POLW – Aye! Aye! Captain!

Been to Port of Lost Wonder many times. Love the sun, the smiles of the children, the running, the shouting….. Just love everything that is part of the nature. Situated at Sentosa Palawan Beach, the location is walking distance from the  Beach carpark. The moment, I entered the area, soft breeze from the sea caressed my face while I screamed at my children not to run. They went crazy the moment they saw the pirate ship. So glad that the weather stayed that way throughout the day we were there.  Lazing under the coconut trees looking at the fluffy clouds on azure sky , sitting on the white washed benches to watch children sliding from the colourful slides or joining them in the water play, getting myself wet, were just part of my plans.

We reached there early, hoping to grab a good spot. There was already a queue at the entrance. As it was a weekend, crowd was expected. Love the way payment is taken. Adults go in free with a hug from their kids. Melts my heart.

The kiddos each received a bag of curios and a Port Pass. Every day, there are series of games and activities throughout the day which the kiddos can use the curios to pay for. From the moment it opens at 10am to it closes at 6.30pm, activities vary from treasure hunting, planting and bubble party. Weekends’ activities are far more interesting than weekdays.

The main attraction is the Pirate Ship and the only place where my two children would spend most of their time at. They can run up the stairs and down the slides umpteen times, not feeling the slighest bit of weary. Well, I enjoyed myself too but definitely had to take turns with Jonathan to entertain kids.

Though the planting area and bubble party were very enticing, the children were not keen. They still prefered to stay at the water area. Kids love water and especially when they get splashed with!!!

There is a picnic area where we can prepare our own food. Since, we did not have picnic in mind, we did not prepare any food. There is one and only cafe, Port Belly, that serves savoury food. Kids meals are a must. We ordered children’s favourite, hot dogs set meal, and they waited patiently with their rumbling tummies. Our tag number is 10! Big and promninent! Very soon, the waiter dressed in pirates costumes served the food to us. Children gobbled the food so that no time was wasted to continue their play.

This is definitely a place where kids can play to their hearts content. I must admit that the management is very thoughtful. The toilets cubicles are equipped with hot and cold showers. The day ended with a warm shower with another blast from the rain showers after being in the cold the whole day. Definitely will set foot on this place again.

Kaitlyn’s 8th Birthday

Time really flies. A blink of an eye, Kaitlyn is already eight years old. Very soon, she will be completing her primary two and move on to primary three.

This year, Kaitlyn decided on her own celebration. She was given a choice to invite friends to Kidz Amaze at Safra or to just have a family time at the Festive Hotel. She chose the hotel stay with family. She told grandma that if we were to have it at Kidz Amaze, daddy would need to spend a lot of  money. Such a nice girl to think of saving money for us.

The children spent the day at Hard Rock pool frolicking and building sandcastles. Quite a pity that I could not accompany them due to my lessons on Saturday. Immediately after class, I joined them for dinner at the Singapore Seafood Republic.

Sumptuous dinner indeed with mouth-watering Alaska crabs of three different ways of cooking, chillie, butter and steam (for the kiddos). Kaiden loves seafood and especially crabs. After Kaitlyn is tested that she is not allergy to seafood, she finally got to try them. No pictures for I was too hungry after a whole day of lessons.

How can a birthday without a birthday cake? The family got a cake from Awfully Chocolate, simple but delish. Kaiden even got  a second helping.

We sang the birthday song. Remembered the days whenever we sang the birthday song, Kaitlyn would cry out loud. We used to wonder if it was because of the fire or the attention that we were giving her that made her uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she does not cry anymore now. Xuanxuan even learnt to sing the birthday song before the celebration is due. Such a cutie pie.

Daddy’s little girl has turned into a beautiful big girl but yet always remained little in our hearts.

Though without the usual big celebrations, without the blessing of many friends, without the bustlings preparation, the family enjoyed every bit of the warm moments like this with just the few of us. I think that is good enough.

Poor Kaiden, was addictively playing with the phone and was fuming mad when asked to put the phone down to take a family picture.

A very overdue post but still managed to get it out to remember the special occasion. Kaitlyn, Happy 8th Birthday to you. Mummy loves you always.

