Live Life Love Life

Day 1: Taipei (Wu Fen Pu 五分埔 and Shida Night Market 師大路夜市)

2013-05-16T00:48:00.001+08:00

By noon, we had headed for Wu Fen Pu – the famous wholesale clothes market. This was not a right move because Wu Fen Pu opens later in the afternoon at about 1-2pm.

As our day started real early on our first day and we did not manage to catch much sleep on the plane, we were honestly feeling bushed as we walked around the few shops that had opened in the early noon.

In my zombified state, I found the fashion to be alittle unexciting among the limited shops I visited there. I have friends who rave about the clothes and yet there are others who commented that the fashion here is dated. It’s worth a trip there if you have time in Taiwan but do NOT visit Wu Fen Pu on Mondays as they mostly entertain the retailers on that day of the week. Clothes for men, women and children are available.

How to get to Wufenpu: Take an MRT train to Hou Shan Pi Station. Leave the station by Exit 1 and walk north along Jhongpo N. Rd. to the intersection of Jhongpo N. Rd. and Yongji Road. Wufenpu is on the left.

Normally after shopping at Wufenpu, people would head down to the nearby Raohe Night Market for part 2- food! However, we went back to our hotel for a snooze and decided to visit the Shida Night Market instead that evening.

How to get to Shida Night Market: Alight at Taipower Building Station Exit 3. Walk for about 5-10mins before reaching the night market.

Shida is a place near 2 universities so you can expect a younger, hippier crowd and fashionable clothing stores. You will also notice more foreign students here. This is the best night market for shopping, among those I had visited!

^A famous looking bun shop along the way to Shida from the metro station.

We came to a nice, warm eatery upon reaching Shida. And we decided to have a healthy(ier) dinner.

The concept was like Niang Dou Fu where you get to choose your ingredients which included meatballs, bean curd products, vegetables, noodles.

^So many sauces and dips to try!

^Cosy interior.

Very tasty and satisfying meal we had here though it was rather pricy (we paid about S$12-14 for our 2 bowls).

I tried the much raved about 王子面 (literally translated as Prince’s Noodles) but it turned out to be like maggi mee which I am not a fan of.

In my opinion, this night market’s food offerings is not as good and varied as the others like Shilin or Raohe but it is more for shopping. Good news for the men cos the shopping for the men here is really cool! (The hubby had a good time sweeping quite a number of stuffs off the racks too!) Nothing for the kiddos here though.

^Clothes I considered for my fashion conscious brother! I got him the polka dotted jeans shirt eventually…

There were a few stalls here selling accessories (mostly Korean style).

^Nail foils for my little sis.

I got these foils from a small stall in the night market and there were such limited designs to choose from. I got these 3 for 200 NT. Alas! When I left the night market, I saw a stall just set up outside the metro station area selling a TABLE FULL of nail foils. Here, 4 packs cost 200NT!!! ARGHHH!

^Falsies going for S$6 for a pack of 10 sets.

There were a couple of pretty cool lifestyle cafes around…

and a nice bakery called I Jy Sheng, that we chanced upon!

^Nicely wrapped confectionery.. very good for gifts!

^Don’t you LOVE breads??!

All in all, the hubby and I really enjoyed shopping at this night market. Most of our clothes we bought during this trip was from here. :)

Homecooked Food Weekend: Pineapple Rice, Tom Yum Soup, Honey Baked Chicken Wings and Lemongrass Tea

2013-05-13T17:39:00.001+08:00

It was the weekend again and Val is finally back from her Spain holiday after over 2 weeks! I thought she would like to have something Asian after 2 weeks of tapas. So I decided to prepare a Thai dinner.

With the help of Dancing Chef…

Since it was NO MSG, NO preservatives and NO artificial coloring, why not?

I followed the instructions behind the packs. The recipes are also available on the Dancing Chef’s website. Here is the Tom Yum Soup recipe and the Pineapple Rice recipe.

^My Tom Yum soup using prawns, sliced fish fillet and straw mushrooms.

^Here’s my pineapple rice. I used chicken breast meat instead of prawns (some of us are rather sensitive to seafood) and chopped carrots. I also used raisins and pork floss for garnish.

The honey baked chicken wings’ recipe is here, from Noob Cook again.

^I added some Hua Diao Wine into the marinade and gave the chicken a lovely thorough massage! Kept it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for the marinade to seep into the chicken meat.

^Chicken in progress

^The end result… Blackened tips for not following Noob Cook’s instructions!

Lastly, here is my lemongrass tea recipe. According to planetwell.com and many other health websites, lemongrass is widely known for its healing and health benefits. Its uses include:

• Cough, cold & sore throats

• Anxiety

• High cholesterol

• Type 2 diabetes

• Colitis

• Digestion

• Rough, dry, scaly skin

• Acne

• Constipation

• Kidney detoxification

• Insomnia

• Relaxation & deep sleep

What an amazing grass! (I am going to walk over to the fridge to pour myself another glass of this tea after I type this!)

^Pounding my lemongrass (and dirtying my kitchen floor) so that its flavor can be ‘released’.

^Looks like a pot of mess? Look again! Lemongrass, pandan leaves and ginger – all things good!

Sweetened the fantastic tea with rock sugar and when served chill, was an awesome and detoxifying end to our Thai food that day!

Wishing all a great week ahead and keep cooking for your family! ;)

Taiwan Day 1: Taipei Main Station Underground Mall

2013-05-09T23:31:00.001+08:00

The hubby and I were excited for our 8D7N trip to Taiwan. We spent 2 nights in Taipei, then met up with our friends Keith & Shermin to go to Yilan for a quick 2D 1N trip, followed by Hualien for 2 nights and finally back to Taipei (including a trip to Xin Bei Tou and Danshui) for 3D 2N.
We got on to a Scoot flight and reached Taoyuan International Airport really early in the morning at 6:30am!

This time, we decided to take a bus to our hotel. The hubby had so wisely booked a hotel that is situated opposite the Taipei Main Railway Station. The bus to take is from the Kuo-Kuang company.

^Display boards showing bus timings. The Kuo-Kuang bus departs from the airport at intervals of about 20-30mins.

^We bought our tickets on the spot from the bus counters. No need to choose timings!

The journey took an hour and brought us almost to our doorstep!
I will be doing more posts on our hotels. Our first hotel accommodation was called New Stay Inn.
Now we were ready to start conquering Taipei… by looking for breakfast! The time was 8:30am. Most of the shops were not opened yet save for the food outlets.

