Chicken Soup

Image googled

Semalam buat pertama kali Z makan chicken soup disekolah - ayam katok!!! Arrgghh tension x habis lagi mama nih ;(

Masa mama pegi jemput Z ptg semalam, mama perasan Z pakai baju n seluar spare. Cikgu cakap Z muntah lepas tea time, and then afternoon snack pun Z muntah. So mama tanya, what did he had for his tea? Dengan selamba cikgu cakap ' oh he had chicken soup, we just want to try something new for him today. Its good for him to taste different type of foods. But he didnt like it'. Mama macam blur2 lagi time tu, sebab risaukan Z muntah2 (mama selalu phobia bila Z muntah sebab it could be early sign of blockage SBO). Mama tanya la is there big lump in his soup? cikgu kata tak, they pureed the soup. Ok fine.. terus mama siap2kan Z and keluar kelas.. Masa tu baru terperasan... WHAT? CHICKEN Soup???? DAMN!!

Terus mama pegi bilik manager and asked her to investigate. Dia call cikgu Z utk confirmation, cikgu cakap YES, its CHICKEN soup. Oh my words.. Dia cakap dia akan investigate how it happen and will let me know.

So pagi tadi jumpa manager, dia explained. Katanya chef cuti semalam, and replacement tu 'tak perasan' bab halal. Cikgu kelas pun baru lagi kan.. dia memang ambik jer apa chef bagi, sebab chef yg patut tahu all childrens diet.. Manager cakap Z only took few spoons before he throw up. She promise it would never happen again. Nasib baik la jugak Z muntahkan.. 

Sigh.. bab halal haram ni memang mencabar betul especially when you are in non muslim country.. Mama boleh bertahan lagi bila diorang buat sambil lewa jer dengan Z.. sabar.. tapi bila bab makan nih, adoii.. jadi darah daging kot.. huhuhuhu..

Sekolah Z memang ada chef (professional) yang sediakan makanan untuk diorang. Lunch and tea time la yang dia akan masak2. breakfast n snacks makan cereal n buah2 jer.. Lunch mama memang masak n buatkan bekal untuk Z. Chef cuma perlu panaskan jer.. Untuk tea time tu mama dah pesan setakat vegetarian soup tu boleh la bagi Z. Tapi on other menu, just give him yogurt or puding (soya). Snacks takpe la memang buah2 jer.. (And we still pay bloody same fees as other kids).

Pastu untuk setiap meals, diorang akan guna personal mat untuk each kids so tak mixed up. Ramai jer dalam kelas Z yg ada special dietary requirement. No dairy ke.. no gluten ke.. certain2 allergy like egg ke.. or macam Pooja, no meat. Kalau takde special requirement, placemat kaler biru. Z punya macam kat bawah ni. And they still gave him chicken soup??? AAAA tension!

Cikgu baru lagi

OMG tatau ler berapa kali dah cikgu kelas Z bertukar (cikgu kelas, bukan cikgu khas)

Mama lupa pulak apa nama cikgu baru Z, but first impression I think I could trust her. This is the first time in 6/7 months that I feel ok with his teacher. Tu pun cikgu tu cakap dia maybe temporary jer kat kelas Z sebab cikgu kelas Z (Ciara) tgh holiday. Cikgu baru ni transferred from other branch and she used to teach pre-school class. Kalau cikgu preschool normally they already have degree in child edu. That’s why she looks very professional perhaps.

Bukan mcm cikgu2 kelas Z sekarang. Ciara tu ntah la, mama pun x kenal sangat dia. Tetiba jer tgk dia dah ada dalam kelas Z. Ganti Cikgu Kathy ke apa ntah yg dulu nih. cikgu tu dah berhenti lama, then cuma cikgu Emma sensorang jer jadi main cikgu kelas Z, while being helped by other teachers (rotation). As a result kelas Z sejak 2-3 bulan lepas mmg porak peranda. Cikgu Ciara tu pun baru sebulan jer keje rasanya.. Cikgu Ciara ni la yang mama kasik warning last week sebab tak pujuk Z menangis tu.

