Resorts World Sentosa: Marine Life Park

School's out!
My mummy-friend helped me get tickets to the all-new Marine Life Park at RWS from a Groupon deal.
Andy & I skipped Xmas shopping in town and instead brought my in-laws to RWS, armed with our two kids, huge bags and a pram.

Where: Resorts World Sentosa
Entry: we had the tickets for cheap together with meal vouchers, but I asked the staff and she told me normal adult tickets are priced at $29/pax. Children below 4 admit for free.


Adam was SO excited and behaved surprisingly well. He loves the ocean and anything water-themed.

Going out as a family is major operation. Can you see our bags (which took up half a seat), and our 2 children in our 7-seater?
We could fit everyone into my tiny white car, if we all arranged ourselves lying down and stacking on top of one another I guess.

Which way out Mummy??

First stop: lunch at the Malaysian Food Street where we used our meal vouchers. I love hawker food, oh flabby tummy!

My tame kids in their respective seats. But that's only because I threatened Adam that he would get lost and fed to the sharks if he ran around.

Andy & my in-laws had the Malacca chicken rice...

... while I shared Claypot rice with Adam. Have been craving for claypot rice for very long already. So happy to eat this, especially the slightly burnt rice at the bottom of the pot. Yum!

Apparently Singapore likes to be Number 1 in many things - we now have the world's largest Oceanarium at our doorsteps (give or take a 30-min drive).

My little botak darling trying to fit into the theme by wearing a Whale romper.



My oversized baby. He's gonna be 4 in a matter of months and I've given him his next birthday as a deadline for him to give up his bottle and night diaper. Good luck to me.



I was wearing a black blouse from Gap Kids with my pre-pregnancy Levis jeans.
Bag: Balenciaga in "raisin" color
Shoes: TODS purple ruched flats.
I kinda like Purple err thang!

FTWM: First week of returning to work

I've finally returned to work.
Although I was given a relatively easy assignment on my first week, I still felt like a new staff, blur and at a loss.

More worrying is the fact that I had trouble keeping awake by mid-day!
I wonder how other Mommies do it - juggling more than one kid, doing night feeds, working full-time, and keeping everything together.
By Tuesday evening, I was already knocked out and slept on the kids' mattress on the floor of my MIL's house till it was time for us to go home.
On Wednesday, I took half the day off and went home to nap.

I wonder how I am gonna pull through next week, and the weeks thereafter. Gesh.

One thing is for sure - regardless whether you are a full time working Mom, or a stay-home Mom, being a Mommy is a full-time job.
Working doesn't stop me from fulfilling my Mommy duties. In fact, when it's time to knock off, they give me much motivation to rush home to spend time with them again.
I feed them, I give them their evening baths, I engage with them.
You might also be amazed that my 3-month old is keeping me on my toes as much as his 3-year old brother does.
I now have to manage two children's schedules on top of my own - I call it Mommy Admin.
It's hard dividing my time and attention between the two, but I try.

Anyway, I can finally smell the weekend (yay), as well as my three stinky boys (two small ones and one extra-large). Looking forward to spending time with them. Andy wants to hit the town to do some Xmas shopping. Oh goody.

Baby Ashton 3 months old

I'll be going back to work in exactly a week's time but Ashton is still far from weaning from the breast.
In fact, ever since we came back from Perth, he's been hanging on to my boobs for dear life, refusing any form of bottle. It's as if Ashton doesn't want Mama to ever leave him again.
Latex teats, silicone ones, Medela bottles, AVENT bottles, NUK bottles, cold turkey, spoon, we tried everything! but none worked.
The thing that worries my MIL most is, I'm not very bothered by it. As a matter of fact, I love breastfeeding my baby because it is such a special relationship which I will look back upon one day and miss all over again.


I'm really taking my time with this baby.

Jean Yip Junior: Adam's haircut

Adam needs a haircut every month, the rate at which his hair grows is simply alarming!
Jean Yip Junior at Tampines Mall does kiddos' haircuts for $15.
Considering it's cheaper than Junior League by nearly half, we're definitely sticking to the former.

