Sat night: Mother's Day celebration with in-laws

Celebrated Mother's Day with my in-laws at Fat Fish steamboat, Downtown East.

 

 

 

My little Ashton and my MIL. He's started crawling not long ago and getting increasingly mobile. Please stay a fatty baby a little longer, Ashton!

After dinner, we went to the carnival near the chalet area and Adam went on the train ride. He told me he's a BIG boy now and can go on the ride alone (pictured here with strangers). My brave big boy! Oh, how I miss your babyhood Adam. I love you so much my heart might explode.

We could have our cake and eat it too!

Pink on white icing, on a banana chocolate cake. Delish!

I also received shopping vouchers from Mothercare as a token of appreciation for Playtime. Thank you for the generosity Mothercare :)

Bought: KUMON workbook, Orchard Toys English game cards, Melissa & Doug washable paint, and clothes for both boys.


And finally, Adam received his Lollibox last week and went on to make gifts for the 3 matriarchs in his life - his 2 grandmothers and me!

There were 3 packets of activities so each Mom gets one :)



Thank you Lollibox for the timely delivery.

I had a most fruitful and enjoyable Mother's Day celebration and am going to attend Volkswagen's Mother's Day event later. Hope you Mommies enjoyed your Mother's Day with your family and loved ones.

See you!

 

 

Yachting weekend: island-hopping to Lazarus.

 

Hi everyone! We spent our lovely Saturday sailing off from One Degree Fifteen at Sentosa Cove and made our way to nearby Lazarus island where we ended the evening with a sunset BBQ and watching the skyline.

 

 

We had to drive both cars in order to fit all the food, fishing gear, humans and barangs.. Major operation.

My terrifying children

Beautiful weather!

I married a fisherman!

Why hello, Lazarus Island!

Who's ready for some food?

Starting the fire for our sunset BBQ.

BBQ crayfish with margarine... Delish!

Fishing by the breath-taking sunset

two mummies.

and then we ended the evening cruising to watch the skyline and some fireworks.

Life is grand.

The kids had a terrific time monkeying around and getting all dirty/ sticky/ smelly/ sweaty.
We adults had a marvellous time with the food, booze and chatter.
Paul got drunk (as usual) and called my MIL "Darling"... the last time he got drunk around my in-laws, he hugged my FIL!

 

from Fab Quote.

Life is like a rainbow if you dare to dream, but don't be disheartened if you come across obstacles and set-backs, for there cannot be rainbows in life without a little rain.

We had the most splendid weekend, what about you?

If you're exhausting your ideas of where to bring the kids on a boring weekend, consider chartering a yacht! Prices range from $550-$1200 depending on boat size and hours.

Contact person: Alex from Summit Marine for boat charter enquiries. 93822270

 

And yes, dreams do come true, just go to sleep!

Both kids are knocked out by the time we got home, and I'm beat. Good night and sweet dreams! :)

 

 

 

 

[Sponsored review] it's Playtime at Mothercare!

Have you been to Playtime at Mothercare yet?
Playtime is a new program which only started in October last year at West Coast Plaza Mothercare.
The first Playtime at Kallang Leisure Park started in Feb this year to allow mothers another choice of location.
"At Playtime, we stimulate young minds through play and let them develop all the important skills they need for life. But above all, play is about having fun. Enrol for Playtime with Mothercare today!"

It is jointly organised by Mothercare and Art Bug, and happens every Friday afternoon for 3-5 year olds*.

To be honest, we've never been to Playtime at Mothercare because I'm usually at work on Friday noons. So you can imagine I was overjoyed to attend this event!
This month's theme is, as you can guess, Mother's Day!

Reaching Mothercare at Kallang Leisure Park.

Proud of his name sticker.

Packed with toys!

Teacher Rachel from Art Bug is going to start lesson proper!

Tools of the trade

Everyone gather around the mat

Rachel is very animated and the children love her!

Hard at work

After the event, I chatted with Rachel to find out more about Art Bug and Mothercare Playtime and find her to be very humorous and passionate about her job.

We both think nursing bras make a terrific back-drop. 
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Then I did a bit of shopping around since participants can enjoy 15% discount off all toys and there was a sale going on for certain items.

Be it clothes for newborns to older kids, socks, accessories, strollers, you name it - Mothercare is a one-stop place for all your parenting needs.

My favourite brand Skip Hop! We have their puzzle foam mat, insulated lunch bag and play gym!
Why is everything sooooo cute and delectable????

Does it come in size 360 mos?

 

Adam's Mother's Day card to me, which I had to help with the cut-outs.. Pfft.