 

Karyn’s 1st Birthday

It seems like only yesterday that this little tiks just arrived.

The children are very close. They practically grew together. They see each other everyday, play with each other everyday. They became part of each other’s lives.

I did not get the chance to take a lot of pictures. Too busy with my own kids as well. They were so excited about the party. Just the gist of the event.

So difficult to get a picture of smiley Karyn. She is really cute when she smiles.

A family picture with Karyn and family. A picture that I “stole” from Gerald’s fb.

If Music Be the Food of Love, Play on…..

Source: Uploaded by user via Anna on Pinterest

started the play, Twelfth Night.

Since a few years ago when SRT decided to host Shakespeare in the Park in Singapore, I have been wanting to be part of it.

Intensively studied Shakepeare in my uni for almost half a year, I have read quite a number of books written by him. The love, tragedy, satire, jokes and the language totally immensed me in his works. Though in olden English, with the ‘thee’ and ‘thy’, I enjoyed every bit of the beauty of the language. Besides Midsummer Night’s Dreams, Twelfth Night is next on my favourite list.

Was a little disappointed when I reached Fort Canning Park with the drizzle. Though with the thought that the play would be cancelled, Jonathan and I still proceeded with the queue to enter the park.

The picnic started at 6.30pm but with the drizzle which then turned into rain did not dampen the spirits of the others. People behind and sitting beside us started laying their wine, food and have made themselves feeling cozy for the long 3 hours play which started at 7.30pm. We continued to hide under the umbrella and even prayed to the weather angels for the change of weather.

We remained positive!!!

And before the sky turned dark, a rainbow appeared in front of us. The rain stopped just before the play started. Though drenched, we felt happy.

It took me quite a while to recall the language and the storyline. Love the character of the Fool acted by Adrian Pang. He added a lot of laughter to the play. He even sang!!!

Amazing night with the cool breeze, the atmosphere, the lighting effects, the cast and the company of Jonathan. Simply divine!!!!

And also a night for us to rest and relax in the park (and with the backaches for sitting almost 3 hours). Totally worth it!!!

Lastly to leave you with my favourite quote from the play, said by Malvolio,

Source: google.com via Anna on Pinterest

The reason for my MIA

I am back at work. Life is so so so busy and hectic. I must say after staying home for 3 years, getting back to work was not easy at all.

During my stay at home, my mum always asked me when I am going back to work. She said if I stay home too long, I would have difficulties going back to work. I do admit that I am really struggling with my work-life balance.

That day a colleague was sharing her daily life with me and I realised that we shared the same routine.

My Daily Routine:-

I will prepare Kaiden in the morning. Jon will send Kaiden to school while I continue to prepare Kaitlyn before sending her to my MIL’s place. Normally, I will go for a heavy breakfast so as to save time having lunch at work. A great way to slim down too. Work continues and by the time I reach home, it’s usually 7pm. Frankly speaking after I have gone back to work, I have been eased off a lot of my workload at home. I no longer cook, do the cleaning and laundry. Jon is in charge of all the fetching and picking up of the children. All the household chores are under Jon’s charge. By the time I finished my dinner, it’s about 8pm. Then it’s time to help Kaitlyn with her homework. Amazingly, as a Primary 1 child, she has homework almost every day but is glad that they come in bite sizes. Easy for me and her to digest. While coaching Kaitlyn, I have to chase Kaiden out of the room sometimes with all the shouting and screaming, depriving the time I have with him since I already don’t see him the whole day. At about 9pm, Jon would send Kaiden to bed leaving Kaitlyn and I to continue with the coaching. Oh boy! Aren’t I am glad that I am done for the day? I am not. That is when the second part of my work comes in, late at night at about 10.30pm. Usually I will end my day at 12 plus if not, sometimes at wee hours of 2am.

Then my colleague asked me if I am going to be like this forever? I told her I don’t know shrugging my shoulders.

I think a lot of mothers who went back to work struggled like I do. Looking at all the good food and stuff that my facebook SAHM have posted and sharing from mothers that are staying home now… I miss a lot of things.

