Ok, I admit that maybe I am a teeny-weeny obsessed with pirates these days. My sister insists that I am, and although she was down with a nasty bug, managed to send me this email about the “Pirates vs Ninja” debate.

Its rather interesting if you asked me. The pirates are winning, with 263 votes, as opposed to the ninjas with 258. Here are some of the insightful comments on debate:

For the Pirates:

” Ah, the anachronism that is the ninja! Are there even any ninjas
left in the world, to fight the pirates? I am pretty sure that
the true ninjas went the way of the samurai (speaking of which,
in the movie THE LAST SAMURAI, ninjas and samurais duke it out,
and I am pretty sure that was anachronistic too) I say NAY!

Yet modern pirates abound! See The Outlaw Sea: A World of
Freedom, Chaos, and Crime by William Langewiesche. Pirates still
kick trash, even in a world of atom bombs and blackberries. In
fact, pirates probably use blackberries. Blackberries, eyepatches
and parrots. Yar, matey! “

For the Ninjas:

“Ninjas have the advantage on land. I mean, you can’t even see
them until it’s too late, and then you’ll never see them because
you have no head.

But on sea, pirates are dangerous. But a ninja could sneak on
board. And pirates are too loud. Yell and say yar, and are
usually drunk, so it is all ninja!”

[tags]pirates, convince me, pirate vs ninja, debate [/tags]

For the invitations, I pulled out my inner-Martha and made “message in a bottle” invitations. It involved a couple of nights work (those short precious hours between the time when the children have gone to bed and tired Mothers cant keep their eyes open for one minute longer), a printer, left-over coffee, tea, and my trusty stove’s gas burner. Throw in some sand and old shells lying around the house (from the last beach holiday), a bit of string, glass mineral water bottles, and hey, presto!

As luck would have it, both mine and my husband’s printer were acting extremely temperamental (and headed for the junk yard), so I went ovet to my sister’s house, parchment in hand. We found the perfect font, and in a few minutes, cooked up the wording:

Ahoy Matey!
Captain Natasha will be in harbour
On February 11th, 2007
at three o’clock in the afternoon
in search of a motley crew
and will navigate her way to
The Pooldeck (of our apartment building)
to meet suitable recruits
for a swashbuckling adventure bash!!

No liver-belly cowards or landlubbers need attend.

Now soak in coffee, burn the edges, tie and stuff in the bottle, seashells and sand. Easy and fun. And expect to get lots of compliments from the parents!! Oh, and I also put the bottle in a brown paper bag, with a “jolly roger” drawn on with a felt tipped pen. Those skulls get easier to draw once you’ve done them at least 10 times.

[tags]invitation, message in a bottle, pirate, birthday[/tags]

All is finally back to normal here at home. The kids are healthy, Daddy is back from his trip, and Mom is back to pirate mode. One of my major coups this week has been finding the perfect birthday cakes, and thanks to my internet-research-savvy sister, she found me a girl who makes the most fabulous birthday cakes and pretty decent prices.

I love to bake, but in all honesty, one of those fancy “themed” or shaped cakes are totally beyond me. I’ll just leave that to the experts, thank you very much. So when I found this girl called Erika, (a pastry chef in her twenties, baking from home) who could pull off not just the cakes, but matching cupcakes and cookie lollipops in pirate theme, I was thrilled. She sent me a few sketches for approval, and asked for any other input I may have to make the day as special as she could for the kids.

A few more sketches and emails later, we were set! The pirate cake is actually going to be a huge treasure chest, with booty richly overflowing out. But thats not all. Places on a cake board decorated like a desert island beach, she is going to make an edible replica of the treasure map I drew for the party! Add to that some mini-moulded pirate candles we bought to place around the map (5, of course), and we’re set. Exciting stuff aaargh!

[tags]pirate, pirate birthday, pirate cake[/tags]

Funny how coincidences occur. So just when my daughter and I had caught this strange and miserable bug that little O had, I open a page of last month’s issue of Parents magazine and there it was, an article on “Know The Bad Tummy Bugs” or something to that effect. And there it was, the Norovirus, the bad guy who had invaded our bodies.

Thats a photo of him above by the way, in all his grim 3D glory. Heres what you need to know, as it is a very common virus:

Norovirus is the most common cause of infectious gastroenteritis in England and Wales. Although relatively mild, norovirus illness can occur at any age because immunity to it is not long-lasting. The disease was historically known as “winter vomiting disease” due to its seasonality and typical symptoms. Outbreaks of Norovirus gastroenteritis are common in semi-closed environments such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and cruise ships.

How does Norovirus spread?

The virus is easily transmitted from one person to another. It can be transmitted by contact with an infected person; by consuming contaminated food or water or by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of norovirus infection will begin around 12 to 48 hours after becoming infected. The illness is self-limiting and the symptoms will last for 12 to 60 hours. They will start with the sudden onset of nausea followed by projectile vomiting and watery diarrhoea. Some people may have a raised temperature, headaches and aching limbs. Most people make a full recovery within 1-2 days, however some people (usually the very young or elderly) may become very dehydrated and require hospital treatment.

