Red Hunt!!

Something different happened this year- the Annual Dinner (cum Townhall and Away Day) was held in Penang!

Themed the 'Red Hunt'- it was a logistical nightmare for HR but it was such a fun and grand affair! We really know how to throw a PARTY! There was a DJ and we took over the beach with cool light boxes cum tables and bean bags. 

There was also a treasure hunt through the streets of Penang- which was great fun; and we won first prize! Yay!!

I got to stay at the Parkroyal hotel, which was quite nice. Hope to be able to bring the family here some day!

Dinosaur party!

The little boy is crazy about dinosaurs; so a dinosaur-themed party seemed appropriate to celebrate his 6th birthday!

It was a lot of work planning for the party; but it was a lot of fun as well. Thank God for the internet- which makes we wonder how we got anything done in the past! It's amazing how creative some people are. I especially liked the cute names for the food- like Dino Eggs, Dino-mite Sticks and Dino Bones!

One cool idea I found on the internet was this- freezing little plastic dinosaurs in water-filled balloons, and getting the kids to 'excavate' the dinosaurs by melting or hacking away at the ice. We used little tools like plastic screws and hammers (from their toy toolbox) and used plastic scoops and syringes to take in water to melt the ice. Overall it was a messy affair, but it was pretty entertaining to watch. I think the parents might have had more fun that the kids! Haha!

Happy 6th birthday, my darling!

Hello Kitty Town & The Little Big Club

Our trip down south also included a trip to Hello Kitty Town and the Little Big Club (think Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, etc).

It was so-so; strictly for younger kids, and of course, Hello Kitty fans. Unlike Legoland, I can't imagine coming back here again. There were things like fun activities, rides and shows; which I guess were enough to keep younger kids occupied for most part of a day. It wasn't crowded when we were there- which really helped, given the overall rather small space of the entire attraction.

Haha! Cheeky Badtz-Maru!

Legoland

We finally made our long awaited trip to Legoland, staying 3 nights at the very cool Legoland Hotel. It was a stressful few days leading up to the trip, as our little boy was running a high fever again. Even in the car on the way to Johor, we had to make a stop to give him a dose of Voltaren. Yikes. We pressed ahead, and thank God he felt much better when he got there.

The hotel was really amazing and cool! The lobby was really awesome, and it made everyone felt like kids (whether they were one or not). There was Lego everywhere- bricks for playing, sculptures, decoration, etc. Check out the photos below!

We decided to enter a competition to build a bouquet of flowers out of Lego, and after we submitted our entry, we realised that the winning entries looked like these! Alamak.. I don't even dare to post a photo of my entry here.. *shy* Haha!

The hotel did a great job of catering to kids and families. We stayed in the Kingdom Theme Room (the little boy's choice), and it could accommodate 5 people comfortably.

We spent 2 days at the theme parks; regrettably though we did not spend enough time at the Waterpark as we were having too much fun at the main park! Oh well, maybe next time!

The Driving School was a mega-hit with the boy!

Miniland was awesome!

We spent hours here- building our own race cars and racing them. Super fun!  

Star Wars! The Millennium Falcon! Need I say more?

Trip to Ipoh - Dec 2014

We made a short trip to Ipoh at the end of the year, staying first at the Roots Eco-Resort. It was the rainy season which meant that the river was swollen and the weather rather dreary. The villa we stayed in was nice, but gosh some of us were almost bitten to death by the mosquitoes! Yuck. I am so not a (tropical) nature person.. Even the mosquitoes can sniff me out.

Some other places we visited were Kellie's Castle- which made for rather nice photo opportunities (despite it being in ruins and all), and Gua Tempurung- which I went in for a bit and then chickened out. It was dark, and the steps were wet and steep; I just didn't have the courage to go deeper into the cave (what more with a little girl in tow). The hubby and little boy were braver, and ventured slightly further in. Good for them!

Royal Selangor

We finally decided to make a trip to Royal Selangor, and it turned out to be more interesting than I expected. There were also a few interactive exhibits which made it quite fun for the kids.

We let the kids attend the 'School of Hard Knocks' (great name!), where they pounded away and made an ice cream bowl each, haha!

Pewter LOTR goblets- lovely!

VBS 2014: Knights of Kristonia!

So the little one is finally old enough to attend VBS! Yay!

