Pics of The Week

My 'Twin' Angels
both were born three days apart, yaya being 3 days' older than nana. but nana address herself as 'kakak' to yaya, because she was taller and bigger.
see the vast different in height between yaya & nana. haven't i mention my fears of yaya's development growth? owh i really shouldn't compare these two girls. it is unfair to yaya. nana has my bro's & his wife's genes - both were tall, while yaya - she sure inherits mine & hubby's dark complexion and perhaps she gets more than just complexion from hubby. she gets the small built from hubby's side. owh i've spoilt this entry by going on and on about height and all.

these pics were taken last saturday. we were at a wedding reception of our dear neighbour and close friend of my parents (the father of the bride being a policeman himself just like my dad, dulu) di seremban. yaya stole the limelight with her pink gown, one lady photographer swarm her, taking her pictures. she was wary of stranger or should i say irritated sebab dia baru je nak bermesraan dengan cousin2nya tetiba kena serang. hahaha

Mild Asthma Symptoms

this article was published at this page http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/article_185.shtml

A persistent, chronic, nighttime cough is one of the most common symptoms of mild asthma. It also can be a symptom of several other pulmonary problems.

If your child coughs often at night, how do you tell if it's asthma - or something else?

Without a medical evaluation, you really can't. Even doctors find it difficult to diagnose asthma when its only presenting symptom is nighttime coughing. In general, an asthma cough is a non-productive cough - one that doesn't bring up any mucus. It may sound as if something is rattling, or have a wheeze at the end of it. More often than not, there's a spasmodic quality to the cough - it may continue until the child is completely out of breath and gagging, or even until they actually vomit.

What if your child is coughing up mucus and sputum?

Well, say doctors, chances are that it's not an asthma cough if it's productive. In most cases, a productive cough accompanies a cold, or lingers for a week or two beyond it. It may also be a symptom of other seriously lung problems, though, so if a cough persists more than 5-7 days, be certain to contact your doctor.

Treatment of a night-time cough obviously depends on the underlying cause of the cough, but most doctors agree that if a cough is productive, treatment shouldn't suppress the cough, since the body needs to bring up all the 'junk' that's clogging the lungs and airways. In fact, if there's obvious congestion that isn't being brought up, an expectorant can help break it up and allow it to be coughed out.

Asthma coughs, on the other hand, are most often dry coughs caused by bronchial spasms.

Since there's nothing to bring up, there's no way for an asthma cough to be 'productive', though you may hear rattling or 'crinkling' sounds if you listen to the chest of a child when they cough. Most doctors now believe that the actual cause of an asthma cough is an irritant or allergen of some kind that sets off an excessive immune reaction. The airways swell as histamine is produced, and the muscles around the bronchial passages go into spasms to attempt to force the irritant up through them.

When dealing with an asthma cough, productive treatment should include regular use of a bronchodilator to help loosen up the muscles around the bronchial tubes. Those muscles put a stranglehold on the airways and make it almost impossible to force air in and out of them. Relaxing them can soothe the most evident symptom of childhood nighttime asthma. Productive treatment often also includes the use of an anti-inflammatory - most often inhaled steroids - to reduce chronic swelling of the bronchioles and make it easier for them to empty.

You can also try a few 'natural remedies' to help reduce episodes of night-time asthma coughing - as long as you keep using the treatment your doctor gave you.

Some herbalists suggest a cup of hot black or green tea with honey before bedtime - the theophyline and caffeine in the tea are both older treatments for asthma, and the honey can sooth a dry, irritated throat.

Add a banana or two to your daily diet, or make sure to eat plenty of magnesium-rich vegetables and meats - magnesium helps control muscle contraction, and many people with asthma have low magnesium levels.

Finally, avoid having irritants in your (or the child's) bedroom. No pets, no stuffed animals, nothing that might trap dust mites or dust - major causes of allergic reactions in childhood asthma


P/S: Our house has been carpet free zone for a long long time since fahmi first had eczema. Was thinking of getting a few for our new house, but with recent development (since now we have 2 kids with asthma symptom) guess I have to scrap the idea.

