December's Necklace

December December... where did October & November go? Well at least I figured out that I have not figured out how to sleep normal human hours and still have the time to do everything on my list. Now I just have to figure how to do it.

Noah's now 4.5 months and counting. This time with much less anxiety (learning to trust and let go finally!), I'm really enjoying the snuggles and growing up process more. We are literally watching him grow before our eyes. And having Shanah to snuggle and play tickles together? That's a bonus beyond bonus. Two sweethearts, wow, my heart just exploded.

I think we have now figured a schedule of sorts and with that, we managed some home activities here and there to feed my craft addiction. This love for crafts started when my mummy used to buy me craft books and materials when I was a child, and the interest kinda stuck on me all these years. I'm really glad that Shanah has also taken an interest in crafts and it's my wish that she takes it further and creates amazing things to bless those around her.

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Necklace with bubble tea straw (because we all love bubble tea, closetlover or not)

Adapted from No Time for Flashcards 

I really love this activity because it's so simple and fuss free, yet it works on two motor skills at the same time! Especially for pre-writers, this really builds on their finger dexterity to help in future writing skills.

Materials needed:

3 Bubble tea straws (softer ones so it's easier to cut)
1m of ribbon/string
Scissors
Tape

I started by getting Shanah all excited about doing 'something' special. She's kinda girly, so making necklaces is totally up her alley. Plus the fact that i took out her special kiddy scissors - that got her really excited.

I demonstrated how to cut the straw with the scissors. Then i held her hands to do it together with her. When she has gotten the hang of it, i allowed her to do the cutting herself. Two things to note, firstly, cut a suitable length that allows for easy threading. Secondly, the straws can get rather sharp after you cut them, so watch out of those! The ability to use the scissors requires hand-eye coordination and some strength - both of which requires much practice. So if it's your first time, guide your child through the whole cutting process.

After cutting the straws, it's time to string the parts! One end of the ribbon was taped to the floor while the other end was folded and taped to make it easier for little hands to thread the straws in.





It took Shanah a few tries to get the threading right. She was initially alittle frustrated to put the ribbon through the straw only to have it drop out again. But once she figured how to thread the ribbon through and pull it out the other side, she's was really pleased with herself. In fact, halfway through the activity Noah woke up from his nap, and I was able to attend to him as she finished up her necklace!

When the threading's all done, just tie a knot, cut up the excess ribbon and you have a bubble tea necklace! 



Proudly wearing her necklace, declaring that she wanted to show her daddy her handicraft! 

I'll try harder always

I used to read about mothers who spent their days screaming at their kids and I wonder, seriously? These women must be really hot tempered.

When I say 'I used to', I mean a couple of months ago. In just a space of months, my little girl has grown into a toddler who constantly tests her limits, takes joy in going against my wishes and goes into tantrum mode, well, maybe a few times a day. To say that it's tiring would be an understatement. Recently I find myself talking exceptionally loudly to her more often than i would like. I really used to smile more. Little S has been going, 'Mummy, not angry anymore?' too often.

It has been tough, juggling between two kids who need my attention equally much. I wish I had more time to do some/more home learning with the little girl. She loves going through cards, reading together and most of all, to share a cuddle and a laugh. I wish I had more time to coo and play peek a boo with the small boy. I'm sure I spent more time with his sister at his age. '

*mom guilt overload*

I like to give myself plenty of space and reason so I've been telling myself that everything needs time to adjust blah blah blah. I decided today that I had enough of the reasons and it's time to pull up my socks and make use of every conceivable moment to thoroughly enjoy my time spent with them. Be it learning with little S or attempting to give more cuddles to the small boy who has taken a recent obsession for being held all day.

This means more smiles and less frowns. More cuddles and less hand smacking. And more importantly, more love and patience. More prayers too for all of the above.

It's a learning curve for me too, and I promise my dear ones, that I'll try harder always.

Happy Birthday Mummy Dearest! - Part 2

After our walkabout in Tiong Bahru, it was off for the main programme - SEA at Resort World Sentosa.