Sorang lagi cikgu kelas Z nama Emma. Hmm.. what can I say about cikgu Emma.. Dia tu School’s supervisor. Honestly, dari awal lagi mama menyampah dengan dia. Nampak sangat fake. Papa pun dah pernah Nampak kepalsuan dia. Bukan lah dia marah2 Z or what (at least not to my knowledge), tapi dia jenis yg peramah mulut manis depan parents jer, belakang parents siap jeling2. How can u trust a person like that? Pastu kalau pegi amik Z tu, Nampak jer kita, terus la dia main2 bergurau senda dengan Z. Padehal dari jauh mama dok intai, Z main sorang jer sebelum tu, tak dihiraukan pun.. Ni bukan sekali dua. Memang banyak kali sangat dah. Dengan parents lain pun dia buat. Semalam masa mama dok borak dengan cikgu Yvonne, cikgu Emma lalu. Z dari jauh dah sengih2 sambil flapping his hands happily while looking at cikgu emma tu. Z will do that when he is excited to see the person. Tapi cikgu emma buat tatau jer.. senyum balik pun tak, terus blah mcm Z non existed. Ni kali ke dua mama nampak, but first for Yvonne. Yvonne siap panggil si Emma tu lagi, buat she just left. Mmg Nampak muka Yvonne pun berubah. So rude! Macam ler bisi sangat, padehal dia nak keluar breakfast jer.

Yvonne cakap dia nak pindahkan Z ke kelas lain. Toddler 2^nd stage. Dia cakap bebudak kelas tu besar n matang sikit. And their teacher are better. Dia pun tak suka kelas sekarang nih. Dah apply, hopefully Z will start in March. For the moment kena la bertahan dulu.. Harap2 cikgu baru nih stay lama sikit la kat kelas Z.

Pastu mama bagitau Yvonne yg mama akan keje part time jer lepas nih, so boleh la focus kepada Z’s therapy. Mama harap sangat Z will get 5 days support when he start preschool in Sept. And I hope it will still be Yvonne. Then dia senyum and say, don’t tell Mairead I told you this.. I think Z already being approved for 5 days support in September and highly likely it will be me! Whaaat! YEAY!!! Kalau lah betul, memang mama bersyukur sangat2.. and then she continue, I really want to work with Z. So I have make the proposal to Mairead (Home Teacher / manager for pre schooler in SMH), and they kind of agree with me :) awww.. thank you so much Yvonne. Mama baru jer planning, dia dah 1 step ahead of me. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for sending these nice people to me and Z..

* pssst ni rahsia. Better write in Malay. Z kan dah dapat separuh minggu cikgu khas, so sepatutnya dia hanya layak untuk dapat separuh minggu jugak next year. Geran daripada kerajaan adalah 5 hari seminggu cikgu khas untuk setahun, ataupun boleh buat separuh2 selama dua tahun.

Sekarang Z dapat 3 hari (pagi) dengan Yvonne, and dia juga dapat 2 petang with Siobhan (maksudnya dia dah gunakan kesemua geran pun), and tahun depan (Sept 14) Z akan dapat lagi 5 hari! Daripada forum yang mama ikuti, memang takde lagi budak lain di Ireland nih yang dapat kelebihan macam Z!

isn’t that amazing??? And they are still people yang bising2 suruh kitorang balik msia dengan alasan akan lebih mudah urusan kami sekeluarga. Macam ler diorang ada anak special. And macam ler diorang akan tolong. Tanya khabar pun tidak, cakap jer lebih. Yes we are struggling, but for the moment I think this is the best decision for Z. Lepas nih tak tau macam mana lagi, and I don’t say that we will spend the rest of our life here. No. Just not now..