Asthmatic Or Not?

yaya demam lagi, kali ni hanya panas badan belum ada tanda2 selsema dan batuk. i prayed hard everytime dia sakit biarlah ia kali terakhir or at least the last for a long long time. dah kerap sangat dia tak sihat sekarang ni. batuk2 dan selsema dah macam mainan pulak setiap bulan. disebabkan dah terlalu kerap, sekarang kalau dia batuk aku dah tak bagi dia ubat batuk tapi kuberi dia minum madu dengan perahan limau kasturi je. melainkan kalau tekak dia naik merah baru kubawa jumpa doktor.

bukan demam, batuk & selsema dia aja yang buat aku risau. saiz badan dia yang kecil & kurus halus juga buat aku risau. semakin kerap dia sakit semakin lama aku rasa aku harus akui satu fakta yang selama ni aku cuba tepis. the fact that she may have inherited my asthmatic. maybe sebab dia ni aktif jadi aku tak realised yang dia ada asthmatic symptom, aku pun kurang ambil peduli as long as aku nampak dia aktif, keletah, banyak mulut.

i brought her to see a doctor tengahari tadi. confided to him my fears, had him to look through yaya's past medical records, he asked me few question related to yaya's coughing pattern and other siblings health condition. his conclusion is that yaya could have what the medical term classified as mild asthmatic with the symptoms such as dry (without mucus) persistent cough in the middle of the night which continues until the child eventually vomit. this is very true in yaya's case. tengah malam kalau dengar dia batuk teruk secara tiba2 mesti cepat2 bangunkan dia coz in most times dia akan muntah. masa mula2 dulu kami (me & hubby) pelik juga tak pernah jumpa orang batuk sampai muntah. lama2 bila dah terbiasa kami put it down to maybe yaya ni lain dari orang lain. but now we know better.

in fahmi's case pulak the symptom is more physical sebab dia kena eczema. sekurang-kurangnya jelas dan terang untuk kami tahu yang fahmi memang mewarisi asthmatic aku. dan eczema dia sekarang tak teruk sangat, well at least tidak seteruk masa dia baby dulu - sampai melecet dan bernanah hijau kat keliling leher, pelipat kaki & celah kangkang. kesian kat dia dulu.

dalam usaha aku nak memahami apa itu mild asthmatic symptom aku google and found this article. i'm going to paste it here, hope this article can help all parents out there yang berhadapan dengan anak2 yang ada mild asthma to undertsand it better. at least now aku dah tak rasa bengang lagi bila tengok yaya batuk teruk sampai muntah. and i know how i can help her go thorugh this phase.

Craving For Cheese Cake

i have this craving for cheese cake this week. not just any cheese cake but oreo cheese cake. this craving comes with the wanting to bake my own oreo cheese cake. walaupun kami masih lagi ban US product but because of this nagging craving, i had to make an exception to lift the ban on oreo biscuits, temporarily (bleh caya ke? ;-P) until my craving subsided.

i was never a fan of cheese cake, couldn't really stomach them because it is too rich with cheese. thus, i never keep a cheese cake recipe. but having tasted oreo cheese cake from secret recipe few weeks ago, i kind of like it but just a little at a time. am getting tired of making the trip to secret recipe just to get a slice of oreo cheese cake, so i baked them last night according to a very easy peasy recipe i found at myResipi.

ignore the slightly burnt marks on the far side of the cake, it deosn't effect the taste of the cake anyway. 3 kuntum fondant roses nak menginterframe, which one paling cantik? the one in the middle ke? hehe roses tu interframe untuk tolong tutup burnt marks hahaha. but i'm baffled to see the burnt marks how the heck does that happened when i used bottom heat only from start to finish. owh whatever, next time just for precaution i'll cover the top of the pan with aluminium foil.