One thing to remember about driving to Sentosa is that the parking fees at RWS are rather steep - S$26 after you hit the cap. It's $7 for the first hour and about $4 for every hour thereafter. It is probably not much cheaper to park in Vivo, so the next best alternative is Beach Carpark iat Siloso Beach and taking the train back down to RWS.

The other point to note is that the car park in RWS is absolutely huge! Given the timing we reached there was no way that we could park close to the USS entrance. If it is your first few times I would advise you to take a few photos of the car park numberings on the pillars nearest your lot as I've had friends who "lost" their cars!

We went up the escalator which lead to the waterfront area and took a walk through the little cave entrance, past the visitor centre, all the way towards USS. Along the way you will notice a few places to eat and a Watsons, which was surprisingly reasonably priced for Sentosa.

The most important question for parents with young children is the changing and nursing station. The closest one to SEA is just before the open area with the big USS globe. It was relatively clean and spacious. The room separates into a changing area and a nursing room whih is good. One plea to any parents out there - please don't wash your child's bottom in the sink! I had the unfortunate encounter of seeing one parent do that, so please be considerate to others!

So finally with the children hydrated and wearing fresh diapers, the adventure began!

The area housing the SEA actually has a huge replica of Admiral Cheng Ho's vessel and a long line of quite informative displays along the way to the actual entrance.

I do like a good dose of history every now and then so I would encourage you to take your time to stroll through the displays.

Finally we made it into the actual aquarium. It seems to start off like Underwater World but I can assure you it changes after that!

Just the sheer size of the place will make you go "wow"!

It is really crowded so make sure you keep close watch of the kiddos! But as you can see they will be captured by the fishes!

I won't post too many of my low quality photos but safe to say that the main attraction is the largest viewing panel on record currently. I think it makes a super cool place for a wedding!

Of all the ones that we saw I think our favorites were the jellyfish, the manta ray and this strange giant fish that had no name! Well at least we couldn't find the panel with his description!

It is one cool fish that just goes round and round and doesn't mind other little fish swimming into its gills! Super chill! 

One comment about the place is that because it is so packed you need to decide if you want your young ones up in harnesses or in the stroller. I'd recommend harness only because it is better to have your hands free! The crowd does make strollers a tad more inconvenient.

A cheeky thing about the place is that everyone's favorites are either dolphins or sharks. They had a small little display area where you can catch glimpses of their tails to entice you to sign up for the dolphin packages! The other one is the sharks which are right at the end of the entire visit, so keep pressing on till the last bit!

Happy Birthday Mummy Dearest! - Part 1

Birthdays are always important occasions. Some families have traditions, others may prefer to commemorate them in a more subdued fashion.

Mummy M's birthday celebrations started with a surprise birthday cake from some of the church girls who had to make their way to an ulu corner of Hougang and then hide themselves till the birthday girl arrived. I like these sort of surprises, especially so because we don't do them as often as we used to. I remember back in our schooling days it was always standard practice to get a group of friends at your door with a song and cake. But then again in those days handphones couldn't go to the internet and Friendster was still hip and Facebook still an idea in someone's head.

Then came the actual day where it was just the four of us out for a day of fun - mummy, daddy, 姐姐 and 弟弟. 

First it was a drive down to Tiong Bahru to explore the rest of the area after our previous romp there. One thing to bear in mind is that because it is mostly open air car parks you better be prepared for either the burning sun or drenching rain! Thank God that for us it was the former, though definitely still a challenge to our comfort.

That didn't stop us from deciding to walk around randomly to check the place out. The intention was to find a nice cafe for brunch but somehow we ended up at a corner coffee shop, the super old school kind that literally is at the corner of the street, next to the road (about 5 minutes down from Tiong Bahru Bakery).

It was lunch time and quite packed so we safely assumed that the food must be good. Grabbing the chance while the children were asleep we sat down and ordered teh ping, teh, vegetarian wu xiang and mee pok. In summary the food wasn't that great in relation to my expectations. The one exception was the vegetarian wu xiang which was pretty good. They had a couple of rather unique ones like spring rolls stuffed with mushrooms and a vegan chicken patty that were rather nice with chili sauce. I'm highlighting this dish only because in my excitement to order I didn't realize it was a vegetarian stall! Will I go back again? Maybe yes because I've not tried the Yong Tau Foo there and also because I'm a sucker for quaint little places.