^Fresh from the oven giant buns who were bigger than my face! Really cheaper when compared to SG…
We settled for this stall along the street near our hotel with a small seating area… There were a few of such shops around selling similar breakfast foods.

^Iced coffee (in TW it is called ‘冰咖啡’and not ‘咖啡冷的’) – A must for us at this time!

^Piping hot savory pancakes with fried egg, topped with sweet sauce!

^Delicious burger with a fried-on-the-spot meat patty.
After eating, time check 9+am. Still too early. Even the huge Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store was not opened yet. No, not even the shops at the Taipei Main Station.
In this metro station, you can find many linked malls including Station Underground Mall, Station Front Metro Mall and Q Square. Also, this metro station has 28 exits/entrances! So do make sure that you follow the signs and don't get lost...… and happy shopping!

^Shop shutters at the Underground Mall.
At around 10:30-11 am, you can start smelling the aroma of food and the bustling noise of the shutters being opened.
The shops here are a delectable mix of food stalls, cafes, small restaurants, bakeries, clothes, shoes, cosmetics, local produce.
I did not really have the time to explore these malls but I personally thought the fashion here (those that I had seen) is not too updated? However, I did hear from others that there are a lot of ladies’ shoes sold here at very good prices. Go check them out!
Outlets of beauty cum pharmacy chain Cosmed (somewhat similar to Watsons… Watsons can be found in Taiwan too) can be found readily underground. Do visit the bigger outlet to look for interesting stuffs.
Interesting stuffs like a small blue bottle of body spray that apparently effectively removes food smells from your clothes. It is called Xiong2 Bao3 Bei4 and is available in Cosmed.
I also bought a pack of facial masks from Cosmed.

^The box of masks (25 pieces) I bought that costs 349 NT (S$14.80 only!).
Gosh and the socks here at the Underground Mall! You’ve got to stock up on socks from here (and Raohe NM (it has more variety))! 4-6 pairs of socks for 100 NT! The hubby bought ten over pairs and wore them as disposables since they were soooo cheap!
Food wise, there was a section of the mall near the ‘Z’ entrances that sells smelly toufu. Beware, if you hate the smell! There are also cafes, restaurants, fast food and even specialty shops such as this famous cheese cake store at Q mall.

^Looks like nobody is here? Look again….

^It has a designated area for queuing!

We bought a cake to share. It was freshly baked and when eaten hot, it was fluffy and melts in your mouth. Really quite worth the wait!
The bakery next too it also sells delicious garlic breads in all sizes! YUMMY!
I am missing TW so much even as I blog… Do stay tuned for a lot more of my TW posts! :)

Homecooked food weekend: Braised Broccoli in Dangui and Chicken Stock, Tofu Beef Cheese and Chrysanthemum Tea Jelly

2013-05-06T20:34:00.001+08:00

The weekend had just passed and I hope you all had a great one!

I have been cooking for the family the past weekends and Sundays would be a day dedicated to trying out new recipes.

A few weekends ago, I did a simple luncheon meat fried rice with a couple of side dishes.

I had got the recipes once again from the Noobcook and they were all well-received by my family!

First up, BRAISED BROCCOLI IN DANGUI AND CHICKEN STOCK.

Full recipe here (I used prawns instead of scallops).

All the above 3 vegetables were steamed. Very healthy! Additionally danggui was used to enhance the chicken stock.

I googled and found a way to cook juicy succulent prawns. The trick is this…

Cold water!

After placing the prawns into boiling water for 1-2 minutes till it is cooked just nice, I took them out and threw them into the icy cold water to prevent them from further cooking. This really made a difference as the prawns ended up tasting oh so springy and fresh!

Secondly, I baked TOFU, BEEF & CHEESE. It was an easy and yet exciting recipe to follow… check it out here.

^Giving my minced beef a good massage after adding the yummy marinade sauce.

I sliced my tofu and placed them at the base of the baking dish. I should have used a less watery type of tofu as this one I used produced a little too much water at the end.

Here is the semi cooked beef after stir frying, laid on top of the tofu slices.

Now, here comes the yummiest part.

Throwing my entire packet of shredded mozzarella cheese to more than cover the beef. At this point, I was sure this dish would turn out well. Which dish could fail miserably with that much cheese??

Here is the end result!

This was so yummy! I definitely could do this again for parties!

Lastly, here is dessert – cooling and refreshing CHRYSANTHEMUM TEA JELLY. The recipe is here. As per the recipe, I added wolfberries which are supposedly good for the eyes.

I hunted high and low around my neighbourhood to find these rubber jelly moulds. They didn’t come cheap at S$3.50 a piece!

1 packet of the Konnyaku powder I used yielded 10 pieces of jellies.

I will continue to put in good effort to try new delicious and healthy recipes for my family! Do you have any ideas for easy, fast homecooked food? Do share!

Survival 101: Grocery runs with kids

2013-05-02T15:23:00.001+08:00

As a parent of 2 young boys, time seems to always be a precious commodity.

Ideally, most of us parents will like to spend all our free time outside of work with them. But there are always the mundane things in life that we have to take time out to settle like grocery shopping.

I have a love-hate relationship with going “super-marketing.” Its kinda therapeutic to be walking along the aisle with fresh greens on one side and the cool air from the chillers blowing onto you on the other. BUT it can be far more stressful going to the supermarket with two young boys in tow.

ESPECIALLY when you are trying to read food labels or trying to figure out if the price of the “everyday low price” item is really of great value. One moment, my boys can be ripping off the sale labels off the shelves, the other moment they can be running amok in the supermarket and crashing into other shoppers’ trolleys. The pressure of having to keep my boys entertained, avoiding dagger stares and being a considerate shopper to other fellow shoppers in the supermarket all at the same time can really be intense.

Over the years, I have sort of perfected the art of going on grocery runs with my 2 boys in tow. Here are some tips that I hope you can find useful:

1) List down your shopping list AND stick to it.

I know this sounds cliché but treat going on the grocery run with your kids like an army mission. Know your targets and start hunting for them once you enter the store in order to minimize your time spent inside. You really don’t want your kids to get bored and start fussing as you shop.

2) Avoid the biscuits and baby food section at all costs!

^Always HUNGRY!!!

Julien’s eyes tend to light up whenever he sees the Gerbers biscuits and gummies that he has eaten before. Even if I agree to buy the items he want, he who has yet to master the art of patience will want to rip open the box and consume them right away. You know the rest of the story when I ask him to “WAIT’’ till we get him before opening the item …………….

3) Look for the supermarket’s promotion brochure and pass them to your toddler.