I miss spending time with my children. ( I used to see them 24/7 a day but now only about 2 hours a night, especially for Kaiden)

I miss spending my time in the kitchen whipping up nice food for myself and family. (I love the look of my love ones savouring every bit of food that I cooked)

I miss creating crafts with Kaitlyn. (Bonding time now becomes lecturing when her work does not meet up to my expectations)

I miss updating my etsy shop with new items. (Totally beading thirst)

I miss spending the twosome night with Jon after the kids are asleep. (Busy clearing my work while Jon does his and at the end of the day, he’s always ended in up bed first. Sorry dear, could not help in editing your report as promised. )

Though having negative thoughts about going back to work, I am thankful for the people around me. They gave me a lot of encouragment and help during this period. It gave me a little more courage to accept the changes. I am thankful for all the help rendered especially during the days when Jon had to outstation. Volunteers came from both sides of the family members, helping to send and pick up the children, which left me really touched. Jon has been bugging me to leave and do what I really want but with the thought of where and what I will be five or even three years later freaks me out.

Mothers who went back to work successfully after staying home for long period of time, would love to get inspired from you. Share your story with me.  

Our First VW Event: Golf GTI 35th Birthday

Last Friday, the family was invited to the very first Volkswagen event. Usually, we will not go for these types of events but knowing that Karen is going, Jon and I decided to join in the fun. It was also a time to gather with other VW owners.

The moment we reached the venue, a fleet of VW cars was being directly to the parking space. What amazed me was the parking space was literally filled with VW cars of different models and I never expect so many people would turn up for the event.

Phototaking at the entrance is a must. Photographers were there to take pictures and cars show models were there to standby in case you are alone. So excited when I collected the palaroid pics.

The moment we stepped into the event hall, wine and champagne welcomed us. NO alcohol for children. Servers serving finger food while waiting for the event to start. Kiddos had a whole lot of pop corns, cotton candy and hotdogs on that night.

The whole fleet of GTIs that were showcased on that night, from the very first generation to date.

Our VW buddy, Karen. She was the one who informed us on the invites before the invitation card reached our mailbox.

All the car show models getting ready for the six generations Golf GTIs to roll out from the backstage. MC for that day was Jamie Yeo, pretty as usual.

There are a few booths catered to us while waiting for the event to start. The manicure and tattoo booths for adults and the jumping castles for the children. There was a movable magic performer for the children.

Kaiden did his tattoo while Kaitlyn queued up for her manicure. Probably, they didn’t realise that there are jumping castles at the children’s section. The queue for the manicure was really long and the colours available were only red, black and white. The colour theme for the event.

The ‘gianomous’ Golf GTI cake and we actually sang ‘Happy Birthday’ song. LOL

Kaitlyn posing with her newly manicured fingers and the newly launched VW Golf GTI. She then proceeded to test her driving skills which was totally cannot make it. LOL!!!

Half way through, Jon took over the wheels.

We ended the day with the goodie bags and food queue. The food queue was so long. I didn’t have any appetite due to my flu. Jon took the GTI burger and gave a thumbs up for that burger.

Thank you Volkswagen for inviting us to the party.

Mummy, are we taking the plane?

A few weeks ago, I did a post on my early bird excursion with family to Singapore Flyer. The ticket package actually includes a ride on the Singapore Flyer and some food vouchers at the Singapore Food Trail. We did not go for these as FIL was working and we wanted him to join in for the ride on the capsule.

We met at about 5.30pm for dinner at the Singapore Food Trail then a stroll by the coast of the river before boarding the flyer for the night scenic view.

Taking the kiddos for toilet breaks after a full dinner is a must. The ride plus waiting time may take up to an hour or more. The children were anxious while the adults were excited.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that Singapore is actually verybeautiful. Too bad my camera can’t capture really nice night scenes due to the reflection of the glasses. One day, I must try the sky dinning. It must be a whole lot of experience.

Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves. Family fun is always enjoyable.

This time round, I decided to let the pictures and captions do the talking. :0)  Time consuming but totally loves the effect of the pictures. Totally worth the effort, isn’t it?

