So my kids are pretty bad junk food eaters. -_-
Fighter turns out to have an incredibly sweet tooth and asks for “dessert” after every dinner. I used to buy him and Penny small treats like Kinder eggs and tiny packs of M&Ms until I realized one day it had become less like a treat and more like a daily requirement. :X
So I’ve cut out sweets and junk food. For dessert and snacks they get fresh fruits or the occasional slice of cake if there’s been a birthday. Cos I’m daaaaamn paro about the kids getting cavities!
Fun fact: I’ve never had a cavity in my life *proud. But the thought of the kids having dental problems freaks me out la how they gonna deal with the pain and the care!? Not to mention the host of problems after that – teeth shifting around etc.
Anyway I’ve always been careful with their teeth. Since like a few months old I’d wrap my finger in a small towel and wipe their gums and tongue so they’d get used to having a toothbrush later.
Fighter is really good about brushing his teeth! But Penny…. Penny’s hobby is eating toothpaste. -____- So I gotta watch her very carefully to make sure she doesn’t swallow bubbles or intentionally eat it wtf.
Just as well I received the new Colgate Naturals Toothpaste hahahaha. They have three flavors: Pure Fresh (Lemon & Aloe Vera) which is for lasting fresh breath with a lemon taste, Real White (Seaweed and Crystalline Salts) which is for a whitening effect, and Gum Comfort (Tea Tree Oil & Aloe Vera) which is pretty self explanatory.
Colgate Naturals is a toothpaste with a twist – a nature based sensorial twist. So every variant has its own unique taste for different purposes. And it’s also child safe – if it’s accidentally eaten if a young child brushes their teeth — or in Penny’s case, eaten on purpose. -_- (According to the packaging, children of 6 years and younger should only use a pea sized amount to minimize swallowing while brushing their teeth.)
Tried Pure Fresh for Penny. To match her yellow toothbrush lolol.
Must open so big or not baby hahahaha.
*brush brush brush*
Koko’s turn to try! Blue is his favorite color so… Real White it is.
Hahahahaha camera ready. Saw my phone and smiled wtf.
Hahahahaha my cute boy. To be honest, Fighter didn’t like it — he said it was too spicy (by that he means minty lol) but that’s actually a good thing because the normal kids’ toothpastes that’s usually fruit flavored? They eat it as though it’s melted candy. -___- So this one tasting less like candy, they definitely won’t simply eat hahaha and just brush with it.
These two babies hahaha.
Verdict: Colgate Naturals might take some getting used to for children, but for adults, it’s a refreshing, natural take on the usual mint toothpaste on the market.
This post was written in collaboration with Colgate Naturals.
Hello every buddy!
This is Penny. If you don’t know, I am Mommy’s baby. I am also Daddy’s baby and Koko’s sister.
Hi. Iz me.
Mommy is very tired today so Imma help her out. Because I’m a big girl. Today I will blog about… our trip to Minion Land!
Oh it’s called Resorts World Sentosa Singapore?
Okay whatever.
So the first thing we did when we got to RWS was go for lunch at a restaurant called Sessions.
This is what it looks like.
What the!? Mommehhhhhhh. Why you always like this!? Taking unflattering shots of me sleeping. Fine I fell asleep and missed half of lunch.
Koko was having fun though. You can draw on their table cloths!
[Mommy: It’s sheets of paper laid down for kids to draw.]
My favorite was this fried chicken. Iz so yummy!
No no wait I think I like this.
Mommy’s favorite was this chili crab. I think it’s a grown up thing cos it’s so spicy but she and Dada gobbled the whole thing.
Then it was time to go to Minion Land Universal Studios Singapore!
Mommy took out her sunglasses so me and Koko fought to put ours on too. Daddy already has glasses but his doesn’t have sun in it.
Look who we found!!! Her dress is so pretty I wanna be her when I grow up.
Mommy said it was a bit hot so she made us all go into the souvenir shop. If you ask me, she just wanted to shop. But I found more friends inside! Say hi to Elmo!
Koko found a fat unicorn! Iz so fluffy I’m gonna die!
Then we went to this place called Santa’s Workshop. I don’t know if you’ve heard of this guy called Santa Claus but he’s cool. Apparently his job is to give kids presents!
But hor warn you first. The elves who are supposed to help Santa a bit lazy. They kept asking us to do their work for them! Find letters la, make toys la, bake cookies la whew. Luckily got me and Koko around or else I don’t know what they’d do.