Sedih ;(

Sedihnya hati mama.. mgu ni cikgu Yvonne cuti, jadi Z extra cranky sikit pagi2. Tadi masa hantar, Z tak nak masuk kelas, sampai mama kena seret. Memula macam biasa la, cikgu ambik, but Z dah cebek2.. mama cepat2 keluar. Then mama pegi simpan stroller kat garden, pastu terdetik nak intai Z semula. So mama masuk balik, and intai from tingkap. Nampak Z tengah melalak tengah2 kelas, cikgu 2 orang pegi balik-pegi balik tengah kemas kelas tak hiraukan dia pun. Kawannya yg dalam gambar tu jer tengah pujuk (sambil tepuk2 kepala Z, which actually make things worst). Lama jugak mama tercegat kat situ, dengan harapan Z nampak mama. Tapi Z mengadap ke arah cikgu2 (sambil mintak perhatian la tu kot). Geram sangat, mama ketuk tingkap kelas tu kuat2, terkejut cikgu2 tu Nampak mama, terus tersegih2 n angkat Z. Mama pandang jer muka dia sambil tunjuk jari penunjuk (means be careful!!). Then mama blah. Huh, GERAM!! Sabar Z, ptg nanti ada cikgu baru datang kan.. walaupun cikgu baru tu tak sebaik Yvonne, sekurang2nya dia akan look after Z sorang jer.. mama pun x sempat berkenalan dgn cikgu baru lagi. 

Hari Selasa, this is only seconds before he burst into tears..

Actually mama dah lama perasan kes2 biarkan budak menagis nih. Especially kelas Z la. Ada lagi 2 org classmate Z pun kaki melalak. Everyday mama pegi (mama hantar Z lambat, pukul 9.30 baru hantar, bebudak lain mostly pukul 8 dah sampai), mesti salah sorang akan nangis, and memang cikgu diorang biarkan jer. Sampai berhingus2 bebudak tu, ntah dah berapa lama menangis pun ntah la. Kesian mama tengok, kadang2 mama pujuk jugak, tapi x boleh la lama2 sebab mama pun kena pegi keje. Terdetik jugak nak bagitau mak diorang, tapi mama pun x kenal sangat diorang, ntah2 memang diorang jenis yg kat rumah pun suka melalak ke kan.. But memang mama sakit hati tengok cikgu2 tu buat tak kisah jer.. kalau diorang tgh buat kerja tu lain la, ni kadang2 dok berborak jer sesama diorang (kalau kat garden especially), pastu 2-3 budak tengah melalak sambil panggil mommy2.. adoiii.. n today it happen to my own son. Ya Allah..  Memang lah tak de kes penderaan, but this is Emotional Abuse! Nak mengadu dekat manager? I think she is more than aware of this situation pun. Tetiap hari berlaku, and she is in the same building, x kan tak pernah nampak. I should go to HSE website and find out how to make the complaint.

Ya Allah.. terima kasih kerana tunjuk kejadian ni depan mata mama. For the last 2-3 days mama masih lagi was2 sama ada nak kerja part time (15hr) or just off terus. And now I am confident. Untuk Z, yes mama akan ambik whole 2 yrs break. Lagi 6-7 minggu jer yer Z. sabar lah yer.. Hopefully next week Yvonne is back, so every day akan ada sorang cikgu khas tolong tengok2 kan Z.

New Teacher!

Mama baru dapat call dari Mairead, dia cakap diorang baru approve extra support untuk Z. So far Yvonne keje 3 morning kan, now they have added another staff yang akan keje 2 afternoon (Thursday/Friday) Maksudnya tiap2 hari akan ada sorang assistant khas untuk Z. Yipppiiiii!!! Kurang sikit kerisauan mama..(Thank God bukan Carol)

Cuma.. Mama dah email bos semalam untuk ambik 2 years Carer’s Break. And he will meet me this afternoon at 4 to discuss about it. Haiyoo.. now macam dah bertukar plan jer nih. Nak piker pun tak sempat, lagi sejam nak jumpa.. haish, macam mana nih..

