Stuff we say

When the hubs and I were dating, i could barely be apart from him. We met many times a week for dinner and movies and even then i found it hard to say goodbye when it was time to go. Thinking of those days brings back some really wonderful memories and i wonder if Shanah will go through the same mushy and sappy stuff when her turn arrives (in about 50 years young lady).

Naturally with marriage, children and time we became less of everything because we just want to veg out on the sofa and watch some TVB lame drama. So on days when i'm in an oddly good mood like last night, i began to embark in conversations like these:

Me: (Sucking in my stomach big time) Check out my abs. If you press in on my tummy, they are really hard.

Hubs: (With a look of disbelief) No seriously, core muscles?!?!

Me: Come on, I've like 6 packs underneath this stuff.

Hubs: The only core muscle you have right now is the core of a muffin and cake.

Hhehhe.

(I did force him later on to admit that i do possess some form of abs muscles.)

Shanah has been saying funny things recently. Well, actually she has always been pretty funny. But now that she expresses herself better and perfected her deadpan look, things can get pretty hilarious around here. What's with these toddlers and their literal sense of everything?

Another wave of illness has hit the family, so we have been visiting the doctor pretty frequently.

Me: Shanah, do you like Dr Toh?

Shanah: I like her sweets. (Deadpan expression)


P.s. The flowers were from this year's Valentines.

Day out at Eat Play Love cafe

Cafes are the current in thing in Singapore. If you can find a nook, you will probably find a cafe. Not all of them serve nice coffee and food but their ambiance does give our little tiny dot of a country an up on our chic factor. Recently, the hubs and I were particularly excited to explore one of the cafes that had rave reviews, accompanied with brilliant and bright photos. Unfortunately we left with a semi hole in our pockets (prices were exorbitant for a cafe!) and hungry unfulfilled tummies. The saving grace was a corner seat and some space for the children to sit, eat and explore alittle. It really left us wondering how do the many youngsters in the cafe afford to pay such crazy prices for food and drinks. Errm, wasn't Macs considered kinda expensive when we were younger?

Maybe we are old foggies. Actually, scratch that. We are NOT old foggies, we are young and hip. Some cafes are just not very friendly to our pockets, tummies and children.

On the very same day we visited Eat Play Love cafe. While their Thai-Western cuisine menu wasn't all that impressive, their prices are pretty reasonable. We were unable to order savoury items as the kitchen was preparing for dinner, but the local dessert we decided on was refreshing for a warm humid afternoon (it's also alittle hard to go wrong with grass jelly and nata de coco).

Their weekends are normally crowded so it's wise to call ahead to book or check if there are seats available. Better still, go on a weekday afternoon where children are either sleeping or in school. You just risk having a grumpy pants doing craft.

 

Happy troopers!  

 

Grumpy serious pants  

Eat Play Love cafe boasts of a unique experience where adults get to eat and children get crafty and dirty the place with glue, macaroni, feathers and the likes. Every child gets a piece of activity sheet free of charge. For $5, you get an activity pack (the one that S is crafting with above) with some paper, foam stickers, feathers and glitter. Markers and other craft essentials are free for use everywhere in the craft corner.







If the basic pack may seem alittle kiddy for older children, you can pay extra to purchase other craft activities. The prices for these crafts are not exactly cheap and i'm pretty sure i'll find the same item with much a lower price elsewhere.



The current craze in the cafe is shrinky dink plastic where you purchase a piece of shrinky dink plastic for $5, draw on it and pop it into the oven where it will shrink and harden up. We thought $5 was too much to pay for a piece of plastic so we played with some scraps that were left on the tables and wowed at how the plastic really shrank and well, hardened up. Hehe. It is waaaay more fun and entertaining than how i described it.

 

 The oven that shrinks the plastic 

Will i return back to the cafe again? Well, probably, if I'm in the vicinity with time to spare or if my girlfriends organise a play date there. But I don't think i will make a deliberate trip down unless the cafe offers a greater variety of crafts and materials. Personally, $5 isn't a reasonable sum to pay for some paper, stickers and glitter when such materials are easily found in greater quantity and lower prices in the stationary stores. Similarly, i don't agree with paying high prices for the alternative activities that they provide for older children. 

Given that it is a craft cafe, i guess i would like to see a greater variety of crafts available for children of all ages. I wouldn't mind paying alittle more for better craft ideas, more materials and maybe even a member of the staff there to guide the children into creating their little wonders. 

Would i recommend the cafe? Well, yes, especially if you are not into cleaning up the mess at home. And if the little ones are driving you up the wall with their insane amount of energy.. this would be a good place for the adults to chill and the children to have some fun. Even Noah enjoyed himself watching the older ones and taking in the mad explosion of colours in this happy place! 