Thank you Mothercare for hosting us today, it was great pleasure and Adam enjoyed himself immensely. The staff at Kallang Leisure Park are so friendly and nice!
Hui Min from the Marketing department has been very friendly and accommodating with regards to my preferred schedule.
Thanks Hui Min! Would love to do future Mothercare event reviews.
The experience has been nothing short of splended :)


Like Mothercare on their Facebook page to receive first-hand updates on the next Playtime slot and upcoming offers.
The next session is on 10 May 2013 at West Coast, 17 May at Kallang, and 31 May at West Coast again (refer to schedule in the banner above).

*Limited to 10 children per session only, and the same child can attend only 1 Playtime session per month. Valid for Mothercare members (ordinary and VIP). Charges: FOC. Participants are entitled to 15% discount off all toys at Mothercare on the day of attendance.

May: a month where Mothers worldwide celebrate.

May is a busy month for me - Adam is turning 4, Andy & I are going on a fishing trip on the Vesak Day weekend, and also, Mother's Day is coming! 

 

What does it mean when someone describes herself as a "Full-time" mum?

A Stay-at-home-mum (SAHM) yes, but a Full-time Mum? On the contrary, is there also such a thing as a Part-time Mum?

Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for women who give up their careers and cushy paychecks for the sake of family. They scrub and wash and cook and do a laundry list of things which cannot be measured by any key performance index.

First and foremost, let me describe a little about myself. I am a Mum to 2 kids, sometimes 3, and I work full-time. However, I have never considered myself to be a Part-time Mum. A Full-time-working-mum (FTWM) Yes, but a Part-time Mum, No.

A mum is a mum is a mum. Once you're signed on as a Mother, it's full-time for the rest of your life.

In our household, I'm always the last to sleep and the first to wake (besides my helper). I have to tuck my kids to bed and I have to wake up way before they do to prepare for the start of another brand new day.

I wake up several times throughout the night to make sure the blankets goes back to where they were before being kicked off. I also have to feed Ashton his milk at some rather un-Godly hours.

I work during the day while Adam is at school and while Ashton is being cared for by my MIL with the help of my maid.

I'm extremely thankful to be part of an organization which treasures its employees and promotes work-life balance. Everyone goes off on the dot without being pressurized to stay back and pretend to be hardworking.

Once I'm home, my world takes on a completely different turn. I learned that not all days are the same, some will be chaotic and out of "schedule", while others may be a walk in the park and everyone's happy.

I see that the kids are fed dinner, bathed and cleaned. I check on the kids to make sure they do not develop any change in skin condition (nappy rash / heat rash/ suspicious wounds), and that they are well and happy. I coach Adam on his worksheets.

I have to feed myself and I also have to bathe.

I have to sort out my mail and bills.

I have to keep in mind when the next appointment to the Paediatrician/ dentist/ etc for each respective child's checkup/ vaccination/ etc is.

I hardly rest at all. I can't simply "sleep when the baby sleeps" because I am working. By 10:30pm, I'm usually ready to hit the sack. If there's a way to describe my boring routine, it's something like transiting from one destination to the next and trying to keep the transition as seamless and smooth as possible but feeling like nobody really gives a shit what goes on behind the scenes.

Why doesn't my maid take care of my kids?

Well, why should she? I'm their Mummy, my maid is not. She helps out with the kids when I require but that's not her main jobscope. She takes care of the housework and keeps tabs of the perishables in the household. She makes sure our home is clean and tidy so I do not have to fret about such things and can instead, focus on my babies.

Mothering, to me anyway, has never been Part-time. Unlike my job, I cannot resign from my kids just because they are terrors and I am tempted to run away from them. I cannot call in sick to my kids anytime I feel like sleeping in late and just call it a day. I cannot "don't bring your work home" because my kids and my family are my home. They are my life.

All Mums are FULL-TIME Mums. It's universal, and we should all be united, and not pit ourselves against one another.

Happy Mother's Day to all my lovely Mummy friends and wonderful mothers out there :)

** P.S. I will be doing a write-up review of a Mothercare event we've been invited to, and am excited to share with fellow Mums out there. Stay tuned!

*** P. P. S. And in case you haven't heard of LolliBox subscription activity boxes, it's high time you check them out! Read my reviews of them HERE (Smartkids Asia expo 2013) and HERE (Adam's LolliBox craft).

 

 

Have you ordered your (limited edition) Mother's Day LolliBox yet?
I hope LolliBox makes them in Father's Day edition too!

I'm excited and can hardly wait to see Adam's reaction when he sees a parcel addressed to his name!