It’s a good time for them to practice their reading skills and maybe even help you find good buys! For young toddlers, it is always an amusing time to identify familiar items on the brochure.

4) Try to ensure a one adult to one kid ratio.

If I am bringing both my boys, I try to ensure my husband tags along to not just help to carry my groceries but also have an extra pair of eyes trained on my boys. The last thing I need is having them topple some display items in the supermarket.

♣ Star Tip: If you bring along your in-laws or your parents, you can even get some discounts off your total bill on certain days of the week which are designated Senior Citizen Day at some supermarkets. (Tuesday for NTUC Fairprice, Mondays & Fridays for Prime Mart etc)

5) Browse online beforehand to ensure greater value for your buck!

When I was young, one of my favorite activities was cutting out discount coupons every Thursday after my mum had pored through the day’s edition of the Straits Times to check on promotions by NTUC Fairprice. Fast forward to 2013, we no longer have to cut coupons but we can scroll online to check on the latest promotions without resorting to flipping through the papers. You can even compare between various supermarkets with ease!

♣ Star Tip: Here are the URLs of the promotional advertisements (mostly in PDF) from the major supermarkets in Singapore

NTUC FAIRPRICE GIANT SHENG SIONG COLD STORAGE

6) Buy in bulk to qualify for free delivery for bulky items.

Cold Storage and GIANT offer such services if your final bill exceeds $150 and $200 respectively. No more lugging of bulky items up and down the car or up and down the lift. Get them delivered to your home!

I hope you had enjoyed my review on Pampers (if not, read them here, here, here and here) as well as the parenting tips brought to you by Pampers Singapore so far (if not, click here, here and here)!

*This post is brought to you by Pampers Singapore*

Pampers Active Baby Series (Part 4)

2013-04-29T09:00:00.000+08:00

[Sponsored Review]

If you are a parent of a toddler, I bet you would have already discovered his/her ability of NOT being able to stay still (and silent) for long. The boundless energy and activity never fails to amaze me.

With my sons awake, I can almost never enjoy a moment of peace (read inactivity). My Jensen for example climbs onto furniture then stands dangerously on the edge of it. Worse still, he jumps happily on it. He hangs from chairs, he slides down from the high bed and the long list goes on.

In summary, my sons are ACTIVE creatures.

As a good mother, I do not restrict them. Though troublesome and heart-stopping at times, I like it that they are active and full of energy!

As you can see from the picture above, my sons wear the Pampers Active Baby Pants. Pampers is my choice for my active boys because…

(1) It has a soft stretch material to help prevent pressure marking

Can you imagine wearing tight pants and moving around? Uncomfortable!

(2) Slim crotch shaped like an underwear to help your baby move freely

No wonder my Jensen is so happy to ‘roam’ about freely wearing ONLY the baby pants!

To end of the series of my review on Pampers, I really think it is a fantastic product for my active boys. Comfortable, dry, cute looking! Do check out my last post on parenting tip brought to you by Pampers Singapore!

Bonding with my kids

2013-04-24T18:00:00.000+08:00

I am a full-time working mum and I really have ALOT to thank my mother-in-law and domestic helper for. Taking care of my kids when I am away at work…

Have I ever considered switching to part-time or quitting my job to be a stay-at-home ~~tai tai~~ mum? YES definitely! But I, being the workaholic and of course wanting to increase the standard of living for my family, decided to stay put.

And with that decision to continue to work full-time, I told myself that I got to put in a 101% effort to bond with my kids.

PHYSICAL TOUCH

The hubby and I hug (& kiss) both my kids ALOT every day.

We love to play this little game with our them. Hubby and I will be on each side of one of them, we count to three slowly, then both of us give him a BIG bear hug and plant a juicy fat kiss on each side of his face.

You should see their faces! Bursting with so much happiness and joy. Try it with your kid!

HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YOU

Parenting is love in action. And a great way to express your love to your kids is simply to tell them “I LOVE YOU”.

We tell our kids that we love them… EVERYDAY… Many times…

PLAYING & READING

I remember when I was a kid, I would love to get my dad and mum to play my favorite games with me (Yeah, I probably was that irritating kid who frequently bothered my parents to play with me all the time…). My family bonded through family time during a monopoly game, jigsaw puzzles…

I also find great joy to read an animated storybook to my kids. I usually go crazy in front of my kids – roaring like a mad lion, jumping like a happy monkey, meowing non-stop (complete with the whiskers action) like a cat… Everything was exaggerated to capture their attention, help them to learn and to make them laugh! I admit sometimes we laugh so much together, we would be in tears… :) I find reading a great time to bond as well.

EXPERIENCE TOGETHER

I mentioned a few blogposts ago that the hubby and I decided to bring the kids out often to help them to ‘see’ the world as well as to spend time experiencing the outdoors together as a family.

Even if it is just the playground near our house, the kids would be elated…

And I make the effort to not just sit at one corner watching them play but engage them. At the playground, this (crazy) mum would be playing catching with the kids (they absolutely love it but oh how tiring for mummy!), praising them to the skies for being SO brave when they conquered the slides.

So, what are the ways you bond with your kids? Do share some precious tips!

*This post is brought to you by Pampers Singapore*

Pampers Active Baby Series (Part 3)

2013-04-22T15:14:00.001+08:00

[Sponsored Review]

WHAT IF…

Your baby’s diapers ‘explode’ (with pee or poo of course) at a place with no toilets nearby?

Or a place like the water park with no proper baby changing facility?

WHAT IF you are too lazy to bring your baby to the diaper changing station? (This is most often the case for me!)

When I first got promoted to be a mummy, I used to worry about this issue. I thought I should (a) either not bring my baby to places with no diaper-changing facility (I am not even certain of which places provide!) or (b) not go out for too long with my babies at all!

But I realized the solution soon enough… Get baby pants and bring these out instead of the normal diapers!

You can change your baby out of those soiled diapers on the spot,where ever you are!

Easy peasy! BUT… I had another important concern. Mummy had to find trusted baby pants that would be able to keep my babies dry.

Both my boys are water guzzlers ESPECIALLY Julien!

He LOVES drinking water. Every hour he would be looking for a cup or bottle of water…

Input alot = Output alot

I had to find trusted baby pants to hold my babies’ pee well as they scoot around outdoors during the day!

I am glad this issue was solved when I discovered Pampers Active Baby Pants is able to keep up to 12 hours of dryness! And like its diapers, it has an extra locking layer that helps lock away wetness to keep baby dry.