At the end of all our challenges we finally met Santa! Koko is all happy but my face is like that cos I was trying to decide if I should tell Santa his helpers kept making us do their work. #snitch
Then we went for this Madagascar boat ride where we got to meet some animals! Got lion, zebra, hippo and giraffe! All so cuteeee.
But a bit dark. Mommy asked me if I was scared and I said no. Actually I was but don’t tell anyone ok shhh my samseng image is at stake here.
This ride [King Julien] is cool though! The animals came out to play and we went round and round!
BRB milk break.
See who passed out after that HAHAHAHA.
[Mommy: Don’t forget you fell asleep during lunch that’s why you could stay awake. -_-]
And missed the Minions!!!! They finally came out to see us!!!
Suckerrrrr. Wait till Koko sees this pic he’s gonna be so jealous.
Hello Mel, Stuart and Kevin! We are your biggest fans!
[Mommy: there are different shows and events at USS throughout the year yo.]
When Koko woke up, Daddy suggested we go in to this thing called Lights Camera Action. Because Daddy said there’s a tornado inside and Koko would want to see it cos he loves natural disasters.
WHY? WHY MOMMY DID YOU AND DADDY BRING US IN TO THIS HORROR. THE TORNADO WAS HORRIBLE WE COULDA DIED!!!!!!
[Mommy: Yea so Fighter was really excited about witnessing his first “tornado” but didn’t realize it would be that loud and scary. They both burst into tears and everyone around us judged us for bringing in babies hahahaahah.]
Here I am watching my favorite thing in USS.
The Christmas angels! They’re so pretty omg. I asked Mommy how come the angels don’t come down and she didn’t answer me. 🙁
The next day we went here! It’s called Adventure Cove Waterpark and it’s so awesome!
First we met some dolphins at Dolphin Island! Mommy and Daddy were so excited about it and the trainer taught us to do hand signals to “talk” to the dolphins.
But you know Mommy doesn’t even need to do hand signals and I will do what she says too. *proud* I’m like a dolphin, but better.
We got to touch the dolphin! I liked that.
But then the dolphin splashed us with his tail and Koko and I got all wet and then I didn’t like it very much anymore. T_______T
But then we came across this pool with a huge jungle playground and a slide and everything! Koko and I shouted, “Swimsuit! Swimsuit!” until Mommy relented and changed us.
OMG OMG so fun.
Woah woah Koko splashing water!
Also me!
But after that Daddy brought me and Koko and we tried to go up the stairs and got caught in a huge typhoon.
So I decided to wait it out while Koko and Daddy play with the water. *snorts water out of nose*
Our favorite spot here – the beach!
[Mommy: Actually it was just a patch of sand where the beach chairs are hahahaha.]
Koko and Daddy went on this river float ride thingy [Mommy: it’s called the Adventure River] and got to see some funny looking flat fishes called rays. The rays smiled at us! But I was pretty tired by now so I just frowned back at them. I didn’t go either, just asked Mommy to carry me at the side.
But after that we went to Vivocity for shopping and I got very awake. Because shopping <3
And then for dinner, the Resorts World cheh chehs took us to eat under the sea. :O Like mermaids :O
One more.
Mommy and Daddy got boring ol’ grown up plates but look! Ours got fish on them.
No restaurant is complete without fries! Mommy ordered me and Koko the kids meals – Koko had minute steak and I had fries with a side of fish. And my unicorn ate some glitter.
Dinner conversation. We so civilized, look at us.
Me with my unicorn and Koko with his banana. RWS cheh chehs gave them to us! I like them already.
And then the next day! We went under water again. Mommy says this is the SEA Aquarium.
Where we saw… Baby shark du du du du du du~~~~
Oh sorry. Like any self respecting INFLUENCER, I must post my OOTD.
Dress – Next UK
Shoes – Zara
Stroller – GB Pockit
Sunglasses – free from Koko’s birthday party pack
We saw lots of fish and underwater animals! Daddy says these are jelly fish but I don’t see any jelly or fish. They look like mushrooms to me.
What is that!? Some new species of starfish maybe?
Oh it’s just a diver dressed as a Christmas elf. *confused*
We saw some real starfish after that! And the uncle asked us to touch it too. But Koko freaked out, struggled out of Daddy’s arms and ran away. LOL oh Koko you so silly.
Look! Here I’ll show you — I’m going to touch it —-
OH EW WHAT IN SAINTS UNDERPANTS IS THAT!? *scrambles to get down and escape*
*freaks out* Mommyyyy why did you make me touch that T_________T
And that is why I refused to face front in this otherwise okay family photo.
