Our Everyday Things

Loving those baby teeth …

2009-07-10T03:14:45Z

… AND those bits of chicken rice stuck in between! Heh.

PS: Notice how getting chicken rice on your teeth can look ‘acceptable’ on little boys, but not on men? Haha.

Making : Milk Carton Buildings

2009-07-10T03:18:19Z

Gee. I just checked. The last time I posted an ‘Arts and Craft’ post was way back in May!

Not that we stopped doing arts and crafts stuff at home, because we still do. But somehow I think there seems to have been so many other topics that I wrote about and I simply didn’t get around to sharing more about the crafting stuff we do.

Oh well. Anyway.

Here’s one quick-yet-great crafting idea that you can try and make!

Milk Carton Buildings!

What you need :

- Used milk cartons

- Coloured Paper

- Glue, scissors, crayons

What we did :

- Cut the milk carton (see top picture), leaving the top part a little longer than the bottom part

- Cover the sides with coloured paper (to create ‘different buildings’ use different coloured paper)

- Glue the ‘buildings’ to each other (see the picture above)

- Cut bits of different shapes and stick them on as windows, doors, etc

- Cut out the ‘doors’ so they can be opened and closed

- If the child can already write, let him/her name the kind of buildings they’ve just made

And THAT IS IT!

Anya created a house and a museum, while Vai … well, he’s just happy enough to have created buildings where he could drive his little toy cars in and out of the doors!

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Indonesia’s Presidential Election : The day our voices count!

2009-07-09T10:39:05Z

[The banner basically says, 'Use your voting rights! Let's make this election a successful one']

You may have heard about it.

Today is Indonesia’s Presidential Election Day, the day when you get to see thousands of Indonesian citizens head towards the Embassy to cast their votes.

It drizzled a bit and it was all balmy and humid, but people kept on coming in groups. They drove, walked, and took buses and taxis.

And just like the rest, we too were amongst the crowd! (the three of us went after Anya went off to school)

We got rain on our heads and joined the snake-like queue (to get our names registered) for about … an hour!

And as we waited, I observed everyone around, and it really was an interesting mix of people. I stood behind a young woman with tattoos on her neck and ears. I saw giggling teens in school uniforms, domestic helpers, well-dressed professionals, polished and posh women, parents with kids and even babies in prams.

And I thought to myself, regardless of what we do and who we are, we all have the same rights. Those who are materially better off, who socially are more ‘convenient’ than the domestic helpers for example, receive no special treatments. They all queued and they all voted.

I like that.

[Vai had to do quite a bit of standing around and he occasionally asked to be carried, which really wasn't an easy thing for us since he now weighs 16.5kg!]

Anyway, after queuing and getting our names and details registered, the rest went fairly fast!

I think it took us less than 7 minutes, from the time we got our ‘voting ticket’ to the time we left the voting hall altogether!

Okay, now just in case you’re not familiar, this is us showing us our little inked pinky, THE (traditional) proof that you have indeed voted and that you can’t vote TWICE! (well, unless you can totally erased the purple ink off your fingers and nails!)

Haha … and this is Vai and his ‘clean’ little pinky. No ink yet, little guy … but if you’re still an Indonesian citizen in FOURTEEN years time, you’d get to vote too like Mommy and Daddy!

To top it all off, we had yummy Indonesian lunch with our friends at Ojolali Restaurant (at Lucky Plaza). We had Grilled Chicken, and Vai tried out their Chicken Noodle. Yummm …

And I like Vai’s little expression in that last shot! It’s as if he’s saying, ‘Errr … Mommy, is the chicken supposed to be THAT black?’ Hehe.

Anyway.

It felt good to have been part of the Presidential Election crowd today!

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Through thick and thin for the past eight years

2009-07-07T18:49:01Z

This is my Facebook status today :

… and so today marks the day when I’ve gone through thick and thin with the same man for EIGHT years … and they say, it’ll only get better!

[and hey, ... to those who took the time to leave us your messages, here's a BIG THANK YOU from us!]

…

Yup, it’s been eight years for us! And just like all other couples out there, our eight years together were full of ups and downs.

Times when we laugh and tease each other silly. Times when we feel so mad with each other that it’s better to not (read: postpone) utter any words than to say anything that we’ll regret later.