[tags]norovirus, stomach virus, kids disease[/tags]

What is it about germs that make them spread like wildfire, especially with kids? While we were at hospital Dr.J warned me to try and refrain from getting too close to O, and not kissing him or sharing drinks, food and so on. Was she insane? Did she think I would stay at an arm’s length of my son who was in hospital for the first time? Bring on the outbreak and let me kiss my baby.

By the next morning, O had started to recover fast. After finishing his bowl of clear soup, he moved on to some white bread (I made the exception because of the circumstances), and by lunchtime, he was up and about, roaming the pediatric ward while I held his I.V. drip.

Big sis came to visit with Grandma, and despite more stay-away warnings from Dr.J, she promptly jumped into the hospital bed with her little brother (to his delight!) snuggeling to watch the Playhouse Disney channel, which we don’t get at home. Being the affectionate (well, sometime) bis sister that she is, I think she felt sorry for her little brother (with a needle and tube stuck on his hand, no less) and wouldn’t stop hugging and kissing him. When it was time for Grandma to take her to lunch at the mall she refused to leave and eventually was persuaded to go downstairs to the hospital cafeteria.

By the following day, you can guess what happened. O was nearly back to his old cheery self, my daughter was vomiting and I had diarrhea.

[tags]outbreak, hospital, virus[/tags]

Like they say, theres a first time for everything, and it was the first time for me to have one one of my children be admitted to hospital. We were lucky, I suppose, as the pediatric floor was initally full, and Dr.J told us we’d have to head for the emergency room until a bed became vacant. A few minutes before we left the house, however, she texted me to say to head straight for the admissions desk, as a room was now available. I was about as chuffed as one could be when their child is about to be admitted to hospital. Relieved that we wouldnt be spending a good part of the night at the emergency room, but still feeling pretty anxious.

The pediatric ward was the same as all the other hospital floors, except for colourful animal signs as the room numbers (ours was a panda), and a cheery-looking playroom which unfortunately had a forbidding sign taped on the door saying “closed for general cleaning”. Hurumph. My sister helped us check in and get sorted in the room (hubby is abroad - dang! of all times when I could do with husbandly support), and within minutes the resident doctor and some nurses came in to see my little O.

Weak as ever, O was a dream when they put in the i.v. drip, with hardly any complaining except for a small cry when the needle went in (this impressed the doctors who were expecting the usual struggle at this particular floor). Within minutes he was fast asleep. Probably from the sheer exhaustion of the day, poor thing. I was pretty beat myself, so after a quick trip to the basement cafeteria for some supplies, I watched American Idol until I fell asleep only to be awoken by a nurse two hours later.

[tags]sick kids, hospital, pediatric ward[/tags]

Amid all our pirate excitement ( We had been practicing our pirate lingo at home, the birthday girl happily calling everyone in our household “Landlubber!“), I came home (with my find for the day no less, gold and black pirate hand hooks on sale for just 50 cents each!) to find my nearly-two-year-old boy (also a celebrant-to-be), vomiting.

Our nanny said that it was the second time that day, and she didnt’ seem to be too concerned. We gave him some water, and 5 minutes later he vomited it out. Then we tried juice. It came out. Then an ice lolly. Out. Ice chips. Out. More water. out. This went on for the next 2 hours. He was vomiting absolutely everything within minutes, it was of the frightening “projectile” sort.

I had of course called my pedia Dr.J by now, who told me that if I wasnt able to replace what he was vomiting out in the next hour or two, he’d probably have to be admitted to hospital that evening. Two hours later it was the same. He was vomiting every single thing that went in his mouth. He was also criying by now, and saying “Mommy, owie!”. It was heartbreaking. After a few more calls to Dr.J, I called my Mother to come and spend the night at our place and we headed for the hospital.

[tags]vomiting, sick kids, virus[/tags]

If you’ll notice from my previous posts, despite my pirate-fervor, my ability to “piratespeak” is simply pathetic. I can muster an “aarrgh” or a “shiver me timbers” with as much pirate gruff as that chap Orlando Bloom….which is no way the mother-pirate of the pirate lass celebrant is meant to be.

So getting into the spirit of things, I started doing more research on brushing up my “pirate”, and just discovered that “Speak Like A Pirate Day” occurs on September 19th, the day after my birthday! Lovely. Why have a holiday for these romanticized skurvy-ridden criminals? Heres what the folks at International Talk Like A Pirate Day convincingly say:

Make no mistake. We do. But it’s a little hard to articulate why, especially when you’ve made the mistake of referring to your wife as a scurvy bilge rat and tried to order her back into the galley.

Talking like a pirate is fun. It’s really that simple.

It gives your conversation a swagger, an elán, denied to landlocked lubbers. The best explanation came from a guy at a Cleveland radio station who interviewed us on the 2002 Talk Like a Pirate Day. He told us we were going to be buried by people asking for interviews because it was a “whimsical alternative” to all the serious things that were making the news so depressing.