That’s my review of Resorts World Sentosa Singapore. Hope you enjoyed it and can make an informed decision to bring your kids (but don’t let them touch gross things/get water poured on their heads/get splashed by sneaky dolphins). Otherwise we’re good.
Signing off!
Love, Penny.
Okay must put disclaimer first later people think I humble brag wtf. So we’re very lucky to have a driver who’s a nice man at that.
But nice man or not, I still had to be an asshole to him wtf.
So when school first started for the year, and when I was still a bit unfamiliar with Fighter’s school’s complicated pick up and drop off system, our driver (whom we shall call N) would take me and the kids to their respective schools. Our route would be: drop Fighter off at school, then go home to get Penny and take her to school. Then we’d go pick Fighter up from his school, and then drive over to Penny’s to get her.
So there’s always this long ass line to pick up from Fighter’s school. Everyone is super kiasu cos we have to go in one by one, so most parents and transporters arrive before the gates open and just line up their cars outside.
One day, I suddenly felt the pressing urge to go to the toilet wtf. I swear I have undiagnosed irritable bowel syndrome la cos I forever get stomach aches that cannot wait one wtf. So after cold sweating it out a couple of minutes in the car, I told N, uh hey why don’t you wait here in line and I’ll walk into school grounds and pick Fighter up personally cos I really need to use the bathroom.
N said he really needed to go to the bathroom too WTF. But I was like sorry bro I go first ok wtf. Cos what to do he doesn’t have the authorization to walk in to pick Fighter anyway. :X And somebody needs to jaga the car isn’t it. :X
So off I careened through the school gates.
Once inside and having picked Fighter up, my stomach churning subsided. While I was contemplating if I should risk it or just go to the bathroom, Fighter suddenly piped up that he absolutely had to pee too. Oh god.
I asked a teacher where the nearest bathroom was, and she told me that while the boys’ was nearby, the girls’ bathroom was all the way across the school compound. Made the executive decision to not poop after all and hustled Fighter to the boys’ bathroom, which was the high school one (his kindergarten is connected to a high school).
I’ve forgotten how bad school toilets can smell. It stank so bad my eyes nearly started watering.
Fighter, completely forgetting his need to pee, backed out of the bathroom, yelling, “Why so smelly!? I don’t want to pee anymore!” WTF.
Fine fine fine. If he can hold it, we can get out of there faster. And if he can’t, well, that’s what the bucket in my car is for wtf.
Exited the school and found our car and got in. Strapped Fighter in his car seat and settled down myself. N suddenly spoke up, “Er Audrey, is there a toilet in school?”
Just at that moment when N asked me that, my stomach started spinning like a carousel again. It occurred to me that N had sacrificed his chance to go to the toilet earlier for ME to go to the toilet. And I didn’t go in the end, but now when he wanna go, I wanna go again WTF.
Now this is the part where I am a horrible person.
I was suddenly in intense pain and I thought I might drop a load there and then in the car. So I lied. I said, “Uh, the toilet is really far in, cannot go. Why don’t you drive to Penny’s school and we can go there.”
N, being a very nice man, didn’t say anything and just kept driving. Meanwhile, my stomach was doing the salsa and I was breaking out in cold sweat in the backseat. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to Penny’s school.
Thank heavens there was a petrol station coming up ahead! I told N to stop there and to my consternation, N continued driving at his same, steady pace. Maybe it’s his way of getting back at me hahahaha.
When we got to the petrol station, I hopped out of the car, shouting, “I GO FIRST! TAKE CARE OF JUDE!” because by then my sphincter muscles were doing overtime and I really thought I might collapse on the road in a brown puddle hahahahaha.
Ran-waddled to the toilet behind the station and…. oh sweet release wtf.
When I came out ten minutes later, there was a line forming in front of the toilet door. O_O
Brisk walked back to the car, keenly aware that not only did N have to wait for me to go, he also has to wait behind this bunch of people FHL max.
And before I reached the car, N was already jumping out and making a run for the toilet hahahahahaahha omg I am going to hell for this.
And that’s the story of the day I was an asshole (pun not intended) to our driver. I’m not proud of it but I was thinking with my waist down by then wtf. And poop stories are always funny hahahahah.
Anyway nothing was harmed in this incident wtf. No accidents happened, not even Fighter who peed in the bucket lolol. And N didn’t resign so that’s good hahahahaha.
The end wtf.
Here’s a bonus photo of Fighter waiting in school with a friend, for the rest of his classmates to arrive so they can walk to class together. <3
To be honest, my 2017 wasn’t great. In fact, it’s probably the only year ever that I felt actively unhappy about things that were going on in my life. I did have a lot of great moments and good times of course, it wasn’t like I spent it in Azkaban wtf. But something was missing.