Times when we feel the other half needs to be more appreciative. Times when the other half shows love, support and help when they’re least expected.

Times when we have to remind and rebuke each other. Times when we have to swallow our own pride and apologise for our mistakes.

Anyway.

Since this is a ‘relationship’ post, I thought it’d be timely to share some ‘relationship reminders’ for all couples out there too today (extracted from the family seminar we went to last month - ‘Christ, the Lord of my family’, by Rev. DR. Stephen Tong).

And here they are :

- RESPECT and APPRECIATE our spouse, because this is one key reason why two different individuals can love each other and be together for many many years

- Don’t expect too highly of your spouse, because he/she is not an angel, but a sinful human being

- Learn to FORGIVE and learn to willingly sacrifice for each other

- Balance in the family is derived from differences found between the husband and the wife

- Before one is married, he/she tends to view everything from a ‘ME’ point of view. But once one is married, he/she will start seeing things from a ‘How about you?’ perspective.

…

It sure takes TWO to work on a marriage.

And if you ask me, I’d say it sure needs a LOT of effort and sacrifice to make one’s marriage work.

…

As for us, well … it sure has been a blessed eight years and we look forward to many more years together.

And, we can’t thank God enough for everything that HE has done and showered upon us and our family.

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Anya : Loving my Pettiskirt!

2009-07-06T11:07:35Z

Anya totally LOVES her pettiskirt!

The elastic waistband, the satin ribbon, and ESPECIALLY the super soft ruffles (made of at least 10m of nylon chiffon)!

She’d twirl, run around and shake it all about.

One of her wardrobe favourites!

And psst … they are available for sale at my online shop too!!

Check it out at www.springkids.com!

[note : they're snapped up pretty quickly and so if you'd like to these pettiskirts, let me know and I'll check my stock]

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Sunday’s Food for Thought : The Glorified who Suffered

2009-07-05T19:16:17Z

It is often easier, and somewhat ‘preferred’, to believe in Jesus Christ who is the glorified King of kings.

But the thing is, there’s another aspect of HIM that is equally important (yet, often ‘forgotten’).

Jesus Christ, the most glorified in Heaven, is also One who’s been humiliated and who’s suffered the most on earth. For our sake.

And the question is, are we willing to know Him more from these TWO different aspects? Or, are we willing to know and love him ONLY from HIS ‘glorified’ and ‘majestic’ side?

…

Without the Cross, there’s no resurrection.

Without Calvary, there’s no empty tomb.

Without suffering, there’s no glorification.

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Grass field. Golden Sun. Kids.

2009-07-06T03:36:11Z

We were walking back to our friend’s car - after the blog contest’s two-hour tennis lesson ended - when the kids started running about on a grass field nearby.

And the afternoon sun, oh my it was beautiful!

I love the ‘golden’ afternoon sun rays. I love the greens. And I love it too when the kids threw brown leaves up in the air.

And so I let the kids (Anya, Vai and two of their friends, Andersen and Lindsey) play a bit longer at the field, while I myself had a great time capturing the moments, hehe.

These are some of my favourites.

Vai LOVES this little fireman hat - a little gift from his friend, Della, who also went for the tennis lesson. He wears it to the market, and he puts it on his bed too at night!

And after quite some time, the little brother seemed to say, ‘Jiejie, … let’s go home?’ as he casually walked back to the car.

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Your thoughts and Mine on … H1N1

2009-07-03T06:00:30Z

Perhaps it’s one of the most talked about health-related topic these days.

Well. Especially if you live in Singapore.

With the flu virus spreading like wildfire all around the world during the June school holiday AND kids going back to school again last Monday, the media talks about this. A lot.

And naturally, quite a few parents wonder whether they really should send their kids to school, whether it’ll be safe, whether traveling overseas is a good idea, whether what the Singapore government is doing is an over-reaction, OR in fact, a good precautionary measure.

[Go to http://www.h1n1.gov.sg to read the latest updates of H1N1 in Singapore]

Mmm.

I too was a little unsure about whether or not I should let Anya start school last Monday.

I thought of letting her skip her Monday class, just to see how things go when all schools re-opened.