He had a great time, and truly- one can really see the labour of love that has been put in to make VBS happen. There are a great number of wonderful people in our church. May God bless them all.

I will let the photos do the talking :)

Wow!

Short trip to Port Dickson

We took a short trip to Port Dickson with our cell group members- and it was a good break, although we didn't really get to bond with the other members that much, to be honest.

We started the trip off with a visit to the Army Museum which had jets, helicopters, army trucks, trains, etc on display, and it was honestly quite interesting. Sadly though- as with most things Malaysian, the upkeep and maintenance wasn't something to be proud of. Sad, really.

We stayed at the Avillion Admiral Cove, which features a marina, but does not have a beach. There is a public beach a short distance away, but it was really dirty. Yuck!

If one needs a short getaway from KL, Port Dickson fits the bill, I suppose. One can't expect too much though!

A very rough couple of weeks (Part 2)

We had to deal with more drama when it came to the health department. Our boy had 3 bouts of high fever in a month, the last of which resulted in him having a febrile seizure. We finally went to see our regular paediatrician, and we realised that we never mentioned the previous incidences of seizures that he experienced! Oh dear. She insisted that he be hospitalised, as she suspected a lingering infection that had not yet cleared up.

The first blood test proved that she was right, and the hunt then began for the search of the source of infection. They tested his urine, stool sample, took an X-ray of his chest, did an echocardiogram- but to no avail. He than began a course of intravenous antibiotics, which seemed to make him better, but still did not eliminate the fever. Our paediatrician then decided to start another course of stronger intravenous antibiotics, which finally cleared things up. All in all, our little boy was in hospital for about 8 nights, I think.

That was a really stressful and scary few days. Hubby and I took turns to shuttle between home, hospital and the office. The nights and days were a huge blur. My back really suffered, from nights of sleeping on the couch and bending over to sponge my poor little darling.

He also had to do an EEG while he was there, which worryingly showed some 'anomalies'. We were told to bring him in another day for a follow up MRI scan, to rule out any 'structural issues'. Now that was really scary. Praise God that the MRI scan was clean! I almost cried with relief. Our paediatrician said that she would not have to categorise him as having clinical epilepsy, which was really good news. But we do have to keep a close eye on him, and manage his fevers properly.

Really praying that God continues to protect and watch over him...

A very rough couple of weeks (Part 1)

October was a really stressful month for us. My parents were on holiday in Germany, and my brother was due to go to London for his Masters. The little boy was sick again, and I spent one night twisting my back and reaching down to sponge him all night.

The next morning I woke up with my back feeling a little sore. I didn't think much of it, and went about the house as usual. As I crouched to load my laundry, there was this sudden sharp pain in my lower back and I collapsed! The pain was excruciating. I cried out for help- fortunately my brother was at home and came to my rescue. I could barely walk and struggled to make my way to a chair. When I got there, I realised I could not bend down to sit at all- my lower back was too painful. My brother rushed me to a clinic where the doctor diagnosed me with muscle spasms. He gave me some painkiller and muscle relaxants, and sent me on my way. The next few days were dreadful. I struggled to do so many things. I could not get out of bed (now that was really scary),  even simple things like brushing my teeth, sitting down and using the toilet,  bending over to flush the toilet, etc required monumental effort on my part. I never realised how important my lower back muscles were until I hurt them. :(

I visited the doctor a few times over the next few days. After a week, I couldn't take it any more. My usual GP finally referred me to the hospital, where I saw an orthopaedic surgeon, and had a proper check up. I did an MRI- another scary experience. My heart was racing as I lay still in the 'tunnel', unable to move an inch (moving would blur the images). The noise was deafening and I did not dare to open my eyes. It was a horribly stressful, claustrophobic experience!

The scan showed that I had a slipped disc at L5 that was pressing on a nerve, hence the pain. I underwent physiotherapy over the next 2-3 days, and had to stay in hospital. There was the ice therapy and the electrical therapy, and in general, plenty of bed rest.

I manage to avoid having surgery, but I may not be so fortunate as I age. I really really need to take care of my back. After that episode, my back is definitely not the same as it used to be. It is a lot weaker and it stiffens up very easily. Yet another reminder that are is catching up.

The whole saga resulted in us not being able to celebrate our little girl's birthday properly. I need to make it up to her next year....