I would love to tell you all wonderful stories of the past 2 years but I can not. I am sorry to be cryptic. For now just know Lori and the kids are in Canada having an eventful summer.

love to you all.

Lots of things happened really fast. Lori was rushed back to Canada to deal with this discovery. We thought that it was going to be three days until Danny and the kids joined her in Canada but that was not what happened.

Lori has had more than 5 months back in Canada away from Danny and the kids.

How many health problems has she found and dealt with?

Diabetes! under control and monitoring.

ADHD! meds and tools to deal with challenges.

Sleep apnia! Cpap machine.

Cancer and recovery! and complications during recovery. time and more time. The Cancer Lori had was removed and not traveled anywhere else. So the all clear has been given for no other treatment. We are just waiting for the wounds to close up from the surgery.

There is too much to deal with all at once. Danny and the kids moved from Thailand to Malaysia. Next month Lori makes the journey to join them.

Just over 6 months apart is too long.

I look forward to updating this blog with some wonderful news about life in Malaysia. Until next month, have a lovely time.

Together Forever

On a bright autumn morning at the dawn of the day
I took my girlfriend to a place called Deep Bay
We swam in the sea and I got down on my knees
And nervous and shaking I said to her “Please
Marry me Lori, will you marry me soon?”
She said that she would but only at full moon
We got out the calendar and picked out a date
When the werewolves could howl at the bride until late
Then she had to return to the Fort of St. John
Where she froze in the Artic winter so long
But finally back to Bermuda she set
For a wedding that we can never forget
In the colours of red, black and gold
Two pirates were married, now a story of old
We danced to the band in the bright moonlight
And the fire display was an incredible sight
And a few days later after some last minute packing
We went to a festival at the village of Wacken
We voyaged through fjords to a far distant land
Till the snow and the ice sent us back to England
We flew to the East, to the land of smiles
Where we dug for treasure in the tropical isles
We swam with the elephants and dived in the sea
And picnicked with monkeys in the town of Lopburi
But the hills of Chiang Mai and the seas of Phuket
Were nothing compared to the friends that we met
Then a terrible thing happened, I do now relate
We were sent to the desert of grim Kuwait
The slums of Mahboula were incredibly smelly
But more importantly Lori had a cute baby belly!
We made a tough decision for the good of the child
To Canada Lori must go, to a climate more mild
Miranda was born and Mummy was good
And Daddy flew to see them as soon as he could
When baby was little we decided to drive
And circumnavigate the entire French countryside
Then onto a job in the city of Guanghou
A place that most people simply dont know
It was here that we met friends that we hold very dear
And made some incredible music for over three years
We had some good news on Christmas Day
Lori was expecting another baby – hooray!
We went to the Phillipines for a short vacation
When the disaster happened that ruined the nations
We could not get back as we could not fly
So we went on a quest to the land of Brunei
We visited the rainforest and had a great rout
But we couldnt stay long as our visa run out
We flew to Taiwan and then on to see Kate
Where we stayed for a month – she was so great!
Daddy took Miranda to school and to the park
And the swings every day until it got dark
Then we made a decision that was completely insane
Dan was to go back to China by plane
Lori was to follow but they wouldn’t let her come
So to the north she went to live with her mum
The next months were tough but there was a joyous occasion
When little Freddie popped out with much jubilation
Our story has not ended, there is more to relate
But we’ve entered a void that has caused us to wait
Covid has not beat us – we are still together
We may be apart but I tell you now never
Never again will our family be separated
Never again will this be contemplated
Lori, Miranda, Freddie and Dan
Will be together forever despite travel ban
Together forever through good and bad
Together forever through happy and sad
Together forever when our adventure did start
Together forever till death us do part.

Thank you Danny! I am looking forward to our family reunion.

thanks for having us stay at your home for the last year. I know we never planned on us being here for this long let alone until the summer which is what it is looking like.

Freddie’s update: 6 months old and he can crawl backwards and sideways. He has two bottom teeth and they are sharp! We have started to feed him solid foods. Broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots are the three foods we have tried so far. Freddie is a happy chatty baby. He is playing with his toys and putting things in his mouth. Areas that we are working on: crawling forwards and adding more varieties of food.

Update for Miranda: Miranda is a big sister! She plays nicely with her little brother. She is very interested in feeding Freddie but not so much in eating her own veggies. I have to hide her veggies in her sauce. Miranda has a love for numbers rather than letters but is learning both at home with mom and her tablet apps. We have not been getting outside recently due to the -30ish weather. Miranda is a very physical child; she likes to run, jump,climb, slide, swim and just about anything you can think of that involves moving. Potty training is still ongoing.

Update for Lori: I am in Canada with my two children. I am staying with my mother. I am not pregnant anymore ergo two children. Pregnancy was horrible, labour was fast and traumatic but it is over. I won’t be having anymore children from my body. We have no idea when the family will be reunited. I am very disappointed that it took so long to get Freddie’s birth certificate and passport and now we are stuck in Canada away from Danny. Breastfeeding Freddie is going well except for the teeth coming in earlier than Miranda’s did. Learning curve for me dealing with a baby who isn’t able to let me know that he is going to chomp down instead of feed. We are learning together how to navigate this aspect of breastfeeding. No blood has been drawn.

Update for Danny: Danny has taken to turning our home into the easiest home to manage. Everything has been organized since he returned home to China without having the kids and Lori around to make messes he has made vast steps in getting the house put the way he likes it. He is turning out home into a smart home which will make his life easier. And when the family returns we can spend more time together as everything is organized.

Baby is crying got to go..

This pregnancy was not easy for me. I had a few complications with being pregnant. Gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, cholestasis, and high blood pressure. I also was vomiting from week 7 of pregnancy until a couple days before inducing labour.