Antropologie Inspired Yoyo Clip by Dearest Kaitlyn

Remember my previous tutorial post on a Fabric Yoyo Bobby Pin? This time round, instead of getting the fabric yoyo from Daiso, I decided to gather my own fabric and make the yoyo instead.

While I was doing my usual accessories making stuff shopping at Chinatown. I spotted this amazing fuss free yoyo maker from one of the shelves in Golden Dragon, a store that sells anything you need from knitting to crafting and to fabric. Definitely one of my must go store if I were to shop for crafting items.

There are four sizes to choose from: small, medium, large and extra large. I chose the large. Just a little size bigger than the Daiso’s yoyos.

This time round, I have gotten my inspirations from here:

{Source: Anthropologie}

For this tutorial, I decided to leave the sewing to my little girl, Kaitlyn. On and off, she picks up sewing skills from Granny and she was so happy to join in my crafting hobby.

What you need:

• A ‘quick’ Yoyo Craft Maker
• Some fabric
• needle and thread
• Embellishedments such as ribbons, lace or buttons
• Clippy clip

Let’s check out the maker.

It’s pretty self explanatory. Place the cloth in between the two pieces of yoyo maker, then I helped Kaitlyn to cut around the maker leaving about 3mm allowance. The yoyo maker has many holes and all Kaitlyn had to do was to pick up the needle and thread, did a running stitch around the maker. While she did that, she had to be constantly reminded to push in the protuding cloth while sewing.

After she had finished sewing a round the maker, she removed the fabric from the maker and I helped her to pull the thread to gather it into a yoyo. I finished it up with a knot. Kaitlyn then chose the embellishments that she liked. She wanted the silver ribbon to go with the purple button for her friend, Emma and herself while pink button for Ulrica.

Slowly, she attached the ribbons and buttons to the yoyo with my help. Help must be rendered while using the hot glue gun.

Below is how they look when they were done.

Instead of bobby pins, Kaitlyn prefered the clippy clip. I squeezed the hot glue onto the back of the yoyo and she attached it to the clip.

She was so proud of her work. Presents to you Kaitlyn in her handmade version of ‘Antropologie’ Fabric Yoyo Clip.

This post was shared in Today’s Creative Blog

Fun, Laughter, Peace and Joy

On Saturday, while some of you are still tucked in the comfy bedsheets, my family and I agreed to join Jonathan’s family for a family day out organised by brother-in-law’s company. There were so many family gatherings over the weekend. Just love gatherings!!!!

Meet up place was the Flyer and we went for a river cruise supposedly followed by a senic view on the flyer capsule. The family decided to postpone the flyer to another day when FIL could join us.

Breakfast was great thanks to Jamie and Victor for taking the initiative fearing that the children and us would go hungry.

It was my first time attending a Family Day outing organised by a company. Actually it was quite fun. BIL’s company was really nice to think of many activities for the children. One of them was the face painting. Too bad, Kaitlyn and I only found out after we were on our way to board the boat. Kaitlyn and Kaiden could only stare at other children getting their paintings done.   Nevertheless, the children managed to get some balloons sculptured, Kaitlyn with a pink poodle and Kaiden with an orange sword.

That day was pretty hot. Glad that we could enjoy the breeze on the river cruise. Poor Karyn, got to endure the glaring sun but soon her grouchy face turned into pretty smiles once she was on the boat. Cutie Pie!!!

Kaitlyn could not wait to take a picture with Cutie Pie too.

It was not the first time on a boat ride. But the slow boat ride on the river of Singapore allowed me to slow down my pace and take a clear view of Singapore’s achievements. Kaiden quieten down for a moment to enjoy the scenery as well.

and in deep thoughts…. Wondering what he was thinking.

I love the scenery. It was my first time looking at Singapore from another point of view, on a boat. Maybe it was morning, there were not many people and cars around. Love the serenity.

Fullerton Hotel … Boat Quay…

How could Jonathan and I not have a picture?

Spotted Jamie and the children. What are they pointing at?

Jamie trying to introduce the significiant landmarks in Singapore. Oh… she was telling the children about the majestic Merlion.

Spotted the kite making section when we walked towards the amphitheatre. Kaitlyn and Kaiden wanted to make their own kites and they got to decorate their kites themselves. They were really serious about their work.

