Sunday 28 March 2010

Spent some time in hospital...

With my little Silke, who gave me a huge fright on Tuesday.  She was 100% well on Monday, and then in the night climbed into our bed breathing a bit fast and she seemed to have a chest infection, so in the morning I took her to the dr, who sent her to the children's ward at the Royal Surrey Hospital, who saved her life...

As she had pneumonia, and was having an ashtma attack, and both me and the young stupid gp I took her to was too dumb to realize this.  The fear which gripped me when they told me that she needs to go onto a ventilator as she cannot breathe by herself...  The guilt I am still going through every day because I should have realized sooner.

But I prayed, and the doctors and nurses worked and pumped her veins and lungs with medicine and she amazingly WOKE UP!!  Luckily before they put her in a coma and onto a ventilator - the thought of which fills me with dread.  And 10 minutes after she woke up she stuck her tongue out at the doctor, and asked me to read her the same story I read before she fell asleep again and again.  And told me that she was so tired that she nearly went to sleep forever...

Please look after your children, be paranoid, watch them carefully, waste the doctors time - rather you do than you don't and its too late.

That night they came every hour to nebulise her and check on her when her oxygen levels dropped when she pulled the mask off in her sleep.  I have never experienced such care and attention.  About 4 different doctors also came to see her.  We had our own room and she had CBeebies and a dvd player which made the long days more bearable.  And the staff were sooo patient whether it was taking 15 minutes to talk her into taking her medicine or the physiotherapist playing phone with her for half an hour to listen to her chest in return. I will never forget waking early on the second morning listening to Silke chattering away to the nurse about rabbits and ducks while they were nebulising her.  When they took off her drips she immediately got up and started running around between the play room and her room and her new friend's brother's room.

She bounced back really quickly and it sometimes feels like it wasn't real, maybe just a bad dream.  But it wasn't and I will never forget it.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

My not so latest hobby

I've sold my first cake!!  It came out beautiful though not perfect but much better than my previous efforts.

Let me show you my transition from total amateur to semi-amateur - this Mardi Gras cake was for Mieke's 7th birthday and my first effort as you can see!!!


Then came the fairy castle cake for Silke's 3rd Birthday - this was better and quite cute but still looks a bit wobbly.  The fairies I made from Femo clay so they weren't edible.


Then for Mieke's birthday I made the popcorn cake which was really simple and therefore a great success.




We had a halloween party as well so I made this cake, which the kids loved but still lacks the professional touch!  I'm also glad no one asked to eat the witch as it was made from icing mixed with denture cream!!!



My most recent and best effort - I think!!  Hope the birthday girl loved it too.





I still struggle a bit with putting the icing over the cake properly - its nerve wrecking as I can't get it too not wrinkle and tear and it still cracks a it.  But as soon as you start placing your decorations it looks better.  I learnt to make the roses and ribbon online and just used cutters for the rest.  Decorating this cake took about 4 hours.  Must say its my favourite so far and I can't wait for my next project!!  Which is Silke's cake for her 4th birthday.  No sure what its going to be yet but probably something similar to the above.

Otherwise things are looking up!!  Getting warmer - today at one point it was 16 C and the sun was shining and the people were smiling!  We are going to London this weekend to celebrate hubby's birthday one week early and staying over free at the Marrriot on his points he collects.  We are going a bit mad and I booked a movie, duck tours and sunday lunch.

On Sunday it was Mother's Day here in the UK and Mieke made me a lovely card in which Silke wrote her name beautifully (my baby girl is growing up!).  The also got me an orchid and some choccies and Werner cooked lunch with the help of M&S while if folded the laundry (well you can't have everything). 

Oh and Silke calls a dried apricot a paperclip or a papercut - whichever gets me to apricot faster.  This might be amusing if she wasn't going to school in September!  Oh yes she got into Pewley which I am very happy about but I don't know why as we might be moving to Australia.  What to do, what to do...


Monday 1 March 2010

How the Rabbit got his Ears - A story by Mieke Nel

In the hottest, sandiest desert in the middle of the hottest part of Egypt there lived a rabbit and one day he was walking around Egypt when he bumped into a snake who was drinking by the lake.

The snake suddenly turned round in fright but behind him and rabbit was a stinky smelly, gooy pond of horrible quick sand.  Rabbit's head got pushed in the gooy, smelly, stinky quick sand.  The snake called for help, 'oh best beloved' because snake did not have any legs.

From the snake's hissing call a row of animals paraded to the snake.  Then when everyone started helping the pulled and pulled and pulled until rabbit's head came out of the quick sand.  Before rabbit felt unhappy because his ears were as short as a Boston terrier's but now they were as long as a poodle's tail.

Everyone cheered with delight so rabbit hopped away.  So from now on oh best beloved rabbits have long ears.