Besides, the baby pants though very absorbent is absolutely not bulky (so it does not take up too much space in my already-very-full diaper bag) and specially tailored for your baby’s comfort (more in my last post on Pampers next week!).

Yippee! No more worries at all for me when I bring my babies out the whole day now :)

My Fever-Fighting Routine

2013-04-18T01:03:00.001+08:00

When my baby looks flushed, feels warmer than usual, appears irritable, my natural instinct like most mothers will be to reach for that ear thermometer. And when dreaded number appears in excess of 37.5 degrees celsius, my much-practised routine kicks in! Here’s what works for my kids in general:

1. Don’t fret!

2. Feed the appropriate medication.

I give either paracetamol or ibuprofen (in an alternate manner but never together!). Check with your doctor for the correct dosage for your child’s age.

3. Make sure your child is well-hydrated.

4. Please do not wrap your child like a Subway sandwich! I try to make sure my kids wear loose clothing and sleep under the cool radius of a fan.

5. Bring your child’s temperature down.

Here are the things that I do to get the temperature down….

a) Sponging with cool water, and even showering with lukewarm water.

b) Pasting a fever patch on the forehead (we buy the Koolfever Relief Pads from NTUC for S$5.80 for 6 pieces).

c) Our ‘secret’ weapon: A cooling pad!

We bought the full-length (about the same length as Jensen) cooling mat from one of the Japanese discount stores along Bugis Street for under S$10! I think this is a BEST-BUY in my opinion. Inside it is a cooling gel. You do not need to refrigerate or freeze it. It is just naturally cool by itself!

We get the boys to sleep on it whenever they run a fever. And of course they hate it. So we have to wait until they are sound asleep before we place this mat under their body.

Very COOL! Works like sponging our kids without all that dampness.

6. Last of all, do keep your baby comfy and dry with good quality breathable diapers like Pampers. A sick & worse still uncomfortable baby makes a VERY cranky, unhappy baby!

Have a good work week everyone!

*This post is brought to you by Pampers Singapore*

The Boys’ Outfit of the Day

2013-04-16T08:30:00.000+08:00

Almost every weekend, the boys would follow us to church and it would be mummy’s chance to dress them up.

Here’s Jensen in long-sleeved cotton checkered shirt and jeans both from Gap. Socks were bought off the supermarket shelf (will you believe it!)!

I think this boy will grow up to be a heart-breaker, don’t you think?

One of Jensen’s favorite word is ‘Cat Cat’ and he recognizes one when he sees it.

Here’s Julien wearing oh-so-cute and kinda retro shirt from Bangkok, corduroy brown jeans from a factory outlet in Bandung and cool checkered shoes from Gap.

And yes, he enjoys drinking.. water.

Here’s part of the mummy’s outfit. I so love pretty skirts!

Bored and so he decides to hone his iphonegraphy skills. “Hi Uncle Darren, SMILE!”

We had lunch then afternoon tea and desserts straight after it. You can’t really do much with 2 active kids and 2 tired adults together on a humid afternoon..

And usually Sunday afternoons end (peacefully) like this…

By the way, the hubby & I will be jetting off to Taiwan for a holiday (without the kiddos) next week! Together with another couple friends of ours, we will be visiting taipei, hualien and yilan… Can’t wait!

Pampers Active Baby Series (Part 2)

2013-04-15T09:34:00.001+08:00

According to statistics, about 20 percent of babies and toddlers have eczema (also called atopic dermatitis).

Unfortunately, Jensen is one of this 20 percent.

^Rashes on the joints of his hands.

My dear younger son Jensen can be briefly described as ENERGY personified. And his high levels of activity causes him to perspire a great deal, almost all the time.

^Look here at his hair styled by... SWEAT!

As eczema is not exactly curable, mummy can only pray it goes away eventually and in the meantime, take extra good care of his skin.

√ I bathe him at least twice a day without fail to keep him clean and cool.

√ I moisturize him especially the eczema-prone areas such as his joints.

√ I use mild, fragrance free soap to bathe him.

√ I dress him in cool, natural fabrics to keep him dry and comfortable. Including diapers, like those from Pampers Active Baby Series.

I really appreciate the fact that the makers of Pampers had so thoughtfully designed their diapers to be (1) dry with an extra-locking layer to lock away wetness from the baby, (2) comfortable with a soft cotton-like outer cover with great breathability and (3) hypollergenic (meaning it is relatively unlikely to cause an allergic reaction) lotion with aloe vera (good for the skin!) extract.

So even though there often are patches of rashes appearing around the joints of his hands and knees, I must say his bottom is almost always as smooth as toufu (silky beancurd)! Thank God for no horrid diaper rash on my baby's sensitive skin...

The moral of the story: Invest in good diapers... The investment goes a long, comfy way for you & your baby!

National Siblings Day

2013-04-13T09:00:00.000+08:00

National Siblings Day. I’ve heard about Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and even Grandparent’s Day. But National Siblings Day?

I had only heard of this recently and it happened just 3 days ago on 10 April this year. So this post is dedicated to my one and only bunch of siblings….!

As the saying goes, “Blood is thicker than water”. And this I fully agree.

Me and my siblings, we are REALLYREALLYREALLY close.

^Christmas 2012

I am the eldest, #2 Val is 2 years younger than I am, #3 Jas is 8 years younger and #4 Dan is 9 years younger.

^God knows when this was taken!?

3 roses and a thorn. And we click super well with one another.

^ 2007 trip to Taiwan.

Perhaps circumstances brought us close together. Our parents left us at a young age (Dad passed away when I was 18 years old and mum passed away 2 years later). We had to fend for one another and take care of our grandma who had dementia. But well, we could have fall out with each other or hated our family. But no, we did not. We each made good effort to love and take care of one other.

Bonding moments…

^We do silly wacky things together like just yesterday?!

^Hurhur…

Even after I got married 5 years ago and moved out of the house that we lived together…

my siblings never fails to visit me or we would have dinners together almost about once every week. Talk about commitment.

We were always there for each other through our good times and bad…

^Jas’s School of Theology graduation a couple of years back.

^Jensen’s one-month old gathering

^A very proud moment :)

I am really thankful for my sisters & brother and I do love them deeply.

My prayer now is - that my own 2 little sons also grow up to be close to each other, watching out for each other’s interests.

Love is not automatic and mummy is teaching the little boys everyday to love, share and care for each other.

Happy National Siblings Day with love!

Bath Time Battles: My Toddler HATES The Bath!