Kaitlyn could not wait to fly her kite. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the kite up. LOL

Kaiden was really proud to show off his kite.

The children and I had a wonderful time. Thanks to Gerald aka BIL for inviting us to the Family Day. Though we had to get up really early on a Saturday, I enjoyed every moment of the sun and with my family members. Compared to having the children at home being crouch potatoes, I think this is so much more fun and educational.  

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For those who are waiting for the giveaway, sorry for the delay. Been really busy over the weekends with the gatherings.

Watch out for the next post in the next 1 hour.

It’s Time to Say Good-bye…

Last week was a really busy and short week for me. What have I been up to?

Due to the Presidential Elections on Saturday, Monday was declared a holiday for the children.

Tuesday:  Hari Raya Haji – which means another day of public holiday.

Wednesday: last day of school for Kaiden thus busy with his farewell goodie bags.

Thursday: the Teacher’s day Celebration thus busy crafting the teacher’s day gift.

Friday: a Teacher’s Day holiday but I have got to conduct a class at my friend’s center.

Sad to say, I have had to say goodbye to my car which I have driven for almost 4 years the week before. Not sure if it’s the man’s thing, Jonathan has the tendency to change cars every 3-4 years.

This is the car which I have driven for the longest time so far so was a bit sad when Jonathan wanted a change. Besides the Ford Explorer that I have driven in US, this car is practically being driven by me 24/7 since Jonathan is always out of town. I love this car for the space though it is really a big one for me to drive around. Children love climbing from front to back, sticking their heads out of the sunroof and playing hide-and-seeking in the third row seats. The only minus for this car is the road tax and petrol, pretty straining to maintain. LOL

So what was the change?

 Okay, a Volkswagon Jetta Sports. Kaiden was pretty excited cos he remembered the logo from the show, Cars. There was this mini van in the show with the VW logo. The first time I saw the car was the time Jonathan paid for the deposit. How cool was that? 

After driving for a week or so, I enjoy the keyless system. It is really cool. With the key in my bag, I just need to place my hand at the handle, the door unlocks and locks automatically. However, I would freak out when Kaitlyn tries to lock the door with my bag still inside the car. LOL. When I alight from the car and lock the door, the engine could still be heard running cos the turbo engine needed time to cool down. That freaks me out too thinking that I forgot to off the engine. I think I need some time to get use to the change.

On Wednesday, it was finally Kaiden’s last day at BrightStart Montessori. BrightStart is really a nice place to be in except that they do not have extension to Kindergarten. As Kaiden will be in Kindergarten next year, I decided to send him to Kaitlyn’s school earlier so that he could get use to Marymount while his sister is still there.

Karen was really nice to hold Karina’s birthday party on Kaiden’s last day so that he could join in the fun. I prepared some goodie bags for Kaiden to give out to his classmates for his farewell.

Karen invited Kaitlyn and I to the class party. So glad that I could do a farewell together with Kaiden. Karen supplied the cakes while I do the drinks.

The cakes are really cute but not as cute as the birthday girl, Karina.

Kaiden enjoyed himself too and asked for second helping.

While the younger children were enjoying themselves to the cakes and drinks, the bigger sisters, coincidentally, the two Kaitings were having their own chit chat sessions.

Finally, it was time to really say goodbye to all his friends. He gave out the goodie bags to his friends.

Kaiden really enjoyed giving out goodie bags and not forgetting Karina.

With such a busy schedule, I did not craft or bead much. I spent most of my time cutting felt cloth to make many many felt flowers. 1st to make Karina’s birthday pressie and to create the children’s teacher’s day gifts.

Created this headband for Karina.

This is how it looks when wore.

Since it is Kaitlyn’s last year in Marymount (going to primary 1 next year) and Kaiden leaving BrightStart, I wanted to create something more personalised for them to give to their teachers and tada…. a customised card.

I added in words related to teaching, character of the teacher and teacher’s name (enlarge). LOL. Finding the card a bit simple and plain, I got Jonathan to take me to Ikea for photo frames, added the felt flowers and the result of it…..

And before I end this long post, I will doing my second giveaway soon.