Plan asal mama, ambik carer break, but working 15 hrs per week (tu maksimum boleh keje kalau on Carer’s Break). So, mama nk mintak keje full day Monday, then half day Tuesday n Wednesday. Z akan pegi sekolah la on those 3 days, but Tuesday n Wednesday tu mama pegi ambik lepas keja tgh hari tu (Skolah still kena bayar full jugak). Another option is, kalau bos mama x approved 15hr tu, mama memang terus cuti jer la. But mama x boleh la nak hantar Z ke Giraffe 3 days per week. Sesia jer la mama cuti kalau nk hantar Z ke sekolah jugak kan. But at the same time, mama tak nak ler kehilangan Yvonne. So ada satu lagi crèche ni, jauh sikit but very similar to Giraffe, and much more cheaper. N they accept half day. Maksudnya mama boleh je hantar Z ke sana 3 half day (hari yg Yvonne keje). Takde la nk bazir bayar full day kan.. So that’s the plan.

Now, kalau dah cikgu lagi satu pun ada, macam mana pulak plan nya nih.. Should I just cancel my intention for Carer’s Break??? I don’t think so. I still need time to bring Z to therapies and all. So I think we just carry on with the plan. Tatau lagi cikgu baru tu best ke tak kan..

Now, I just thinking out loud. Sebab tgh gelabah nih nk jumpa bos kejap lagi, plan pulak berubah last minit.. fuuuhh.. I think I just go with my original plan la..

Mama dah discuss dgn Mairead, and she’s quite surprise jugak, but she also feels that Z will benefit more when I am not working pun. Tu la, lain kali bagitau la awal2 apa plannya.. mama memang dah bagitau dia dari dulu, yang mama akan cuba usahakan untuk cuti or kerja part time. Tapi mama x bagitau la bila.. sigh.. but at least the new cikgu will start from tomorrow until end of February (notis mama from 1^st March). Untuk March on wards, we will think of the best way to deal with it..

But what if bos mama kata x boleh keje 15hrs per week tu? Should I cancel my plan? Mairead kata dia tak sure Safari tu covered under her area or not. Safari tu dublin 2 address nya i.e south side dublin. Mairead cover North side jer (our home n Giraffe is in Dublin 1 ie North side). But dia cakap certain town area still covered just because they are on the border. Kalau mama tak keje and have to pay for Giraffe, i think that's a waste especially when I dont even like their sevice. We probably would end up loosing the support workers. The good thing is, Z will be eligible for free Pre-School in Sept. So, kalau kena berhenti sekolah pun, it only be from March - August. Actually, we probably still afford to pay until June kot. Yvonne keje sampai June jer, July/Aug summer break.. Hmmm.. boleh kot..InsyaAllah...

Pening lalat mama jadinya nih.. 

Semoga Allah permudahkan urusan mama dan Z.. aminnnn…

Update:
Just had the meeting with my boss, he approved the 2 years Carer's Break, but he cant promise the 15 hrs work just because the nature of my work doesnt suit the 2 days (Mama look after couple of project portfolio value over 30m euro) it quite a huge amount and wont suit the 2 days work obviously. And he also dont think he could find a part timer replacement to cover for the 3 days. But it should be easier to offer a 2 year contract to another accountant, which I couldnt agree more. However, he promised to find another post in different sections that might suit. Honestly, mama agak tawar hati. I always told myself, kalau x dapat keje yang mama buat sekarang nih, I dont think I really want to work at all. Better just stay at home and focus on Z for the next 2 years rasanya. Kalau kerja pun, x de la banyak sangat gaji for 2 days tu, and half of it have to be paid to Giraffe pun.. Penat lagi.. Baik dok rumah jer.. Ntah la, tengok la. Yang penting now I can go ahead and prepare the paperwork for the 2 years break. Hopefully dapat lah benefit tu. Amin..
Oh, and I need to organised my portfolio so its easy to hand over to other person soon.. -___-

Cikgu ganti

Cikgu Yvonne terjatuh masa cuti xmas haritu, and hurt her back. So sekarang tgh MC, katanya minggu depan dah boleh keje balik, InsyaAllah..

Sementara cikgu Yvonne cuti ni, Mairead (Home Teacher) arranged for a replacement, cikgu Carol namanya. Honestly, first impression, mama kurang berkenan. She is nice of course, but i just dont see the sparkles in her eyes. Macam nak keje tak nak keje jer.. Mentang2 la temporary, takde langsung initiatif nak get to know Z. Setakat bawak Z main, kasik minum makan n tukar lampin jer la.. tadi pagi (Selasa), Z melalak jer bila mama hantar. I am sure Cikgu Carol tu jaga jer Z dengan baik, cuma.. entahla macam takde beza je dgn cikgu2 lain kat sekolah Z tu. Tak de keserasian kot.