In other words, silliness is the holiday’s best selling point.

Before we go any further, there’s something we need to be clear about. Pirates were and are bad people. Really reprehensible. Even the most casual exploration of the history of pirates (and believe us, casual is an accurate description of our research) leaves you hip deep in blood and barbarity. We recognize this, all right? We aren’t for one minute suggesting that real, honest-to-God pirates were in any way, shape or form worth emulating.

So what is it exactly that we’re celebrating here, if not pirates? What, you’re wondering, is the point?

We’re going to be painfully honest here, perhaps fatally so.

The point is, there is no point.

Its the last line that sold me. I love a little nonsense in my sometime serious world of parenting. Besides, it will thrill my little sea urchins em sure. Next post get ready for my favourite pirate lingo.

[tags]talk like a pirate day, pirate talk[/tags]

After my soon-to-be 5-year-old saw a fabulous pirate girl costume at our local party shop, it was a done deal. Its going to be a pirate party!! Luckily for Mom, the shop was on 50% off (hurrah!), so we stocked up on plates, hats, cups and so on. Next up was research time on the internet, as I was more of a girly kid in my youth, preferring princesses and castles to dirty, brazen-mouth pirates. I think my daughter takes after my hubby in that respect!

Online, I found some pretty great resources, like Birthday Party Ideas, which I would highly recommend for any parent planning any party. Written by parents who so kindly share their experience with loads of tips and advice, the site has all the birthday party themes any kid would want, with over 150 categories of fantastic birthday party ideas. I love it!!

For Pirate Kids party fayre, the site Pirate Party Food has some easy kid-friendly recipes to give you some creative ideas when planning for the party’s menu.

More ideas which came in handy were found at Boardman’s Birthday Party Ideas, like some thorough instructions for the invitations like how you should dip the paper in coffee for that old ragged look, and very pirate-y wording like:

“Aye…..ye be invited fer some birthday spirits at Captn Tyler’s Buccaneer Bash
Chart yer course fer the “location” ? day of month
We be a meetin at “time” fer some swashbuckling fun, grub and kiddie spirits.
Wave yer flag if ye be attendin or hav yer mum send message by yer phone to “number”
Sees ye there…..aarrgghh!

Yesterday we hit the shops in search for pirate loot for the prizes etc, and although we did find a good amount of stuff, I’m still kicking myself for not being more organized and getting stocked up at Halloween when all the pirate-y goods like skeletons, skulls and so forth were everywhere. But such is the last-minute decision making of 4-year-olds! I’ll have to search for my inner Martha now. Aaaarrgh!

[tags]Pirate party, kids’s party, birthdays, 5th birthday[/tags]

With Christmas, New Year’s and The Three Kings come and gone, most parents are sighing with relief that the frenzy of decorating, shopping, cooking, organizing and so on is officially over. NOT at our household. Why? Because in a couple of weeks time, I’ll have to be sending out the invites for BOTH by kids’ birthdays, which means more shopping, more cooking and a lot of organizing. Sigh.

My two childrens’ birthdays are one day apart. It could have been on the same day (owing to a scheduled c-section for baby # 2), but due to a mass consensus by friends and family around the globe, we decided that having their own special days would probably be what they would want later on. Two years later, I can’t help but wonder if we made the right decision. Surely a “same birthday” would mean one day of festivities (okay, two if it falls on a weekday and so theres the actual one plus the party?) rather than the double/quad celebrations I will face for the next 20 years (or more?).

Not that I’m complaining. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll be able to tell by now that I’m the kind of Mom who just thrives on creating happy (indulgent?) childhood memories. Unbirthday parties, crafts and baking, and frequent special “mommy day” at the mall complete with a toy, ice cream and a ride on the carousel. So, a party (or two) with all the trimmings is indeed de rigeur in my household.

In my 5 years as a parent, I’ve learnt the ins and outs of birthday planning the hard way, which includes various mistakes like a too-hard treasure hunt (where the kids couldnt find one dang clue) and inviting too many big kids (when the Barney mascot got mauled at my daughter’s 2nd) to name but a few. Last year’s bash, where my daughter turned 4 and my son 1, was a Powerpuff/Rowdyruff swimming party complete with puppet show and PPG mascot (who thankfully did not get mauled but did a very weird dance that made me nervous). It was nowhere as insane as my daughter’s 2nd (the one with the over-8’s), but it was still pretty crazy. And even if they shared the “big party” (not easy to do theme-wise with a girl and a boy, mind you), we still had to do 2 other ” actual day” celebratory planning. This year, I hope to put some of what I’ve learnt to good use and stay small and simple.

So on that note, and those two uber-special days in February drawing near, let me welcome you to The Land Of Birthdays here at the Parenting Blog!! (if you hate birthdays, please stay away from this blog because this WILL be my obsession for the next few weeks).

[tags]Birthdays, kids parties[/tags]