Given the burning sun, we were hoping to find a nice air conditioned cafe to sip coffee and cool down. Just diagonally across the coffee shop was Drips. It came highly recommended by a friend so we decided to try it out. Went in, was appalled by the unfriendly service staff who didn't notice that it was a lady with baby in arms and a man pushing a stroller. All she could say was “里面有位子吗” and left us to manage on our own - we walked out.

Better safe than sorry, so off we went to Tiong Bahru Bakery. It was crowded but we manage to get seats right at the back of the place. Don't need to say much about this place given that everyone probably knows it well, but one new thing that we tried for the first time was the Carrot Juice with Ginger. Pretty groovy and quite refreshing. Recommended food for toddlers around 2 years old - good old crossiants. Compared to the new Sophie's Bakery, I still prefer the ones at TBB. If our daughter likes them they must be good!

Stay tuned for an updated version of this post and part 2 of the birthday outing at Sentosa!

Food trail Saturday

Yesterday was one of those rare Saturdays where everything seemed to happen so nicely.

Matilda's tuition kid cancelled so we had the opportunity to get out of the house for brunch, which is my all time favorite past time! 

For some reason my body decided to wake up earlier than anyone ought to on a Saturday and with no one else awake and nothing to do, guess what I decided to go clean the house! I feel quite proud of myself given that from 830am to 1030am I managed to clean the house, take a bath, shower Shanah and give Noah his morning clean-up! I'm the super daddy (sometimes!).

The sky threatened to kill our brunch stop at Grub which I've been attempting to go to for the longest time, but God had it taken care of because the clouds held back! Also a super big thanks to Christine who went down much earlier to get seats for the Das family! 

It is always crowded at Grub but after having my first long awaited meal there I think I've had better if not more at other places. However I guess what I like is the setting - trying to recreate that Aussie brunch feeling that I love so much - so they get points for that. Maybe I'll try the burgers next time!

Then it was off to Tiong Bahru heritage trail for our first time. It was another treat for us because there's so much there I never knew about - certainly deserves a few more trips! We were planing to go to 40 hands to sit down for coffee and bible study but in the end we settle at the cafe down from it called Poteato which was quite a surprise!

This was really a treat - sweet potato fries! Really love this and I've not seen this anywhere.

Matilda and Shanah then took the opportunity to roam round the place - hopefully we post some photos up soon!

After Tiong Bahru it was off to the Public Garden market at the National Museum. Yet again God held back the rain long enough for me to get Shanah out of the car, across the road and into the museum!

This time we were hoping to try something different so we avoided Food for Thought at first but in the end it was the only place that we could sit down for Noah to have his milk! We got toast bread and potato balls (although the menu calls it hashbrowns I think that isn't the right description!) for Shanah and to our surprise she finished most of it!

It wasn't the intention to cafe-hop but it just happened that way. The real goal was the market so off we went. I guess the thing that always catches my eye are the stores that sell handmade children clothes and I never knew so many Singaporeans do this! It is cool to know not everyone is trapped in the usual social climb - keep chasing your dreams people!

We got what Matilda wanted and a gift for Thaddaeus, the newest baby boy in town and off to the hospital to pay a visit. 

Of course having done mostly eating for the whole day, the last craving to fulfil was some good chicken rice! So we went to the new Wee Nam Kee at United Square but the queue seemed too long for us. Again it was just a good day. I went in to try the queue and in less than 10 minutes we were seated! I don't know why but when the nice man saw Noah and Matilda he let us go ahead to sit at a table for 4, even though we sort of had 2+1 baby chair! 

Western food is good but nothing really compares with a good Hainanese Chicken Rice!

It was a day of good food, good fun, great fellowship, cooperative weather, easy to get seats and car parks and most of all a day that you can just smile and say thank God for family and thank God for taking care of us :)

The sweetness of it all

I feel like superwoman.

No really, I really feel like supermom today. Between 10 diapers, 5 baths (not including mine), numerous clothes changes (again not including mine because who has time for that?), boogies, boo-boo kisses, story book reading, hugs, cuddles and meltdowns, I really feel quite super.

