Archive for July, 2011

Hi Bob!

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Today, he wanted to be “Bob the builder” while just yesterday he wanted to be a “spaceship driver” and the other day he wanted to be …..Well, he’s only a child and he can be anything he so wishes! 🙂 Its quite cute to see Athan running around with his toy tools and helmet pretending to be “Bob the builder”. He kept asking me if there’s anything broken in the house that needed to be fixed. I almost ran out of things! Anway. I am actually glad he is getting back to his normal cheerful self.  Why?  Because this boy had and still has “hand, foot and mouth” disease (hfmd).

Yup, he has hfmd.  It’s a terrible disease to have, I kid you not. He only has the lesions in his mouth and I think that’s all he can handle.  The ulcer-like lesions were all over his mouth — at the side, top, bottom, tonsils and even tongue!  It was painful.  He had a fever too. Poor boy. The doctor said there was nothing she could prescribe except for panadol and bonjela and lots of fluids and of course TLC. She also told us that hfmd is very contagious.  And so Calvin is at risk.

Well, it turned out that Mr Calvin has caught the hfmd bug from his brother.  His symptoms are the same Athan’s.  And so, I have put both boys on porridge and ice-cream diet.  They are having a time of their lives having ice cream without me stopping them. 🙂

Both boys are much better now especially Athan as his symptoms showed up first.  It has been a tough week for me having to care for them.  There were times when they were miserable from the pain and I had to be extra patient. The good thing is that they can still play and fight. 🙂 That’s a good sign.

The boys are actually due back to school this coming Tuesday after almost 2 weeks of holiday.  I doubt very much Calvin is ready for school on Tuesday as those ulcers takes time to settle.  We just have to wait and see.

I can’t wait for the boys to recover fully from hfmd!

Reading.

Friday, July 1st, 2011

I often get Calvin to read to Athan, especially when I am preparing dinner. Not only does reading together distract them a little from waiting for their meal, it also help them to spend some quality time together.  And, it gives me some peace to cook! 🙂

Calvin has been bringing home a book to read from school everyday.  The teacher even set up a reading diary to record all the books that he has read.  I have to sign the diary after Calvin has read the book. After nearly 2 terms of reading practice, I am glad to report that the boy’s reading skill has improved.  He can now read books independently that are at his level.  He still has a long way to go, but I must say I am very pleased with his progress so far.

I love to see the boys discovering the story by themselves or made up stories of their own when the words get too hard.  As parents, we do have to encourage the boys to read.  Having said that, I too have to add that children will eventually read when they are ready.  We can’t force them.  Reading should be enjoyable.