I actually feel like a different person this year, and I don’t feel like I even know myself all too well anymore. So it’s hard for me to try to write down what I feel, but what hasn’t changed is my inclination to record down personal parts of my life so here. Imma try.
This year, what changed?
I gained new friends, reconnected with old ones.
I always knew I was extroverted but this year confirmed it lol. I got a lot of happiness from making new friends and hanging out with new groups of people. I reconnected with old friends, some from college days, and remembered what being young felt like wtf. A friend whom I had cut out of my life for the better part of a year didn’t give up; she kept trying until I saw what it’s been like in her shoes, and realized I wasn’t such a great friend myself.
I love my mom friends but this year I realized that I also needed to move out of my comfort zone and connect with people who are different – who would challenge me emotionally, intellectually, and humorously wtf. Talking to more different people also caused me to start studying my life and what I wanted out of it.
I started work on Colony
Colony will always be Fatty’s pet but I’ve enjoyed working on it. Not going to lie, work put an immense strain on our marriage. Fatty is a very different person at work and as it turns out, so am I wtf. He started off very abrupt when talking to me about work, and in turn, I got super defensive about everything. I also had a lot of trouble juggling motherhood and the household, my blog, and work, even though I was on flexible working hours. My brain is already like a sieve on normal days but now I forgot everything wtf F everyone around me’s life. I got wonder if I had inflexible working hours, would I be better at managing since there was more structure? I will never know. I’m still struggling now – I write to do lists but sometimes I even forget to add items to the to do list wtf shit me. T3T
But I enjoyed creating the physical space of Colony. Conceptualizing and working with the team to see it come to life – Colony is beautiful and we made it happen! 🙂 It made me feel like I could do something else besides just writing blogs or handling social media wtf.
I applied for a project that I felt passionate about and got rejected
Yea this was like exactly one year ago. I submitted an application for something that I felt strongly about and got rejected. I appealed and that got rejected too wtf. It sort of set me adrift for a while – I had my heart set on it and I felt lost and unsure what to do next. That’s why Fatty got me onboard to help out with Colony actually – to give me something to work on.
I actually started posting less on social media
Especially Dayre. I used to post on Dayre every single day without fail but sometime this year I stopped. I’d go weeks without updating and only within the last month or so have I been trying to post more regularly. Being away from Dayre actually made me feel like less people were reading and I could be more honest with what I wrote. So I try to write more to more or less document the humdrum stuff that happens every day that will matter to me ten years down the road.
But the reason why I took this half hearted break from social media is that I felt half hearted. The truth is, this year I didn’t feel I had aim or meaning in my life. Even the kids – I think I’m still a devoted mother but most of the time it was like I was on auto pilot mom mode.
So I posted less. It wasn’t even that I was in introspective mode or whatever, I just didn’t feel like I had anything worthwhile to share.
What I’ve realized this year….
That I stopped learning
Sure, I learned a lot about building and renovation. I learned some about interior design and how some old man contractors can be so sexist wtf. I learned how tough it is to work with a spouse wtf. But I have stopped challenging myself. I stick to the easy routes and my comfort zone because it is just so easy. This year I realized I stopped pushing myself and so I stopped growing. And it is because….
that I’m sooo complacent
You see, my life is pretty damn easy. Some might call it tai tai life wtf and it wouldn’t be that far off the mark, despite me being very defensive about the term wtf. I don’t work to earn a living; I work but very very flexibly, and the compensation I receive is more than the time I put in to be honest wtf. I don’t need to do housework. My full time job is purely the kids actually, and that takes up most of my non sleeping hours.
My inertia to even get started on anything is so big because I just have it so easy. There’s no reason or drive to push me to do something more. Coupled with the fact that being a mom is a full time job, it’s so easy to say I don’t have the time and I would be justified.
I am just lazy and complacent wtf. I realize that.
that relationships are a work in progress
Relationships are tough. To be very honest, I think I’m good at connecting with people, and clicking with them and making good friends. But I’m also lazy wtf. Most of the time I coast along because I’m good with people, and the people I love also love me back wtf.
But relationships are hard and they need work. What you have today could very well morph into something else tomorrow and it’s up to you to put in the work needed to maintain it. I’ve also realized that I don’t know very much about human relationships after all.
But mainly I realized…
In 2017 I felt unhappy. Early in the year I broke down because I was so tired. I recovered but that was the catalyst for a lot of internal change.
This year I don’t know what came over me, but it was as if I just suddenly woke up, took a look at my life and asked if this is where I want to be.