2013-04-10T06:58:00.001+08:00

I think it all started when we first exposed Julien to swimming in a real pool when he just turned 12 months old during our trip to Penang. We always hear our friends gushing about how their kids love to play in the water and were excited to introduce him to an afternoon dip with us in while we were on holiday at Hard Rock Hotel Penang. The meandering pool, multiple water slides, little floats and inflatable boats…….. We thought our little man was going to be in for a treat and take to the water like a fish.

BUT…………. He was more like a cat in the face of that gigantic pool of blue, almost adverse to getting himself wet. Certainly also not too thrilled with all that water splashing onto his face and that occasional dunk sort of frighten him big-time.

^Doesn’t Julien look horrified?!!

Since then, he began his love-hate relationship with bath-time.

On good days, he will just whine as he reluctantly troop into the shower. But on bad days, he will wail as if tomorrow will never come. My neighbours will be forgiven for thinking we are some chronic child-abusers. We just have the good fortune of not having the men in blue come knocking on our door yet. *fingers crossed*

As Julien grew older, and oh yes stronger, he will resort to battling it all out – punch, kick, holler (*think war cry*) in his futile attempts to avoid the bath. The hubby will jokingly ask after each bathtime with Julien stepping out weary and mummy feeling bruised, “How many chickens and pigs were slaughtered in the abattoir (aka bathroom) today?”. Boy………You cannot imagine the din behind that closed bathroom door! I never knew bathtime can be so emotionally distressing for both mother and child.

In an attempt to make bathtime more appealing for our little man, hubby and I cracked our brains to conjure up stuffs to lure Julien to bath in the hope of reducing his level of agitation during bath time. Some of our tricks worked to some extent….… and I would like to share these with fellow mummies and daddies who experience the same daily battle as us.

Tip #1: THROW HIS FAVORITE TOY INTO THE BATHTUB

Like a bait to a fish. Self-explanatory.

Tip #2: SHAMPOO SUDS

It’s interesting to see how fascinated my son is with shampoo suds.

I scrub his hair with the shampoo, gather the shampoo suds between my thumb and index finger, then flick them to the floor.

----SHORT PAUSE-----

*Giggles Aplenty!!!*

I also draw smiley faces on the wall using these suds.

And I begin naming these smiley faces… Daddy (his favorite character), Mummy (next favorite), Jensen and so on…!

Shampoo suds… Highly entertaining I must say!

Tip #3: BUBBLE MANIA!

My next weapon, literally…

Bubble Power!

These bubbles have never failed me thus far!

Tip #4: CATCHY SONGS

These days, I no longer sing my favorite songs in the bathroom. I sing HIS favorites instead. All time rock classics like “The Wheels On the Bus” gets him happy and dancing whilst mummy soaps him from head to toe furiously!

With these tricks, I have a more manageable, much better behaved son during his bath time these days. *Sigh of relief*!

And before you think the battle is all over, do complete your baby/toddler’s comfort regime for the day after bath with good comfy diapers (like Pampers!). Remember, a happy baby makes a happy mummy (and daddy). :)

Pampers Active Baby Series (Part 1)

2013-04-08T08:00:00.000+08:00

[Sponsored Review]

We all know Singapore ain’t the cheapest of places to raise up kids. As a parent of 2 very young boys, I have come to realize that besides the pre-school education expenses, the biggest recurrent expenses are made up of the following:

i) Medical bills

Every time we pay the paediatrician a visit, I come out of the clinic with a renewed conviction to inspire my sons to want to be doctors i.e. more specifically to study paediatric medicine – after we see the medical bill each time of course!

ii) Formula Milk

The primary source of nutrition for young toddlers above 6 months/after the breastmilk feeding phase and boy……. I mean both my boys are major guzzlers of this!

iii) Diapers

Choice of mine was disposable diapers, for convenience’s sake and the fact that the hubby is a stickler for hygiene!

I had the good fortune recently to be invited by OMY to be one of the reviewers for Pampers – Active Baby & Active Pants Series. Frankly when the opportunity came up, I thought it was a no-brainer to go for it as I have virtually experimented with every brand of diaper that sits on that supermarket shelf so *ahem*, I should be quite qualified to chip in a few of my comments :)

And like what I wrote earlier, diapers is a major recurrent costs for most young parents and we should really be choosing the most comfortable yet pocket-friendly diaper for our little princes and princesses.

But seriously I need no real introduction to Pampers – this is one of the more common diaper brands that many of our fellow young parent friends use. AND which other word is so synonymous with the word diapers? Case in point, my mum-in-law refers to diapers as Pampers – regardless of what brand of diapers that is!

There you go, Pampers has really been a trusted household name for disposable diapers and I have grown to understand (*after much poo and pee*) why this is so. This post is part I of a eight-parter series over the course of a month proudly sponsored by Pampers. We kicked off with cutie-pie Jensen trying out his Active Baby Diapers and here’s why I will recommend Pampers!

1) It keeps my baby DRY

This is the primary function of a diaper – To absorb the poo & pee and keep our babies dry. Pampers Active Baby series promise up to 12 hours of dryness and I must say Pampers does this very well. Seeing is believing…

I changed Jensen into his Pampers at 9pm before putting him to bed. These are the pictures of the diaper BEFORE USE.

^Jensen looks really happy and comfy wearing the diapers!

After a full bottle of milk for the night feed, a few sips of water before going to bed AND 11 hours later in the morning at 8am…

^My boy looking happy in the morning!

Here’s how the Pampers diaper looked like overnight…

TADAH!!!!

^I know it looks really full right? But no leaks at all! Happy Baby = Happy Mummy

^side view

^front view

I must say, the Pampers Active Baby Series diaper did a good job of holding the pee overnight!

2) It keeps me SANE

Two schools of thoughts for those of us who use disposable diapers for our babies – A) Use a cheaper diaper and change numerous times through the day or B) Use a premium diaper and change just a few times a day.

I am frankly the kind of parent who chooses her battles so (B) is for me. I much rather shell out a bit more $$$ (Pampers might be premium in quality but its prices are really not much of a premium over other brands, wait till you see the prices of the Japanese imported brands!) than lose sleep by waking up every night to help my boy change his diaper and prevent him from converting his mattress into a water bed!

With Pampers Active Baby diapers, my boys and I can sleep through the night without a nary of a worry that he will soil his mattress. And hey, using lesser diapers in a day go a small way in helping the environment too. ;)

3) It keeps my SICK baby DRY

Jensen was down with a bout of diarrhoea and fever recently.