Home Learning: free printables

 

 Source: Mr Printables 

Look at these, can you believe that they are made of paper? More importantly, can you believe it's free? I had to triple check to make sure there were no strings attached. And then i fought the urge to whatsapp everyone i know about this site.

I love planning for home learning and other projects. There are a million things i want to do and non of it has to do with a magic clean mop.. or a stove.  Pinterest gets me started and then the ideas keep coming in. Unfortunately, that's where it often stops. To be honest, i find it pretty hard juggling chores, spending time with the children, making time for the hubs and my family and then finding more time to do me stuff or fiddle with the computer (in that unfortunate priority). And I'll go a week or two psycho-ing myself (getting pretty good at this, now i know why i majored in that!) that it's ok before my next im-so-pathetic outburst. Please tell me i'm not alone.

Anyway, sob story aside, i have been thinking of a few ways to find more time to get my projects ongoing. And one of them is to finally admit that I don't have the time to design everything myself. The web is a myriad of information and i'm often surprised by the goodies that are available for free!

Source: No Time for Flashcards

Source: The Artful Parent

 Source: Education.com (awesome worksheets!)

Traveling with Tots: Stanley Beach, Hong Kong

Back in 2012 we were traveling to Hong Kong on a monthly basis, partially on work and leisure. While the traveling did take a heavy toll on our pockets, the experience in this buzzing city was memorable and very rich. Shanah came along with us on each trip and while Isaiah was busy donning his working gear, the little girl and I trooped around town in our carrier.

We are no strangers to the MTR and cha chang tengs in HK. Though i have to admit that the lunch crowds do scare me and the lack of nursing rooms leaves much to be desired in this area. We would avoid the lunch crowds (and grumpy overworked waiters) and make trips back to the hotel for naps and feeds. Besides these though, we learned that 3pm was a great time to have egg tarts at Honolulu cafe (less crowd less haste) and that the nooks and crannies of this metropolitan city often leaves us pleasantly surprised.

One weekend, the Yans brought us and a few others along to Stanley Beach for a leisurely walk. Directions here are complicated (something involving walking to an interchange in central, buses and transfer) and i believe you can easily find better instructions on google maps :) But it's definately worth the hassle. The roads are windy and we watched on in slight fear as a fellow lady passenger retched on the way down. Tip to brave souls: face front, look ahead and prepare a plastic bag.

Stanley Beach on a weekend is crowded with tourists, families and Hong Kongers in search for a respite from the metropolitan city. There a splattering of touristy shops (prices are not the best but not that steep) and a mishmash of western and eastern delicacies. For children, there's a playground and the area is often visited by the Mobile Softee. It's well worth a trip to escape from all the shopping and eating madness!

Alright, enough ramblings. I'll let the pictures take over.

Oh our little little Shanah, those first little steps and toothless grins :)

Little girls & Nutters in love

Our little girl, fast asleep like an angel. I feel almost schizophrenic saying this because just hours ago, she drove us nutters with her whining and antics.

We love to visit the bookstore. In my mind, it's all about picking a book together and finding a nice corner to snuggle and read it. Never mind that i have a little boy stuck to me, we'll work that out. Unfortunately, we never got past picking a book together because little miss grown-up always seem to choose the books suited for children twice her age. No way am i gonna read that! Today's selection was a hot pink Dork Diaries book which she stood at the display and thought for abit before selecting, like a big girl! I'm still keeping my hopes up on that little dream of mine so despite having to convince/coax/bribe her into putting that book back, a trip to Takashimaya is always accompanied with a drop in to Kinokuniya.

We often visit the nursing room when we are out and Taka's one is our favourite! It's super clean and the nice lady who takes care of the place also ensures that no guys come into the area and that the queue situation gets monitored. The difficult part is coaxing Shanah to come along with me to the nursing room. It's crazy and it often ends up with bribery. I know right. Actually these days, everything ends up with bribery.

I think in toddler language, no actually means yes and everything else actually means the opposite of how it sounds like. Or maybe they have a secret competition to see how many mommy/daddy buttons can they push a day and there's some high score board somewhere. I was fiddling with some gadgets and from the corner of my eye, i spotted S asking for it. Tired, i said no and she continued to ask.. until i heard a crash. Our little princess actually stood on the pram, leaned all the way back and crashed to the floor. The security label broke and so did my camel's back.

BUT BUT BUT. When i look at my babies asleep, i feel a huge sense of pride. I recall how S went on a non-stop storytelling fest for 15 minutes and counting at lunch. She told us about her day, how her teeth broke, how mommy flosses and she peppered 'so funny right' here and there in her story. I remembered the times where she obeyed all my instructions and repeated them in different scenarios. Most of all, i thought of the times where we snuggled and rolled in bed before the afternoon nap and how she talks herself to sleep, mostly pretending to be a teacher.

Then i feel all guilty about being upset with her and start reminiscing her babyhood days - how did she get so big and tall? Where did my baby go? Am i too strict with my baby?