Semoga cikgu Yvonne cepat sembuh.. Z dah rindu. Cikgu Yvonne pun dah 2-3 kali text tanya khabar Z. Mama berdoa semoga tahun depan (Sept'14), cikgu Yvonne masih kerja untuk Z. Mama selalu juga dengar citer kat forum yang ramai parents not satisfied with their SNAs at school. SNA malas buat keje. SNA lagi banyak bantu cikgu kelas dari bantu anak diorang, SNA yang tak tahu apa2.. macam2 lagi lah.. and Alhamdulillah we got the best *SNA/PSW of all at the moment. Tapi bila Z dah masuk sekolah betul nanti (Sep 2015 - Junior Infant School) mesti dia akan dapat SNA baru.. or even worst, x dapat langsung.. sigh.. semoga perjalanan Z dipermudahkan.. amin..

*SNA - Special Needs Assistant, PSW - Preschool Support Worker

Kat sini kalau masuk sekolah (and eligible) boleh dapat assistant. Kat preschool mcm Z sekarang memang dapat sorang satu i.e. Yvonne. But bila dah masuk sekolah nanti diorang akan buat assesment, kalau layak/perlu baru diberi. Selalunya kid with DS memang akan dapat, tapi kena kongsi la 2-3 org dalam satu kelas.

New Best Friend :)

Mama kat luar pun dia dah tak peduli..

Zach sangat attached to Yvonne (PSW). Pagi2 sampai sekolah jer, terus dia carik Yvonne. Nampak jer Yvonne terus hulur tangan. Alhamdulillah.. syukur sangat sebab ada orang yang mama boleh trust untuk jaga Z while mama at work. She looks very sincere and mama dapat rasa yang dia pun sayangkan Z. Contohnya pagi tadi, Z sampai jer, dia yang dulu datang terkam n peluk cium Z. Rindu lama tak jumpa katanya.. So sweet.. :) terharu betul mama. I think as a mother of a DS kids, that's kind of a mutual feeling where everytime you see other kids with DS you just feel like they are yours :) Sebab tu lah mama rasa beruntung sangat bila dapat tahu yang Yvonne ni pun ada anak with DS. She's definitley treat Z beyond her pay cheque :)

The only problem is, Yvonne cuma kerja 2-3 half days per week. Isnin, Selasa and sometimes Rabu. Bila hari yang Yvonne takde jer, Z jadi tak keruan. Sampai sekolah kalau tak nampak Yvonne, mulalah dia buat perangai. Bukanlah tantrum, but upset. Menangis meleleh2 air mata sambil peluk mama kuat2.. adoiiii.. sebak betul mama.. Kalau dia tak menangis pun, dia nampak tak gembira and lost. I can feel him.. :( Sabarlah yer Z.. InsyaAllah 2-3 bulan jer lagi. Harap2 mama dapat keje part time balik. So Z only has to go to school during the days yang Yvonne ada and the rest of the week he can stay at home with me..

Ya Allah, bantulah kami dan permudahkanlah urusan kami..

Oh, Z also has another new friend. Sekolah Z ada cikgu baru, lelaki (the only male staff in the school). Mama pun tatau apa namanya. Dekat sebulan jugak la cikgu ni start. Dia tak jaga kelas Z, but for some reason tiap2 petang mesti mama nampak dia tengah dukung or bermain2 dengan Z. Mama selalu p ambik Z pukul 6 camtu, bebudak kelas cikgu tu dah balik awal la kot, sebabtu dia bleh look after Z. Dia cakap masa belajar dulu dia ambik subject Special Needs Support. So dia tahu ler camner nak handle Z and dia cukup suka melayan Z. Alhamdulillah.. Z pun nampak ok n happy jer dengan dia :)

Cikgu-cikgi & Pre-School Support Worker

 

