2 more cases of Chicken Pox

Ethan and Thaddeus got the chicken pox - exactly 2 weeks after Sophie got hers. The doc says it's about 2 weeks incubation and it was just about right.

Interesting thing is, Ethan actually had his vaccination, so we were surprised he got it. He has no fever, and has fewer spots (though not little, but fewer compared to Sophie). I was told that those who had the vac are not guaranteed 100% immunity, so if they did get it, it is not so bad.

Sigh.

And then there were none...

All the fishes died on Tuesday. None remained.

What I Did on My Birthday

For those of you who don't know, yes, I look like I am 3o years' old, and I feel younger than that actually. This is the cake that SG bought to celebrate my birthday - a Strawberry ice-cream cake from Swensen's.

After breakfast at Chinatown, we headed straight for Pasir Ris Kid's Kampong, which Ethan & Sophie had gone before as a field trip when they were both in Eager Beaver. We found our way there, and here are some pics to go. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and we brought back at least 30 fishes (Ethan had 16, Sophie had 10, and Zack had >10).

The good thing about this place is that after you catch the fish in a 'longkang'-type stream and it is designed in such a way that young kids can simply move around the stream. It is a tedious task catching the smart fish! Once you are done, you can bag them and bring your catch home! So, we had 3 bags - 1 for each child! Next, you get to feed the fishes with the fish food provided (in a separate feeding area), and if daring enough, you can let the fishes kiss you. Zack even touched a number of them.....they were so excitable fish! There were also some geese and rabbits in some enclosures in the area for kids to see. It was like a mini-farm.

The fishes are now temporarily housed in a transparent plastic container we found at home. Daddy bought a pump so that they can survive at least a few more days. It hasn't been 2 hours, and I can already smell the water! Eeeks...have to think of a solution - the kids love it so much. We couldn't change the water, because we didn't buy the de-cholrinating drops, so we can't possibly put them in freshwater!

Anyway, I must say for $10 each kid, and $4 for the pail and net set, it was a worthwhile investment to see the kids enjoy themselves so much. Check out the pictures.

Sophie has the Chicken Pox!

I can't bear to take a picture of Sophie. She went to school on Monday with a pimple just above her lips, and teacher Margaret saw it (in her routine check), and asked me about it. I told her it was a pimple and that it was healing, and nothing to it. There was only 1.

On Tuesday, I was about to send Sophie to school, and when I got out of the car outside her school and removed her seat-belt, I saw that she had a few more spots on her neck, and on a hunch, I checked her body and found out that she had more spots! It was chicken pox!

I brought her to the doctor, and by the time we saw the doctor (no. 16 on the queue), she had more spots popping out which I had not seen earlier the same morning. It was terrible. Today is day 5, and she seems to be at maximum 'pop'. It was only today that I realised that she didn't have any chickenpox vaccination taken (I thought all along that I had given her the vaccine!!!). Well, I checked her health booklet and she hadn't. I felt so bad for her. The doc said that if she had taken the vaccine, it wouldn't be that bad, and that she would only get some spots. She has it everywhere - literally.....even her tongue and lips! The anti-itch medicine doesn't seem to be working much......

My only consolation is that she is getting it now than later. I hear that kids have less chance of scaring if they get it very young...not sure how true that is......

Crossing my fingers now, and wondering if the boys will get the pox - doc says it takes 1 week to incubate. Infectious period is 5 days before pox appears and 5 days from onset (until pox dries up). Thaddeus is most susceptible since he has no vaccine...the big boys had theirs.

Zachary's 5th Birthday

I bought him a cake to celebrate Zack's birthday in his school. It was a 2kg "Lightning McQueen" vanilla sponge with fresh cream cake. Yummy!

Ethan is Assistant Monitor

It is Term 2 in ACS (P), and Ethan has been appointed to be the Asst Monitor in his Pri 1B class. Last term, he was Locker Monitor - so cute. He is the person that ensures that all the kids get help when they are at the lockers - either opening the lock, or putting things in or taking things out, etc etc.

His form teacher mentioned to the parents during our orientation, that all the children in class will have a turn to be a leader in some way.

So, it is a privilege to be an Asst Monitor, because only 4 students will get this chance (1 per term).