All my life, I now recognize that I drifted. I drifted into science stream in school cos it was supposedly more prestigious. I drifted into the advertising industry because Fat Her thought I would like it and he recommended me to my first internship. I knew I wanted to marry Fatty eventually but I also drifted into it because he proposed at that point. I hadn’t thought if I wanted it then. And I drifted into having kids because it was the thing to do.
Now the critters are older – they’re both in school! – and Fatty has a new venture he’ll probably be working on for the long term, I suddenly look around and think, what about me? I ask myself that every day and I still don’t know.
Maybe 2018 should be the year I figure that out.
Remember months ago when I went to register Fighter for kindergarten at the ungodly hour of 2 am?
Well the day is finally here. School officially starts January 2 so today was his Orientation Day. The school told us to come with the kids dressed in their school uniforms, and their lunch kit.
This is their tea kit! Hahahaha damn cuteeee although I think everything in there is from Daiso wtf. Upon registration, the teachers presented each child with a cloth bag with a small food container, a fork and spoon, a cup, and a towel inside. They need to bring this with them everyday so I’m assuming it’s part of the school’s syllabus for Independence lol.
The week before I kept reminding him that we have school on Saturday but Mommy would be going with him, and Chase would be there too. He agreed nonchalantly and seemed perfectly fine.
My handsome boy all dressed up in his new school uniform! He likes it more than his previous uniform cos the sleeves are shorter wtf. #toddlerlogic
He wasn’t really unhappy here – he was trying to act cool LOL.
Found his classroom, met the teacher and got some materials. Then we found a place to sit. See his backpack is bigger than him FHL hahaha. At this point he started to get slightly antsy, reaching for my hand as though scared I’d suddenly make a run for it. -_-
Chase arrived though so all was good for a while….
Both are four year old boys though and Chase would worriedly keep looking out for his parents. Fighter on the other hand…. without warning burst into tears. O_O
Between sobs he stuttered, “I want when I’m studying Mommy stay here with me.” And big ol’ tears kept welling up in his eyes and dropping down his cheeks. T3T
I had to carry him out of the classroom to calm him down. I don’t even remember what I said cos I was just trying out telling him different things and one of them happened to work wtf. He calmed down enough to accept that when school starts proper, I wouldn’t be around but I would be waiting to pick him up after school.
After that the teachers asked all parents to step out of class. I assured Fighter I would stand right outside his classroom and he could see me through the window. He started crying again but by the time I got to the window outside he had already stopped wtf.
Watching me carefully to make sure I’m paralyzed and stick to the window wtf.
Then orientation started! Couldn’t really hear what teacher was saying, but she was probably explaining basic rules. Then they got the boys and girls to line up separately, and ushered them all to the bathroom to wash their hands.
Teacher teaching them how to open their tea kit, remove the utensils, and pack back everything again lol.
Time to greet the teachers bye and go home!
Damn happy when finish school hahahaha.
FREEDOM!!!
Tomorrow is the first actual school day though – he will be going in to school and classes will commence proper.
Packed his bag tonight! Sharpened his pencils, labeled all his stuff and wrote his name and class on his books. Prepared his tea kit, his pencil case with stationery, even put in some color pencils, and a required handkerchief to go into his pocket haha.
Wish us luck!
Penny’s First Day of Preschool
edit: Adding this on because the day after, Penny started school too! She’s been going to an independent play program since before she turned two but this year she’s turning three and due to start nursery!
This is my big girl, super proud of herself and taking a selfie dressed up in her school uniform. She was soooo excited about her school uniform btw. The day I brought it home, she insisted on putting it on already lol. And the first day of school was actually PE day which meant the kids should wear their PE outfits. But this girl wanted to cry when I took out her PE uniform….. so she was the only kid in class wearing this uniform while everyone else in PE clothes lolol.
While waiting for school to start….
Penny is used to being dropped off and fending for herself in school. But this is after all, a new school, with new teachers and new classmates. I wasn’t sure how she’d react and I steeled myself for the worst wtf.
She was totally fine.
Here she is, coloring before lessons start. Totally happy in her new surroundings.
After a few minutes, I crouched to her level and said, “Penny, mommy is going to the market now okay? I’ll come back to pick you up when school finishes.”
She nodded and waved her hand dismissively at me WTF.
Pick up time. She’s been doing super well la! The first two days, teachers told me she cried during the second half, after snack and playground time wtf. Maybe she cried cos all the fun parts are over wtf.
No la I think she cried cos she was tired already. Her two year old school was only two hours long and she has to adjust to longer school hours.