Tiring Weekend

it was a tiring weekend due to a string of wedding invitation, engagement, family visit etc.

saturday afternoon, we attended hubby's friend's wedding in taman andalas, klang. i was torn between attending to this reception or the one in rawang. in the end i'm glad i attended this one. sebab nasi beriani nya sedap! heheh... i was told that the cook operated a nasi beriani gam restaurant in muar. having eaten the nasi beriani i've no doubt about his reputation. masa mula2 nasi disendukkan ke pinggan aku pun aku dah boleh agak nasi kali ni bukan sebarang nasi minyak - bau & rupa dah menggambarkan rasa. pastu dihidangkan cendol & tapai pulut pula. tak sia2 lah aku menahan lapar dari pagi :-)

aku tak sempat breakfast pagi sabtu tu bukan pasal apa, sibuk dengan baking project lagi. once dah mengadap kek terus macam melekat gitu tak boleh bergerak. niat asal nak lapiskan kek dengan choc buttercream je, tetiba naik syok pulak terus frost the whole cake. by the time siap tu dah masuk tengahari terus bersiap2 nak gi kenduri dan hantar kakak cuti hujung minggu.

balik dari kenduri kawin aku rasa letih dan mengantuk sesangat. ikut mata rasa nak tidur je sepuas2nya. hubby bawa fahmi took a nap. tinggal aku dan yaya je. itulah masa yang sesuai untuk aku bake fruit cake pulak. since kakak takde semua kerja aku kena buat sendiri so kukorbankan rasa mengantuk terus masuk dapur balik. lagipun nak tunggu fruit cake siap makan masa 4jam. so bolehlah in between tu aku siapkan lauk dinner sekali. nasib yaya behave tak ganggu mama.

the next day, ahad pulak kami attend kenduri engagement my cousin kat hulu langat. pasal tu lah kerja2 baking harus disiapkan sabtu sebab ahad banyak lagi aturcara lain. lepas kenduri kami pergi melawat my uncle yang sakit kat taman perkasa, hulu langat.

lama sungguh kami kat majlis kenduri tu dari tengahari sampai ke petang. letih menunggu majlis over... letih melayan kerenah budak2. mood aku memang tak berapa ok semalam. sebab sebaik je sampai kat rumah cousin, yaya memuntahkan isi perutnya dalam kereta. habis baju gown dia jadi tadahan muntah, nasib kereta mama tak terpalit muntah. cett! mama pentingkan kereta dari anak.

disebabkan kami tak bawa baju spare terpaksa lah aku heret yaya yang topless sekadar berseluar pendek dan berkasut pink bling bling ke surau untuk dibersihkan. aduhhh tebal muka 10inci, harap kasut je lawa. sudahnya yaya dipinjamkan t-shirt hijau serindit courtesy anak kakak aku yang setahun muda dari dia. hmm sepanjang majlis tu berlari2an lah dia dengan t-shirt hijau, seluar pendek & kasut pink. elok sikit dari kunta kinte.

sebab my parents & adik and his family pun datang ke majlis tu, jadi meriahlah anak2aku bermain2 dengan cousin dia semua. sampai naik pening kejiranan taman sri nanding digemparkan dengan kehadiran sekumpulan budak kecil yang tak makan saman. mana tak nya, budak2 tu main sampai masuk bawah meja. adehhh malu omak. on the way balik ke subang, dua2 tergolek dalam kereta. emmph... bila dah penat and puas bermain, masuk kereta je terus zzZzZzzz.

Gara-Gara Tiramisu

i attended a company function last night. leaving behind my two children with kakak. initially i thought of going straight to the hotel from office but then i had forgotten to bring along my baju for the function. bagus juga at least i can make a quick trip back jenguk anak2 sekejap. kesian kat budak berdua tu, daddy takde outstation mama pulak pergi function.

nasib kubaik kali ni sebab function habis awal dan aku telah berjaya menyelinap keluar tanpa disedari bos. itupun sebab aku cabut lari tanpa minta diri secara proper coz i know had i bid him goodnight mesti dia suruh aku berkaraoke dulu. he had been trying to get me to sing for a long long time. cukuplah sekali dia kenakan aku nyanyi lagu dangdut amelina berduet dengan mat london masa function kat rumah dia dulu... malu giler okeh! gone the prim and proper me. dia cukup suka buat orang jadi joker. dan aku yang skema ni cukup tak suka jadi pak lawak dia. kalau aku memang 'kaki' karaoke or reti menyanyi takpe jugak.