I'm learning this week to not dwell on the toughies and to take much joys in the highs. The little boy peed on himself/me/the bed? Naahh, it's just pee, it's alright. Shanah poo-ed into her newly changed diapers after her bathe? It's ok, just another diaper change.

Instead, I'm trying to dwell more on the sweetness of my children. The sweetness that comes with Shanah giving me a smile after popping up from her sleep in the morning, Noah smiling when i pick him up from bed, cuddles after bathe, reading together.. and even the diaper changes. Because one day, i know I'm gonna miss all of these.  Even the 1000 'Mummy what's this?' questions and even more so the pretend play, the baby negotiation, the cheeky smile when she asks for a jelly or Yakult and her going, 'Mummy are you happy now?' to check if I'm still upset at her.

I think too often I allow a single bad event of the day to dominate my feelings and emotions. I allow it to take control and then declare it a horrid day, hence allowing everything that follows through to be horrid. You know what? Horrid only makes more horrid.

Recently I overheard a mother using words like 'get lost' and 'go away' to her teenage daughter. Not judging, but I wouldn't want to be the one at the receiving end of such words. And I really hope I wouldn't do the same.

And then when it gets really tough, like during naptimes, I pray for sleep to come soon.. or the hubs to return home from work early as a surprise :)

 

Precious gifts

Why I'm doing this

Today was a toughie. A majority of the day was spent battling milk, noodles, toys, baby and toddler. It's one of those days I get dizzy just wandering around my very small flat, trying to get things into order. I think I had to seriously talk myself out of just giving it all up and plopping down infront of the telly with a very cold green tea in my hands - which i did, at 8pm - twice.

Still, I know I have come rather far in this motherhood journey - much more to learn though! Just a couple of years ago, with a baby girl in my arms, I could barely fix myself a decent lunch. With her permanently latched on, I would searched google like a madwoman, trying to read up on everything concerning breastfeeding and babies. Then, i would look to my husband as my hero when he returned from work and my mortal enemy when he left for work the next morning. Today, I can manage breakfast, lunch and most things a toddler needs to thrive. The only thing is that I usually look like a mad crazy woman when my husband returns from work. You know how some articles say that wives need to doll up for their husbands? Pffffft. That's lala land.

That being said, I very much love my day cum night cum 24/7 job. I love how there's no boundaries between my job and my personal life and that I get to see my munchkins all the time. And that I can wear my PJs all day. But really, I wouldn't have come this far without God and my faithful momsy friends who are there for me each time I think the going gets too tough. It really must be some Godly intervention to arrange for like minded friends to walk through this journey with me.

The first mumsy blog I read was one ranting about her difficulties in breastfeeding. That brought me so much comfort, to know that there are other mothers there who are having a hard time with this breastfeeding and parenting gig. For many days after, I would religiously go through the blog, often laughing and loud and finding much comfort in this one sided relationship (ha!).

With this blog, I really hope document my journey with the children - to have something to read and look back on in fondness when the house grows quiet and the teenage angst and empty nest set in. In reading this, I hope that they will know how fun (fingers crossed) their childhood was and above all, how very much they are loved.

So here goes! Meanwhile, I'm ending with some pictures of food because I'm really hungry now. And its 2.30am, so randomness is allowed.

It's been awhile

It has really been sometime since anything has happened here, an exact opposite of what has been happening in our lives and the first thing I needa shout out is - THANK GOD FOR HIS BLESSINGS!

I've been thinking for a really long time about this blogging thing, about sharing my life with the world at large, and about having an avenue for memories to be stored. Physical diaries aside (where we store our secrets uhhuh), I would like the kids to read about how cool mom and dad are. And how their childhood was like. So well, I would really want to say something exciting like, 'something's brewing!' or 'stay tune for exciting changes!!' #throwspompomstotheceilingfan. But the truth is, all that has been brewing, has been in my mind for ages - blogging more, updating the layout, yada yada. I just need to find time to do it and be a SUPERMOM! I guess i shall just leave it as - I hope more posts will come!

Meanwhile, some photos from a not so recent trip to Perth :)