Got this letter from Giraffe manager last week. Cikgu Amy dah nak resign. Kelas Z ada 2 cikgu (8 kids altogether). Z bawah Cikgu Katy, but for some reason he likes Cikgu Amy more. Cikgu Katy tu baik and memang nampak sangat la yang dia sukakan budak. Muda lagi, mama rasa baru 20 camtu kot.. Tapi Z memang tak suka dia. Kalau sampai pagi2 tu, cikgu Katy nak ambik, mesti dia tak nak. Siap tolak2 lagi. Muka pun dipalingkan ke arah lain. Kalau dia nampak cikgu Amy kat hujung kelas, cepat2 dia menuju ke arah vikgu Amy instead. Hmmm.. Entahlah.. Ada sedikit keraguan mama pada cikgu Katy nih..

Yang paling mama risaukan tu.. Walaupun cikgu Katy nih baik and good with children, I dont think she is capable to handle the whole class herself. Masa Z mula2 masuk kelas Toddler dulu cikgu Katy sorang2 jer jaga kelas tuh. OMG, kucar kacir n bersepah kelas! Pastu there's few occassion bila mama ambik Z waktu petang, punya la comot anak mama macam tak berjaga jer. And ada sekali tu Z berak pun dia tak tukar nappy. Masa mama pegi ambik tu dari jauh mama dah boleh bau dah, takkan la dia tak perasan kot kan.. Dekat sebulan jugak la kucar kacir time tu until cikgu Amy transferred ke kelas Z (cikgu Amy jaga lagi satu toddler room pada asalnya). And now it will happen again... Memang la diaorang cakap ada new supervisor yg akan look after the room, tapi kalau dah namanya supervisor, takde nya dia nak duduk sepanjang masa kat kelas tu. Dah la Z will be in school 5 days a week now. Lagi la mama stress memikirkan keadaan Z kat skolah nun..

Anyway, we have really good news. The Pre-school Support Worker (PSW) has started today :D. Yvonne namanya. Mama dah jumpa pagi tadi. Alhamdulillah first impression -- I am impressed! She looks like a very nice n professional lady. Even better, she also has an adult son with down syndrome! So she has great experience in raising a child with DS. And her son is actually studying in Trinity College (tempat keja mama la tu) and his class is above my office. How coincidence :).

PSW nih sepatutnya untuk Special Needs kids yang dah start pre-school. Kan haritu berlaku sedikit kekeliruan, ingatkan Z dah start formal preschool this year, rupanya dia belum layak. Tapi sebab diorang dah allocate PSW utk dia, takkan la nak fired orang tu pulak kan. PSW suppose to help the kids during the class. Contohnya kalau nak menulis/melukis, budak2 umo 3-4 tahun yang lain dah boleh pegang pensil sendiri, tapi Z Yvonne la yang akan buat hand in hand and also to ensure that the class run smoothly for Z.

Basically she will be with him ALL THE TIME. One-on-one. Makan minum n main pun dia akan bersama dengan Z. Yang mama terharu sangat tu, dia sepatutnya support jer apa yg cikgu ajar dalam kelas. Tapi in Z’s case, dia belum masuk formal pre-school lagi. Toddler room nih bukan la belajar sangat pun. Tapi Yvonne dah siap bawak materials for early education untuk Z. Dia kata dia akan buatkan bit by bit based on Z’s stage. She also know Lahm Sign Language and will use it with Z0 And she really study handout pasal Z yang cikgu Mairead (Z’s Home Teacher) bagi. She is aware of what he likes and dont like. Dia bawak ball, bubbles and also few flash cards. This week aim is for Z to ‘accept’ her. InsyaAllah mama rasa Z akan ok dengan Yvonne. Lega hati mama.. Walaupun hanya 2/3 hari (half day) jer seminggu, at least mama tahu Z ada somebody that he can trust in school.  

MasyaAllah.. Besar sungguh pertolongan yang Allah bagi untuk Z di ketika kita amat memerlukan.. 

Feeling blessed, Alhamdulillah.. :)

Update dari Mairead :)