Usually his diapers tend to overflow due to the large volume of watery poo and small chocolate puddles will mark the places Jensen sits on with his soiled diapers. Argghhhhh………….. But thank God, this time round he was wearing the Pampers Active Baby diaper. We were pleasantly surprised no side leaks at all despite his frequent episodes of watery poo.

Kudos once again to Pampers which apparently has an extra-locking layer which helps to lock away wetness and keep my darling (and my home) dry!

To end off, here’s wishing everyone a Happy Monday… And do watch this space for more posts brought to you by Pampers!

Easy recipes… and becoming a 90% good mom

2013-04-07T12:27:00.000+08:00

Ever since I had a family… I mean a full-fledged one… I mean the family with real young kiddos, I made up my mind to be more domesticated.

Either that, or I get domestic help.

I want to provide healthy, nutritious, home-cooked meals for the boys (including the big one) in my life. Just the way my mom did when I was young.

I am so mighty glad I got myself a domestic helper who likes to cook and learns to do so quickly. She learnt so much from my mother-in-law in such a short time and we now eat at home every weekend.

I do the marketing (yes I do enjoy marketing at the local wet market) and directing. She does the actual cooking and washing of course.

I do feel a tad bad that I do not actually do the cooking. I get the nagging feeling that I am not the 100% good mom. Maybe now, only the 75% good mom (many percentage points deducted because of not being able to do the cooking).

One good day, a colleague of mine who loves to cook and bake and has young kids of her own, brought home-cooked assam fish curry to work. It tasted heavenly! Her recipe was from the the noobcook’s website.

I like the name. NOOBCOOK.

It sounds ALOT like me.

I went home that day and browsed the website. I was pleasantly surprised and very excited to see that the recipes were VERY doable! Yippee! There is hope I can be a 90% good mommy now (I need another post to explain the remaining 10%).

And so I tried noobcook’s assam fish recipe.

It was a little too sour maybe because I enthusiastically added too much tamarind. BUT I must say, honestly, that it still tasted great with hot fluffy white rice! My siblings enjoyed it so much they took extra portions of rice to go with this spicy dish. :) SUCCESS!

As the hubby does not take assam and fish (and many other stuffs especially the green ones), I whipped up another dish of steamed egg tofu with braised meat. Another recipe I found on the same website.

^Looks good doesn’t it? Tastes good too :)

I will definitely be exploring more recipes the next weekends.

Thanks NoobCook for imparting your recipes to noobier cooks like me!

Blessed!

2013-04-06T01:27:00.001+08:00

So blessed because I was in the kitchen yesterday morning and I heard Julien counting his car puzzle by himself. 1… 2… 3… (I was trying to contain my excitement and tried very hard to suppress screaming out in joy)… 4… 5… 6!

I know Julien is already 2.5 years old but a speech therapist advised us late last year that he was about one year behind his peers in terms of speech development.

It made us a little worried but almost everyday since he started preschool, hearing him speak new words is like… a breath of fresh air! We are proud parents.

Slowly but surely, Julien WILL be a chatterbox that we can finally understand.

^Julien wearing his handmade easter bunny ears. He is such a cute bunny I know… ;)

^Best ‘cake’ I could ever have… 2 inverted tubfuls of Ben & Jerry’s!

_{*Bananas are creator’s own and not B&J products.}

So blessed cos it was my birthday 2 weeks ago! Not too happy about the increasing number of my age but happy because I got to spend time with different loved ones and blessed through the prayers, gifts and encouragements showered upon me.

Some of the gifts were used almost, if not everyday! Like the white Baby G that the hubby got for me. This was one of the 3 things he bought me this birthday!

The best thing was that he bought a G-shock, also in white, for himself. Our first couple item. Aww… Never knew the hubby was THIS sweet.

And this card holder a dear colleague bought me…

I absolutely love the wham bam neon pink color! I carry my EZlink card, office access card in it and I carry it EVERYDAY whereever I go.

Thankful too for the other $$, bags, pouches, dresses, circus tickets, makeup palette, lunch treats etc that others have so generously blessed me with!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PLAYED A PART IN MY LIFE! YOU ARE SPECIAL TO ME IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!

I AM BLESSED!!!

Nijyumaru Japanese Food in Skudai

2013-04-03T19:01:00.000+08:00

Everytime we travel up to Skudai, we would love to try out the food at some restaurants there. Prices are so affordable due to the exchange rate.

This time, we decided to try out Nijyumaru Japanese Restaurant.

A set meal like this costs about S$10.

I ordered a grilled salmon teriyaki set for S$7.

It was one of the most well-done grilled salmon I had for the price. Many of the low end eateries I had tried offer hard, stale grilled salmon but not this one.

We ordered the salmon sashimi which was fresh but not cheap, at S$2 a slice…

I would not say the food was superb! or fantabulous!!. But it was value for money and worth trying if you are in that area. :)

Nijyumaru

94, Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4

Taman Sutera Utama

81300 Skudai, Johor Bahru

Malaysia

Tel: 07-558 9818

Skudai Saturday

2013-04-01T17:37:00.001+08:00

Hey everyone, how was your long Easter weekend holiday? As always, Easter reminds me that because Jesus lives, we can live… ♥

Last week, we scooted off to Skudai for a really short break. Here are some of our pictures caught in camera:

^Much needed pedicure therapy… I am loving this nude pink shade!

^Bread & coffee for breakfast in SG is always good enough for me. But when we are off to Malaysia, a hearty breakfast is a must!

Very tempted to purchase this hairband with cat ears. A good reason (or an excuse) is so I can teach my boys ‘Cat Cat… Meowww!’. Any hairband with the rabbit, dog and elephant ears eh?

You will be surprised to find quite a number of cafes, eateries and dessert places along the roads here.

And many pweety boutiques too!

Hungry and time to satisfy our sweet tooth…

^ That is pumpkin and almond. Good enough for the boys to eat!

At the end of our trip, we just had to pack KFC back… In our opinion, it is tastier than SG’s… especially the coleslaw!

We were caught in a traffic jam on the way back and the whole time (minus the time I dozed off) I was thinking about my boys. Mummy missed them even for less than a day! Was mighty glad to see them eventually! Like a mini reunion…

And our day ended. With KFC of course. And trying to get the boys sleepy and off to bed before Daddy and Mummy crashed ourselves. :)

The Sweetie

2013-03-30T00:08:00.001+08:00

Yes, I am talking about Julien. :)

His smile (especially when he sees the camera in front of him) is enough to melt one’s heart.