She also really likes her laoshi so I think that’s a huge plus! Her laoshi only speaks Mandarin to the kids and Penny doesn’t understand a word of Chinese wtf. Once we were playing hide and seek at home and Fighter was in a Mandarin speaking mood wtf. I was hiding and I could hear him call out, “Wo mama zai na li?”. And apparently Penny ran along side him and asked, “Koko. What you saying?” Hahahahah.
But when laoshi spoke to her in Chinese, Penny was nodding along as if she understood everything LOL.
So that’s both kids’ first days! So proud of them that they’re so big and independent now. From the second day onwards, Fighter now walks in to school on his own after I drop him off at the school gate. Penny waves bye to me calmly every day and goes about whatever business almost three year olds get up to in school wtf.
On the other hand, I have no helpless babies anymore. BRB crying in the corner.
Hello! I wanted to blog about this so I can read back years later and rub it in to my kids’ faces how challenging it was raising them wtf
So when I first found out I was pregnant with this one, I cried wtf. I wasn’t ready and Fighter hadn’t even turned a year old then! I didn’t know how to cope – Fighter was essentially still a baby (and he was nowhere near walking or talking yet ahem late bloomer) and I didn’t know how I was going to handle another baby on top. T3T
These two are 19 months apart and today they are best friends (and look like twins wtf). They do everything together; in fact, Penny wants to do whatever Fighter does.
While Fighter more or less spoils Penny like the baby sister she is. They get into regular fights and rival in the way only siblings can, but many times I’ve also seen him talk to her gently, instruct her (albeit bossily wtf), and give in to her (not every time, but pretty often). He’s even told me that his favorite person in the world is Baby.
Penny loves her Koko too, but the main highlight of her life is Mommy wtf. Since birth, Penny has been super duper oompa loompa attached to me. When people asked, I just attributed it to her being a colicky and horribly difficult baby and I was the only one who could stand her screaming and took care of her those dark days wtf haha. But there it is. When I’m around she doesn’t want anyone else, when I’m out she goes from room to room calling for me. We thought it was a phase but it’s been going on for 2.5 years already wtf.
Penny is also extremely posessive wtf.
When she sees Fighter going to me, she hurriedly throws down whatever she’s doing and hurls herself at me, sometimes even shoving Koko to the side WTF. She’s always negotiating to be carried, so Fighter either settles for holding my hand, but more often lately, he seeks out Fatty or our helper, Gaston*
*not her real name wtf
She insists I do everything for her – feeding, bathing, washing up – then dilly dallies so long when I do it that Gaston ends up doing the same chore for Koko.
It’s actually been happening quite consistently for the past six months or so, but I assumed it didn’t bother him that much because Fighter has always been so generous and uncomplaining with his sister. I even stupidly thought, wah my son is so mature, only four years old and knows how to give in to his younger sister.
But lately, I opened my eyes a bit more. I saw Fighter start toward me, then immediately turn and run to Fatty. When he wanted me for something, but Penny spoke up (usually loudly), he’d just quietly relent and go off. More strikingly, when he needed help, he started to not look for me and just ask someone else or not do it at all.
This forced independence hit me right in the stomach.
I realized that I’ve been neglecting Fighter’s emotional needs in favor of Penny’s. T_____T Just because I thought he was older and therefore more mature, I unfairly assumed he would be able to handle it. But he’s only four. T_____T
So that night, when I was putting him to bed, I cuddled him and told him,
“Jude, I’m sorry that Mommy is always so busy with Penny. I thought you’re a big boy already, but I miss doing things with you. Even though Mommy has to take care of Penny sometimes, I want to tell you you’re a good boy and I love you very much.”
“How much?”
“I love you one million much.”
He said, “I love you twenty seven billion much!” And then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
So I’m trying to make up for it in small ways. When I put him to bed, instead of rushing him to sleep and telling him ‘no more talking!’ wtf, we chat about his day and his thoughts before he finally goes to sleep.
Last night, Fatty and I left Penny in bed at home and took Fighter out with us to a wedding dinner and just spent time with him, which was nice.
And this morning, when Fighter woke up (early as usual), instead of bringing him downstairs, I was too sleepy so I asked him to climb into bed with me instead. For an hour, when I opened my eyes to peek on him I found him just looking at me, and smiling when he caught my eye. I hugged him to sleep and he hugged me back and would have stayed there if I didn’t get us both up for breakfast. (Penny was already downstairs with her grandparents.)
This is to remind me that while tending to one child, I cannot forget about the emotional needs of another, no matter how loving and obedient (and low maintenance wtf) he is. To my baby boy, thank you for teaching me wisdom in parenting.