When admitted to the hospital I was 35 weeks pregnant when my blood pressure and proteins in my urine and itchy skin made the doctors take notice that I needed to have medical observations and interventions. The last day I before my 36 week started I spent the day on the machine being monitored all day long. It was horrible having a non-stress test all day long. Then at 10 pm having Pitocin given to me to test the Freddie to see if he was strong enough to be birthed vaginally. He passed the test. I went to sleep in the birthing room and proceeded wake every two hours to empty my bladder.

At 6 am I woke to have contractions every 5 minutes for half an hour before going to the shower for another half hour. I returned to the birthing bed and then at 7 am my water broke. When I say broke it gushed; it was like a water balloon that was attached to a hose pipe then the balloon burst with hose on full for what went on and on and on and on.

Then one hour after my water breaking I pushed Freddie out. First his head then his shoulders and finally his belly and he was out on onto my belly. Then they promptly cut his cord and moved him to the blue light warming table to be resuscitated and then straight off to the NICU with a cpap baby mask to help him breath. The gave him an iv and tube down his throat. I got to be with him after I was stitched up.

I cried while they stitched me up. It was horrible having my baby taken out of the room without me nor anybody in my family. I got to hold and breastfeed Freddie at 10 am. I only noticed he had some minor tongue tie after being pressured into giving him a bottle of formula to help his blood sugar level out. Having Freddie born one week before what is considered full term changed the way my baby was monitored and treated. He was the biggest premature baby in the NICU.

Freddie was born 1/2 an oz shy of 9 lbs. Now after one month he weighs 10.5lbs and lost one lb in the first two weeks. So he lost one lb and then gained two and a half pounds. I asked to see the lactation consultant but was not seen before being discharged. I had to stay on meds for one month after release from the hospital and am now finally feeling a bit better. Bleeding has finally stopped too. I was and am not happy about my birthing with Freddie.

My nausea made eating hospital food a horrible experience. I ended up ordering take away Chinese’s food to have for the week at the hospital. I am very glad for the care from all the staff at the hospital for me and my boy. I am glad to be home at my mom’s place recovering from birthing and being able to bond with my two children. Miranda loves to hug her baby brother. Having two children at home is very different than coming home with only one baby. Freddie is more comfortable sleeping on his own for a little bit than Miranda was. I think this has to do with being hooked up to machines and left on his own during the first two hours I was away in the beginning. I hated being apart from him for any length of time.

Wake with a good morning routine.

Eat well. In my case I have had pregnancy sickness well into my 2nd trimester so eating is a bit tricky for me sometimes. A good morning routine for me is : waking before my child, going to the toilet on my own, having something to eat without having someone sitting on me. Getting food ready for the little person in my life for when they wake.

Napping is very important to my life right now. Being pregnant is tiring, not to mention I have a 3 year old at home in quarantine with me.

Wear clean clothing and do laundry. I can probably go a few days in the same clothes but it is not a good idea for feeling healthy.

Focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t do. For instance I can cook curry at home, I can’t eat with my husband. He is not in quarantine with us.

Bedtime routine is important to getting everyone to sleep without having tantrums. Mommy tantrums are worse that 3 year old tantrums. For us bedtime looks like: evening meal, brushing teeth, bathing, dressing for sleep, reading stories with daddy, maybe a video from Netflix, then lights out, and some singing to sleep with a huggle.

Hug/snuggle. This is how I kept sane today.
Not trying to force the child to eat all the foods available. I trust she will eat when she is hungry. I also don’t feed her after we brush our teeth. Maybe water next to the bed table. Potty training is coming along. Not perfect yet but we had a dry night last night so we have a start.

Limiting my expectations of the day has really helped me slow down and enjoy the time with my mom and daughter.

Also keeping in contact with the spouse helps to keep to twice a day helps manage time too. Good wishes to you all in quarantine and self isolation let’s keep this virus from spreading anymore than it already has.

Miranda has turned 2 and is a little parrot copying everything she hears. She is obsessed with Peppa pig, to my dismay. She has just come to say it is time for bed.

That is my after dinner rant. The only reason I can write that is because the husband/father is with the child. I am reminding him that it is bath time otherwise bath will be skipped. I don’t mind skipping bath time if the child is not dirty. She is singing along to a Chinese song, wa wa.

I get really tired of keeping everybody on time. On the weekends I like to sit and do nothing. I could happily sit and play games in my PJ’s all day and only make food for myself.  I do enjoy when the partner takes an active roll and decides that it is time to go out and get some food without me and takes our small person with him instead of leaving her with me. (unless she is sleeping)  If she is sleeping it would be nice for me to go outside and have my hands and mind free to do things.

Our child has chosen to skip a bath in favour of  a breastfeed to sleep. I shall return?…

Yes. The young one had a bath, a breastfeed, a giggle, and more breastfeeds and then finally sleep.

A little about what I have been doing. I have joined a karate class.  I made peanut butter at home several times and am getting good at making the nut butters. The Marie Kondo method of tidying has helped me start to get organized. Miranda’s clothes that are too small have been put away and will wait until our second child to be used again. After the next child I will not store the old clothes that our children will have outgrown. I will pass them onto the next people with the small new lives.

I am getting better at getting rid of things that we don’t use, won’t use, and I don’t like. Bringing small joys into the house. I Like the 5 new umbrellas that are rainbow coloured that I got because it is starting to rain.

Oh no. I think I am getting a cold. time for sleep.

Good night all. Sleep as well as you can.

Happy Birthday Husband!

Today you asked for a Game of Thrones Birthday.

Music and a feast is what you have in store for today.

Happy Birthday.