Just yesterday, I was fetching him from school as usual. He greeted me with a huge smile on his face then excitedly took up his trolley bag to leave the drama cum waiting-for-parents room.

He walked to the shoe cabinet and stopped in his path. I told him to bring down his shoes but he didn’t. Instead, he held onto my hand and tugged me to follow him. He was leading me away from the exit…

Hmm… what is my little boy up to this time?

He walked towards the empty classrooms and stopped in front of a lighted computer room. His face brightened up with a smile and he waved and said “Bai!” (Or “Bye”. Julien just mastered the word “Bye” and so it sounded like “Bai! (with a staccato)).

At this point, I couldn’t see who or what he was waving to.

Then one of the teaching assistants, a motherly-looking, plumpish lady walked out… grinning. She placed her hands to her heart and said “Awww, Julien knew I was here and came here to look for me, just to say ‘Goodbye’.”

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

She then gave him a big bear hug.

Isn’t he such a sweetie???

Have a happy Easter everyone!

My Lawry’s Experience… at last!

2013-03-27T23:52:00.001+08:00

For my birthday last week, the hubby so wonderfully booked lunch at Lawry’s. I was honestly quite excited about this because I am a steak lover!

The restaurant’s setting was formal. Singaporeans, try not to wear your bermudas and flip-flops there!

The classic bread and butter was served as we pondered over the menu…

We decided we should each order a set of steak and Lawry’s supposed best prime ribs.

Our waitress who served us was a dedicated one.

I could tell that she would be standing in a corner, watching our every move. When we’ve finished one course, she would come over to check if we like our next course to be served. The other waiters would ensure our water glasses are always full too. I wonder if they would be as attentive if the restaurant was more packed..

Anyway, back to our food… For the USDA Prime Rib, there are the Singapore Cut, the California Cut, the English Cut, the Lawry’s Cut and the “Diamond Jim Brady” Cut.

Thank God, the hubby saw that his fellow four-squarers had recommended the English Cut (three thin slices) as the portion was just nice. So that was ordered.

The Prime Rib lunch included…

The Famous Original Spinning Bowl Salad.

This lady would come along and pour a cup of their vintage dressing into the bowl of salad and spin the bowl atop a bigger bowl of ice.

Salad was served with a chilled fork. How sweet of them…

The salad contained lettuce, beetroot, cherry tomatos, mashed egg and croutons. I added seasoned pepper to it. It was a tasty salad but I thought the dressing (which honestly tasted like thousand island sauce) was a tad too much for my liking.

Yorkshire Pudding.

Tasted like a more puffy version of French Toast. It was supposed to be good with the meat gravy.

Whipped Cream horseradish and normal horseradish.

This was left almost untouched. It tasted like wasabi which I did not like…

And lastly, the mains – English Cut Prime Ribs with Idaho Mashed Potato.

Hmm… I had thought it would come in ‘rib form’. The one with bones? But it arrived in 3 thin slices as stated in the menu.

And its arrival came in this queer looking ‘vehicle’…

It was a portable oven!

A chef came with our dedicated waitress who asked me for the type of meat I preferred. My prime rib which was done medium well was very tender and succulent.

I had no space in my stomach for almost all of the whipped potato and the pudding…

The hubby ordered the prime black angus steak- single cut ribeye steak, also done medium well.

Choice of black pepper, mushroom or bearnaise sauce is available.

The beef was juicy and very well cooked.

He also added on mushroom soup, dessert and coffee to complete the meal.

Hubby almost regretted ordering the set meal as he too had no more space for dessert and coffee after the main course. We merely sampled the cake and coffee and we could only conclude- Lawry’s is a place for the meat only. ;)

It was a very filling (*burp) experience at Lawry’s. I would say that it’s meat offerings is superior. However, I had to deal with 2 days of indigestion after this meal. Too much good meat for my stomach to handle I say!

By the way, you may be interested to know that we enjoyed a 1-for-1 promotion for lunch. Payment must be made with a DBS/POSB credit or debit card.

Lawry’s The Prime Rib Singapore

333A Orchard Road

#04-01/31

Mandarin Gallery

Tel: 6836 333

Le Noir Singapore

2013-03-22T02:24:00.001+08:00

Thanks to a good friend of mine, I got to watch my first ever cirque performance with the hubby last night.

This was also my first time at the Marina Bay Sands theatre.

I realized that you could buy snacks and drinks into the theatre just like in the cinemas.

But of course, get ready for MBS prices like S$5.90 for a pack of M&Ms.

I couldn’t help wonder how the performance was going to happen on such a puny stage as this. Looked like it is indeed going to be an intimate setting. Can’t wait!….

Once the performance started, it was 100% entertainment for the rest of the night.

The performers were dressed in white, red and black for the entire show and I personally liked the white best. Reminded me of a Victoria Secret fashion show except there were beautiful women AND well-built (& really hunky) men strutting around.

The hubby and I were awed and absolutely blown away by the strength, flexibility, coordination and balancing skills of every talented performer. There was NO room for any error at all!

Every act was near perfect, if not perfect! I was wondering how young these performers should have started out in order to achieve such skills and how hard and long they must have practiced every day. Do they feel nervous at EVERY single show?? I felt nervous for them! I would be thinking “Will they fall? “ “Will they fly?” “Will they drop?”

But they DIDN’T!

Watch out also for the highly amusing clown that comes out during different intervals.

For those of you sitting at the front near the stage or near the aisle, BEWARE!

The clown is such a public entertainer by getting the audience to burst out in laughter and engage with him constantly. I guess it helps that he looks like Charlie Chaplain. ;)

All in all, the hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire show. We agreed that it is a world class act!

*Applause Applause*!!! According to the website, the shows are running until 7 April 2013. Do catch it if you can! (By the way, this post is not a sponsored review )

Note: If you are driving, do note you can redeem a complimentary carpark coupon by showing your tickets to the concierge.

PS: I apologize for the bad photos taken. They were taken on my iPhone and no flash photography was allowed!

Food Glorious Food

2013-03-16T02:11:00.001+08:00

I was rummaging through the photos of my iPhone 4S and was thinking which photos I can delete.

I honestly can’t bear to delete any of the photos… Even the blurred ones. That is absolutely how indecisive I can be.

I have quite a number of photos I took of the yummier food I ate. Since I do not really want to store them, I decided I will just ‘dump’ them on the blog.

Here’s the first lot from TAANG SHIFU (literally translated as Soup Master) @ KSL mall in Johor Bahru!

Healthy snack of guava with preserved mandarin peel instead of the usual peanuts.