And if you ask me, it’s not about contracting the H1N1 virus itself actually, because I know although it is contagious, it’s considerably mild (well, at least that’s what the media’s been telling us too lately)

What I’m totally not looking forward to is getting the quarantine IF any of us got the virus.

(Just in case you’re not familiar with how Singapore tackles the virus : if it’s confirmed that you have the virus, you might need to stay at a hospital or a designated quarantine centre for 7 to 10 days. AND, even if you’re told to go home, you DO have to be home quarantined, for 7 to 10 days. And all the while, your health will be monitored).

In the end, Wilson and I decided to just let Anya go to school as usual last Monday.

And what do you know.

The school bus auntie actually had one of those ‘thermometer guns‘ and she checked every single child’s temperature BEFORE they boarded the school bus.

[She pointed the 'thermometer' towards the forehead, without touching it, for about three seconds, and she'd know the kid's temperature]

I was utterly impressed.

AND, the school staff checked everyone’s temperature again BEFORE they go to class.

Well.

I don’t know if people call this an ‘over-reaction’ or not, but as a parent, I feel somewhat reassured. You know, that at least the Singapore government and the people out there who’re in charge of our little ones try to do their part in keeping the virus at bay.

And.

I really feel this whole H1N1 virus situation serves as a gentle reminder to us too, that we are ALL vulnerable.

That there’s only so much that we can do to prevent things from happening to us.

And that IF we are still good and healthy today, that is PURE BLESSINGS from God, and is totally NOT because of how ‘in full control’ we are of our own lives.

Let’s learn to count our blessings. In all kinds of circumstances.

…

What are your thoughts on H1N1?

Did you have any concerns before school started last Monday? How does your kid’s school handle the whole situation? And if you live outside of Singapore, how are things in your country?

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Parenting : Curiosity does not always kill the cat

2009-07-01T06:25:25Z

An interesting food for thought.

When we are curious about something and go all out to find out MORE about it ourselves, the chance of us REMEMBERING what we’ve just found out and learned is HIGHER, as compared to having the information ’spoon-fed’ to us.

And if you ask me, I think the same principle applies to little kids and their learning style (and, how they discover their surrounding and their ‘world’)

Yes, some info (ie. knowledge) does need to be ‘fed’ to them and yes, kids may be curious about something ‘harmful’.

But, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we as parents can encourage (and guide) these little ones in staying positively curious about things, about their world?

Because through curiosity, we learn and discover.

And remember. More.

…

Someone once said to me,

Stay ’stupid’. Because when we feel we know nothing much, we keep on learning. But when we feel we know enough, that’s when we stop knowing more.

And I couldn’t agree more.

…

[Photo Info]
When checking out the depth and textures of white sands at Cottesloe Beach (Perth, Australia), somehow some ended up ‘near’ Vai’s mouth too! (not sure if the sands got INTO his mouth as well. Now that’s a crunchy discovery!)

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‘Free 2-hour Tennis Lessons’ Contest : The 10 Winners are …

2009-06-29T17:29:48Z

Last week we had a contest where, if chosen, your kid can enjoy a free two-hour tennis lesson (thanks to VVIP International!), with Wynne Prakusya as their main coach.

Now. The contest ended at midnight last Sunday and the winners were chosen yesterday!

And … here are the ten lucky parents :

1. Olivia
2. Mimi
3. Meina
4. Shing Yen
5. Rachel
6. Juita
7. Imelda
8. Jossie
9. Jo M.
10. Ben

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

And, THANKS everyone who participated!!

(If you haven’t quite won this time round, we do have giveaways and contests from time to time, and so please do join in again next time, yes? *smile*)

Here are a few important notes :

1. If you registered two kids in one entry, please let us know the one who’s going for the lesson

2. Please drop me an email (latest by tomorrow - Wed, 1 July) to let us know :
a. if your child DEFINITELY can make it to the session this Saturday, 4 July, 4pm-6pm at Kallang Tennis Centre (as we’d need to ensure that all of the ten spaces are filled)
b. Your contact no.

…

And that is it!

Do share the good news with your kid A.S.A.P., and we’ll see you on the court this Saturday!

Hope you guys are as excited about this weekend’s tennis session as us!

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