sampai kat rumah both my children dah tidur. awal pulak diaorang tidur malam ni. kalau tak pukul 11.30mlm masih meloncat2 atas katil naik pusing kepala aku dibuatnya. ingatkan balik awal dapatlah tidur awal, tapi rupa2nya tak boleh lena. ni semua gara2 tiramisu yang aku makan kat function. salah aku sendiri dah tahu tak boleh minum kopi gi makan tiramisu yang ber'kopi'/caffeine. sampai ke pagi dok tidur2ayam je. huwarghh tu pasal mataku sembab dan lebam pagi ni.

yup i don't drink coffee, sama juga aku tak minum tea/nescafe. my body is totally coffee and caffeine free. sejak zaman budak2 lagi aku tak sentuh coffee/nescafe. pertama sebab aku memang tak suka taste dia. kedua sebab aku tak suka minum/makan sesuatu yang boleh buat aku jadi ketagih... hehe. sebab ketiga yang menyebabkan aku terus stay away from coffee/nescafe is because boleh menyebabkan aku sakit kepala (migrain) while tea buat perut aku masuk angin, memulas & senak. dan tak suka sungguh kalau pergi majlis or rumah bos kena paksa minum coffee/nescafe.

pernah aku terpaksa minum nescafe kat rumah orang sebab nak jaga hati tuan rumah, aku politely ask for plain water tapi maybe tuan rumah rasa segan nak hidangkan plain water jer. nak tak nak tekak kering aku teguk juga sikit. terus berdenyut2 kepala aku. ada juga yang pandang aku semacam sebab aku cakap aku tak minum kopi/teh.

pernah juga masa budak2 aku terpaksa minum teh kat rumah orang sebab pak cik aku bising nanti tuan rumah kecil hati, terus aku kena migrain... lepas kejadian tu kalau ikut my mom pergi rumah orang mak aku sendiri yang akan bagi excuse for me for not taking minuman yang tuan rumah sedia kan.

aku tau sesetengah orang mungkin melabel aku cerewet bab makan. tapi itupun sebab aku tau what is good and not good for my body. mil sampai hari ni masih tak tahu kenapa aku tak minum kopi/teh. lagipun, just because i don't drink coffee/nescafe/tea doesn't turn me into an alien kan?

Quite Sunday

hubby left to penang for a 1 week outstation trip yesterday afternoon right after zohor. *sigh* i will never get use to his being away from home. and i will never stop fretting over it setiap kali dia bagitau aku jadual outstation dia. after almost 7 years been married to him i should have get used to it. but i haven't! padahal sejak mula berkawan dengan dia lagi aku dah tau semua tu. dan masa kami belum ada anak pun aku dah selalu kena tinggal. clingy sangat aku ni, isyy teruk.

pagi tadi aku bangun tidur betul2 lewat. badan kepenatan sebab jumaat malam tidur lewat, sibuk menyiapkan tempahan kek untuk dua orang customer. itupun balik kerja hari jumaat tak sempat makan terus sambung mendeco kek. sabtu pulak kerja so takde peluang nak berehat2. wahhh manja betul badan aku ni ye.

since hubby leaving tengahari aku pun tak masak banyak2. i just made spaghetti bolognese with meatballs which the children and hubby enjoyed so much. cuma kali ni sos bolognese kurang harum sebab takde fresh rosemary, aku cuma guna dried rosemary je.
after hubby left, fahmi dah mula merangka aturcara kami. entah kenapa dia tak betah duduk dalam rumah. ada2 aja rancangan dia nak ke situ ke sini. malangnya petang tadi hari hujan. tak jadi keluar ke mana2, dalam kesejukan lepas hujan kami anak beranak makan nasi goreng tom yam je kat rumah ;-)sempat bergaya dengan safety helmet daddy