If you are the health conscious eater, you’ve got to try this place. Less salt, less oil, I think nothing fried, and almost everything with the good chinese nutritional stuffs (think sesame oil, gou zi ji, etc etc).

MANHATTAN FISH MARKET @ KSL MALL

The exact opposite of our healthy lunch from Taang Shifu!

Oil and more oil! Salt and more salt! Cheaper than SG though…

COASTAL SETTLEMENT @ CHANGI

My smiley faced dish.

The hubby and I agreed the food was not that fabulous + it was rather pricey! I guess we paid the price for the very nice ambience.

The Coastal Settlement

200 Netheravon Road

Singapore 508529

Tel: 6475 0200

XXX STEAMBOAT @ Taman Sutera (Can’t recall the name!)

This restaurant does not offer buffet but the food & service are of good quality.

I love how they nicely roll up their sukiyaki meat… Resembles love letters don’t they??

Went for a V day dinner at FOO HOUSE CAFE & BAR @ Simpang Bedok.

We read about the very good reviews from several food bloggers including Lady Iron Chef.

Rather old, musky and retro interior…

Frothiest brewed ice lemon tea I’ve ever had!

Fried mushrooms.

The food was above average and value for money (below $20 per dish). Not top romantic a place for couples though.

Foo House Cafe & Bar
6 Jalan Pari Burong Picardy Garden Singapore
Tel: 6445 3110

Lastly, to end off… I have saved the best for last - Here’s a couple of cheesecakes the hubby baked! Full of love, sweat and calories!

Chocolate cheesecake

Blueberry cheesecake

Dreaming of the cheesecake…

Farmart Centre Singapore

2013-03-10T00:13:00.001+08:00

Last week, the hubby and I decided that we shall endeavour to bring our boys out to various places of interests and learning TWICE a month.

We will TRY.

And that week itself, we planned a visit to Farmart Centre as we remembered the time J1 so enjoyed feeding the goats at the zoo.

We knew there were nothing much to do there except feed the animals but admission was FREE, so why not?!

There were a small variety of animals like the fishes…

Fat Frogs croaking in harmony…

Terrapins piling on top of one another. Bad example to my boys.

Uber cute hamsters. Or are they just mice?

Fluffy rabbits.

Colorful parrots walking up and down a branch. Many other birds around too.

And goats. Make it 3.

You can purchase a $5 pack of different animal foods to feed the always-so-hungry animals.

Now look at my brave little boys…

In the pack was also fish food. Look at this pack of hungry fishies!

It was quite a horrifying sight at least to me when I saw how they opened their huge mouths to devour the feed. But J1 was crackling with laughter as he saw them fighting for the food and swallowing it.

The pack also included carrot and corn sticks for the cute bunnies.

The bunnies seemed very hungry too as they kept coming towards us after they finished their sticks of food.

J1 also tried feeding the birds but he was quite afraid of their sharp beaks and gave up after a while.

So that was all for the feeding of the farm animals.

There are kiddy rides available at the place. J2 had more fun playing these rides than feeding the animals.

We had lunch at a zi char place situated within Farmart’s premises. The food was definitely above average.

We also explored some of the stalls there and ended up purchasing crocodile meat and cheap and probably fresher brown eggs, first born eggs, quail eggs there. Frozen quail meat was available there too!

There are many other farms in that area too. At the end of this visit, we decided we could visit the other farms soon!

Farmart Centre

67 Sungei Tengah Rd , Singapore (699008)
Tel : 65 6767 0070 Fax: 65 6767 4756
Email: enquiry@farmart.com.sg

Dec 2012 updates!

2013-01-06T01:48:00.001+08:00

It’s getting a little dusty here. Sorry for the lack of updates! Dec’s a really busy busy busy period for me.

First of all, a very belated Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Here’s my December 2012 in pictures…

My oh-so-cool boys J1 & J2.

My church group had our Christmas party at The Coffee Connoisseur.

Look at the Santas, Santarinas and Reindeer!

My one and only hand-made card this Christmas.

The poser… :)

My kiddos with some of their presents from our generous friends. J2 appreciates the presents a little more than J1…

Even the SG trees know it’s Christmas? Don’t they look kinda chrismassy?

Gingerbread house! Awesome!!!

Organized a mini Appreciation Dinner for CG. Did some cupcake awards for the really really really awesome helpers in our midst.

Our first (and thank God successful) attempt at Thai Pineapple Rice. The abundance of pork floss played an important part.

Look at this cheese cake.

The hubby baked this! YES, the-baked-then-refrigerated kind of a cheesecake with REAL (2 boxes worth of) blueberries!!! This was really DELISH! And of course very unkind to the waistline…

We had another gathering at Mdm Cheong’s place. And the hub proudly baked another cheesecake. This time with REAL oreos!

It’s amazing how time flies. We used to be from the same cg when we were tertiary students. And look how we multiplied… We are indeed blessed to be fruitful. :)

And now coming up in January 2013… It’s J2’s first birthday coming up so soon!

J2 has grown to be such a handsome boy and thank goodness the hair on his head grew out nicely and just in time!

Besides learning how to walk a few steps, he has mastered quite a number of stunts like blowing bubbles using the saliva in his mouth (hmmm), doing ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ with his hands, making the tarzan call and of course swallowing swords (see picture below).

Nothing very useful YET but we are teaching him stuffs like throwing the litter away in the bins, asking for angpows (yes Chinese New Year is coming)…

I hope your 2013 had been good so far.

Till the next post, good night!

Grateful

2012-11-17T02:17:00.001+08:00

As the year is coming to an end soon, i begin to think back on the past 10.5 months. And I can’t help feeling grateful to God.

This year had not been the most smooth sailing one but it is still good. I guess counting your blessings helps you focus on the positive and reminds you to hold on even when times are not so good. There is hope.

Here are some of the things I am very grateful about for this year thus far. I thank God for…

A healthy and smooth 2nd pregnancy and delivery.
A healthy baby boy.
The 3 wonderful boys in my life – Hubby, Julien & Jensen.
A good helper that has learnt to cooked very well.
New friendships.
Favor with bosses at work.
Good health for myself and family.
Discipline to go to the gym.

I especially thank God that even as a full-time working mum, I am able to spend quality time with my sons. In fact I enjoy the fact that the 2 of them especially the younger one, are sticky to me (for now!).

My sonnies are the joy of my life!

So as I finish the last 1.5 months of this year, I am believing and speaking forth more blessings and breakthroughs.

What about you?

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!…” Psalms 118

♥