Adam's coconut hair in dire need of a trim. 



His stylist Patrick - patient, good with kids, and handsome. Any takers?!

Wax styling after haircut. Why so suave!

 

After his haircut, we went into *cough* Toys R Us (again!) and he promptly chopped his Dad's cabbage head by purchasing some more Transformers.

Presenting....

Adam's Transformers collection

Hope you had a great weekend!

Merck Serono dinner symposium: Regent Hotel

Attended a medical symposium tonight with my wonderful colleagues.
The dinner was enjoyable with lots of chatter and some games, and provided me with an opportunity to catch up with my work mates before officially heading back to work.

my little blue dress tonight: from Tracyeinny (website)
Bangle: Hermes Clic Clac

Bag: Chanel flap
Watch: Hermes Kelly
Shoes: Christian Louboutin (not pictured)



Marvellous food served in an 8-course sit-down dinner.

Cuppies for everyone: The topic was on a new stimulation drug  device for women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment (ART).  In case you're curious, my job involves helping couples with infertility issues to conceive.

 

My wonderful team!

The dinner was held at Regent Hotel and I must say, if that's the kind of excellent service we get for a small medical symposium, then I wonder what it's like to attend a wedding here!
The staff were on the ball, efficiently clearing off used plates after every dish served, and even helped to proportion and dish food out for us. We are mighty impressed. Thumbs up for the pleasant dining experience.

And thank you too, Merck, for hosting this lovely dinner whereby no effort was spared in preparing the goodie bags, games, deco etc. It was truly enjoyable.

Thanksgiving: an ode to my family

Today is Thanksgiving, and I have much to be thankful for.

First of all, let me start with the baby of the family.
Ashton is an easy baby. He is the kind that will feed and sleep and hardly fusses. He is the kind that is every parent's dream.
Often times he just sits in his rocker or pram, looking intently at things happening around him, quietly observing. He has a way of tugging at my heartstrings.
As such, I am very fond of him.

I love Adam too of course, but it's just that I love my kids differently, and there's no denying that.
Adam to me, is everything.
He is the first human baby and I have many firsts with him. He is naughty but nice, silly but smart, he can be quiet but rowdy, attention-seeking yet independent, irritating but funny.
With Adam I experience both ends of the spectrum.
Which is why I say he is my everything!

Then there's my husband. Where do I even start with a man I've known for almost a decade?
This man is my soulmate, my best friend. Andy is very strong and I often seek comfort in him because I am emotionally rather weak. He is my pillar of support, and has been for the past eight or nine years!
He farts, he snores (loudly!), he annoys the hell out of me at times, but because the kids kinda like him and because he pays the bills and groceries, I've decided to keep him a little longer.

And for all the wonderful people in my life, I am grateful for your presence.
Happy Thanksgiving.
What are you thankful for this year?

Feeling accomplished today.

Today, I woke up with great resolve. I brought Ashton out with me on Adam's Christmas wish-list mission.
Because I was alone, I did the only logical thing - I popped the baby into his pram and commuted by foot and train to... you wouldn't have guessed - Vivo City!
All the way from the East to the West. Then back again. By foot and train.

The Toys R Us at Tampines Mall did not have a great selection of Transformers, so I had to make the trip all the way to Vivo City's outlet.

I finally found something which was what Adam wanted and promptly paid for it with what little monies I had and lugged it back, toy, baby, diaper bag and all.

See how HUGE this thing is? I couldn't even fit it into the pram's basket.

A fancy schmancy toy with lights and sounds and everything!

It's even Fold & Go and comes with a Fire Engine just like what Adam has requested for.
I am mighty pleased with myself.