The answer is Resorts World Singapore (RWS). Hahaha.
This past year we’ve been pretty busy with work (hi Colony looking at you) and also saving money hahaha so we’ve foregone fancy long haul holidays and spent more time exploring our own region. We went to Bali, Legoland, and Singapore several times. We’d always wanted to make a trip to Universal Studios Singapore (USS) and recently Resorts World Sentosa Singapore contacted me for a Christmas trip to RWS!
We not going to snowy countries for the year end holidays never mind! We have USS and RWS which turned out to be super fun!
Here’s us at the entrance of USS (right after the giant globe). Penny wasn’t too keen on taking the photo as you can see.
Stepped into USS itself and behold! Christmas decor galore! Love how festive everything looks! Cos we put up Christmas decorations for Colony and it’s really nice but also maxed out our budget so I keep wondering how much everyone else’s decor cost now HAHAHA. #auntie
Anyway I was gonna write it’s my first time in any Universal Studios during Christmas but it’s not!
I have photographic evidence wtf. This was in Universal Studios Japan.
And now my kids are the ones posing with Hello Kitty!!! God I feel old.
I was scrolling through my old pictures and I feel like USS is even more Christmassy than Japan where it’s actually cold in December. They have tons of Christmas related activities and attractions happening.
Like this Santa’s workshop! Basically it’s a walkthrough attraction where we learn how to be elves to help Santa for Christmas hahaha.
Because guests enter in batches it can seem like a slightly long wait. But USS funned it up by sprinkling fake snow on us while we waited hahaha. The kids were highly entertained…. until they realized the snow keeps coming.
Entered and you get this! Omg am I giving away too much wtf.
Sit Santa’s sleigh first. Kids very obliging ah!
One with the elves! Fighter damn sien already itching to start hahaha.
And one more with Dada who came along for the ride! (literally lol).
So basically the whole thing is a series of challenges that the elves give us and we have to complete each challenge…
Here’s a robot building challenge. I dunno why Penny like this hahahaha.
Before we can meet Santa in the end! You see this samseng Penny’s face lolol.
Milk break after getting their elves certificate hahaha. We stopped outside Mel’s Diner and listened to this jukebox quartet perform Christmas songs. FEELS.
Sorry had to do this. Main Street is my favorite part of Universal Studios! My tastes in music and fashion date back 30 years before I was born I swear hahaha and Main Street is so retro and nostalgia evoking!
Because look who we bumped into on Main Street!
Before we went to USS I told Fighter and Penny that we were going to meet the Minions (one of their favorite characters) and Fighter was soooo excited about it. But look what happened when we actually saw the Minions HAHAHAHAH.
Don’t blame me leh I tried to wake him up but he promptly fell asleep again.
Angry cos he missed his heroes hahahaha. But it’s ok cos we managed to catch a Christmas show on Main Street too!
I think he couldn’t fathom how come these characters dressed like this hahahaha.
Penny was pretty in awe though.
I think this was Penny’s favorite part of USS. When the illumination lit up the entire street and there was a Christmas fairy (who was really an acrobat) gliding and twirling in the air above us. And then all the angels lit up!
Her eyes were wide and she was just staring up in amazement. And then later on when we were heading back to the hotel, she kept asking me where the fairies were hahahaha.
Right before we exited though, we bumped into another Christmas parade! Wanted to stay longer and watch but by then both critters were whining and rubbing their eyes already.
So bye bye Universal Studios Singapore!
But wait there’s more.
We also managed to make a trip to the SEA Aquarium where the Merry Fishmas program was going on! The kids got a piece of paper with stamp boxes and as we made our way through the aquarium, we had to find the sea creatures that was in the paper and stamp to receive a prize at the end.
Here’s Sepet Baby and her SEA Aquarium hat haha.
Christmas elf cleaning the tank LOLOL. For the first time ever, Penny ran up to him and asked me to take photo for her. I think she was as impressed as I was by the dedication of the diver, wearing an elf suit above his diving suit hahaahha.
Very glad we took the kids there in time for Christmas! I’d heard that Universal Studios is less suitable for toddlers their age cos the rides tend to be a little older and there’s minimum height requirements (92 cm for most rides FYI) but it didn’t feel like a problem to us. Bringing little kids around can be pretty slow at times so we didn’t set a fast pace anyway. The few rides that they could go on was enough, and we filled the rest of the time just looking at things and meeting the characters and watching shows.
Plus the fact that it was Christmas, there was quite a lot extra going on so our whole day was packed yo!
