapat hadiah. I feel so blessed jugalah. I am sure they´ll be missed when we move away from this town one day ..wuahh!!. See what she gave to my boys..cute or not? I find those bunny figures are so cute so tayang lah sikit hehehe....knowing her, I am sure she will come again before Easter with some Chocolates and other Easter goodies!. Sometimes I try to avoid those sweet stuff but somehow its hard to let down people who are just being nice to us right. If it is continue like this abis lah saya, I will never snap into my jeans hahaha..

Kyle enjoy playing with his new toys...he likes to make the figure kiss each other hahaha..kids are always cute right.