I had wanted the Vtech Explorer Globe which they didn't have. Why liddat??
Mothercare is also having SALES... 15% off Melissa & Doug toys and various other discounts.
After shopping, Ashton and I then proceeded with our lunches in the nursing room - I bought Burger King and Ashton feasted on my breasts as I was chomping down my food.
My Aunt LY and Andy were surprised that I dared to venture out sans helper and with a baby, but the truth is I've never really depended much on my helper for taking care of my children.
Dwi has been with us for 6 months till date and she has yet to even bathe any of our two children!
I enjoy doing all of the Mummy-stuff, and Dwi takes care of the housework.
We are all happy this way.

99% of me enjoys the diapering, bathing, changing, feeding for both kids as I think it gives me an edge on my children. There's something Mummy can do that no one else can.

I never imagined myself to one day be able to tell different types of vehicles apart, from dump trucks to cement mixers to bulldozers, from Hasbro Transformers to Playskool ones.
I am constantly amazed by my little ones.
Now, I have to find that helicopter with battery-operated propellers.

What Adam wants for Christmas

Adam has duly informed me of his Christmas wish list as such:
- Toy helicopter with battery-operated propeller (to replace his broken one)
- Transformers Rescue bots, full set no less.
- Play-on-the-go Fire Station

And it's only November yet.
Dear son, you are highly encouraged to keep your wish list to the minimum as Santa's resources are limited, contrary to your belief.

at Sunday School

My two babies

Big baby.

Adam insists that Ashton joins him as he plays every night. He is very protective over his brother and I am very proud of him.

Little bubs.

Thank you God for being so kind as to bless us with two beautiful children. Every night I watch my babies sleep, the rise and fall of their chests as they breathe their soft breaths, my heart swells with so much love for them that it might explode.
Our home is now filled with toys, trikes and laughter.
I could not have asked for more.

Homeschool practices under 10 minutes.

We mummies are a busy bunch. We need to juggle work and our families and struggle to keep everything together. Even if you're a stay-home mum, it is a full time job altogether.
When time is scarce, or if you're perpetually tired like me, here are some home exercises that can be done in under 10 minutes.

Puzzles:

Mazes, lacing, simple puzzles, shape stackers... they foster manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination,  problem-solving skills, shape sorting and visual discrimination.
When Adam was younger, he made a mess of his stacker toys, mouthing and misplacing the pieces.
Now he can better appreciate these toys and sort them over and over according to color, shapes, big to small, and small to big.

Memory exercises:
Right brain training anyone? Include picture cards, grids, mandalas...

Math:

I was lucky enough to purchase this Montessori spindle set for only $6. It was on sale!! *shakes  booty*
Right now I use it to teach Adam counting.
Not only can you do counting, this math set allows you to teach + - x as well.

ABCs and English:

When I first started teaching Adam the letters of the alphabet, I did the typical old-school way of "A for Apple, B for Ball..."
I have since modified my method by outsourcing the subject to Leapfrog.
This fridge magnet word builder is a supplement to our Letter Factory DVD.
Leapfrog produces an impressive range of educational toys and DVDs which I adore, not to mention they provide me lots of free-babysitting when I am lazy / busy. So brilliant right!

Buddha baby

Hi, my name is Ashton and I am slightly round.
I have a protruding belly and many folds on my body; even my armpits have folds.
As such, Mummy calls me her Buddha baby.

Good day and see ya around!

 

I found a baby Mynah!

Was walking to my in-law's place from Tampines MRT when I saw a bunch of young children playing with a baby bird.
Another guy who witnessed the incident went over to stop the kids and a very busybody me went over to pick up the bird.
It was too dangerous leaving it where we found it because the kids might come back for it, but I tried leaving it at a nearby grass patch and observed from afar, other adult mynahs started pecking and attacking it.


Conclusion: I brought it home.

The whole time, it just stares at me like this

and this.

I quickly googled and found out that baby birds with feathers are called Fledglings.
And that I should be feeding it pellets and fruits.
My biggest problem is that it won't gape for food at all, so I've resorted to force-feeding it with some papaya and using a syringe to feed it water.

Now what should I do with it??
Any bird enthusiasts who'd like to adopt it?


Edit to add:
The next morning, the mynah fledgling has died. R I P.