Parenthood. They drive you mad.. madly in love with them.

P.s. Imagine how much MORE God loves you!

I Love You too

Dear Isaiah

You have always been the tracker between us. It was you who reminded me that 14 Feb 2014 marks our 8th Valentines together. And I'm rather sure that you remember where we went for our first date, what we ate and what we did. One would think that the girl remembers such things, but no, you have always been the one who remembers.

Between us, you have always been the one who's sweeter, more loving and more accommodating. It was like this when we were dating - you put up with my whines and complaints. And it is the same today - you put up with my silly clean freak requests even when you see no sense in it (psst.. sometimes i don't see sense in it either). You have such a big heart - you love my family just like your own because you know what matters most to me.

Sometimes i look back at our wedding pictures and i'll feel so blissed out. It's nothing short of a miracle that God has placed you in my life. Being together with you has taught me so much about love, God's love. The closer we come together, the more I'm aware of how much God loves us. I remember telling myself some time back, if this is what love feels like, I can't imagine how great God's love is.

To say that many things have changed since we walked down that pathway where we first held hands, or since we walked down the aisle, would be a major understatement. We are no longer young undergrads or newly weds. The pressures of work and family do weigh us down quite a bit and sadly, there are times that i rather spend time with the computer (like now) rather than with you. Not because we are upset, but because we don't get much time to do what we want. But i'm so glad that i have such a grand supporter in you. Every idea that i throw up gets supported - you are always there to add on your thoughts and to spur me on. Every time i need a listening ear to complain about how lousy i feel about my under-used degree, you are there to listen. When i need a foot massage, you gladly oblige despite your tired self.

I don't say it often enough, and i really should.. but thank you darling for loving me despite my many flaws. I know i'm full of them, but thank you for explaining time and time again that God loves me despite them and you love me too.

I'm so so glad that I have you to walk this life with me. I'm so so thankful that Shanah & Noah have you as their daddy. And i'm so so in love you with you - just because of who you are.

I know we said no gifts this year, but we each ended up with a gift for each other. I really like it this way. Almost like a surprise surprise. Thank you for the flowers. I really thought that the flower giving thing would have ended after the last ants infested bouquet. But you being you... well, i shall just dwell in the love.

Happy Valentines my darling. I'm so glad i have you to grow old with. It's always better when we are together.

I can't imagine two worlds spinnin' apart come together eventually. 

And when you're standin' here in front of me

That's when I know that God does exist

'Cause He will have answered every single prayer

Hello 2014!

Hello 2014!

I just received wonderful news about a result we have been waiting for for some time. And that's such a great relief. Please, everyone, heave a big sigh of relief on our behalf. That's how happy we are.

Sometimes we make such a big deal about how much control we have in our life. We want to make choices, we fight for our rights and we demand for things we do not have. Not that it is always wrong to demand and that we should just go with the flow with everything, but first and foremost, we need to be very certain who is the giver of life in the first place. The one who created the universe, who understands the deep physics of it all and yet loves us enough to send His son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus died so that you and I can have a chance, a chance to be in heaven and a chance to experience heaven on earth.

I'm just thinking about how fragile life is. What an oxymoron as to how this post started out. I'm typing this post because I want to document how glad I am with the results, yet at the same time, i feel like i'm holding on to shreds of happiness. Why shreds? Because I'm beginning to understand that the fragility of life is like a weak twig - a phone call, a bad fall, an unexpected lump... and everything you think was perfect falls apart.

As depressing as that thought is, I personally find it kinda empowering and releasing. Finally, I'm beginning to understand that as much as i can make choices for my life.. it is the God that holds my tomorrow that hold me in His bosom to protect and nurture. It is the same God that will watch me and my family. The God that loves me more than I can imagine.

Isaiah once asked if I was scared of dying. It was a no-brainer. I was. Alittle terrified to be honest. Afraid to make my dear ones sad, afraid to not see the little ones grow up and experience life with them and afraid of what's gonna happen after and if I really have a place in heaven (now we know that we do if we believe but i'm gonna be honest and say yes). I used to think that I'm young, healthy and fit. These days though, i find myself praying that God grant me the honour to grow old, to enjoy old age together with Isaiah and my family. My treasure is turning into happy times with my loved ones. I'm beginning to see long days on earth as a blessing from God.

I have no idea how to end this post. I'm still deliriously happy about the results and I'm still the old human me, filled with fears. But i know God is faithful and righteous and He holds our life in His palms. My prayer for you and I is to live this one life with no regrets, to be brave enough to do the right things that matter and make a difference where ever you are. It's only the beginning of 2014, it's not too late to start it right. Our prayers are with you!

Ascribe Greatness to our God the rock
His work is perfect
And all His ways are just 

A God of faithfulness
Without injustice 
Good and upright is He

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.

---------

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!