Go check out USS if you have time! And watch out for my Instagram cos Imma be giving away passes to USS!!!
This post was written in collaboration with Resorts World Sentosa Singapore.
Fighter is super happy about it being school holidays (except that he misses his friends) but I can slowly feel life ebbing away from me wtf. Hahahahaha no la but I suddenly find myself with a lot less time on my hands. My carefully balanced juggling of work, school runs and errands totally flipped on its side already hahaha.
I still try to allow the kids mostly free play time, but I’ve also been trying to plan for some structured activities so they pick up new skills too.
Like doing activity sheets…. (aiya don’t say tiger mom la ok he hasn’t touched it since that first day lolol.)
Making trips to exhibitions and art installations…
And I also registered them for toddler gym classes for something physical to do.
And another thing we can do together is learn how to cook! Inspired by this story I heard of recently of a five year old Japanese girl called Hana, whose mom before dying of cancer taught her how to cook at four, and now she cooks for her dad T____T, I thought ok let me teach (or at least expose) my kids cooking in case I die WTF touch wood.
I’ve baked with them a couple of times but this is the first time we’re doing cooking so I was slightly nervous. Dah lah my cooking also subpar one hahaha and I’m as likely as the kids to cut my own finger off. :X
So pasta it is! I chose spaghetti bolognese because easy la hahaaha.
Started off with boiling Prego Angel Hair pasta in a pot of water and a dash of olive oil.
Then the usual steps – fry minced garlic on medium heat; add onions, then minced meat.
Then add my Prego Mushroom Tomato sauce. And add salt and sugar to taste. The kids took turns stirring the sauce around hahaahah.
When the sauce was done, I smothered the angel hair pasta in lots of butter, then added the still warm sauce and got the kids to toss the pasta.
(Totally regretted wearing white that day)
Plating pass boh!? I think not bad wor! And no blood shed over this hahaha kiddingggg.
Because it’s December, I got all extra and told the kids we’re making pasta Christmas trees hahaahha. Cut up slices of carrots to decorate the tops of the “trees”. The plating and food art were the hardest for me please haha. If you close one eye and squint with the other, the carrot stars don’t look so bad shaped right hahahaha.
Sadly, they still wouldn’t eat their carrots. T3T
But I think it’s a really simple yet festive dish for the year end. Unless you’re on a low carb diet, I don’t know anyone who would turn down a nice plate of pasta haha and kids definitely love it. I think there’s loads of ways to decorate and serve up pasta dishes which would suit any celebration and make it all the better. 🙂
In the spirit of the year end celebrations, Prego Malaysia is running an online contest on their Facebook page HERE.
Step 1: Snap a shot of your cooked pasta meal using the app available on the Prego FB page
Step 2: Frame the photo using special Prego frames and upload.
Like this.
Step 3: Create a slogan OR a 4-line quatrain which consists of the words “Simple”, “Special”, “Delicious” and “Prego”.
Step 4: Submit with details and receipt number of your purchase.
Prizes worth up to RM80,000 to be won. ^^ To join, go here.
This post was written in collaboration with Prego Malaysia.
This is Mild. She’s the one in the cream dress and she was one of my best friends back at Mount Holyoke!
(the one in blue is Jeannie hahahaahha I grabbed this photo from an old blog post and I dunno why I put up this photo of her hahahahahaha. Come to think of it I dunno why I’m putting up this photo again ahhaahahah oh right cos it’s funny hahahahaahah)
Anyway Mild and Jeannie were part of the reason why MHC was fun for us. And Mild got married last weekend in Bangkok!
So it was like a mini reunion for us! The last time I saw Elise was in Singapore before I was married, Mild was also years ago before I got married. I saw Angela a year after I had Fighter in LA, but I hadn’t even seen Jeannie since we graduated nine years ago!
The moment I saw them all though – it was like no time had passed. T3T It’s as though I just saw them for brunch yesterday or something and we were just picking up from there. T____T
Mild was so gorgeous in her wedding dress T_______T Maybe cream is her color she always wears cream hahahaha. They exchanged vows and I started tearing cos everyone was tearing WTF *sheeple. Even though I don’t even understand Thai hahaha.
They’ve gone through quite a lot to be with each other la T3T So so happy that we get to witness their happily ever after!
Gratuitous picture of us wtf. Shit my top senget until wtf.
With Jeannie and Elise. Coincidentally our outfits matched and complemented each other very well! Is it we know garden wedding so we automatically gravitate towards blush and florals wtf.
More with my soulmate wtf. Angela’s fiance Frank said that when we’re with each other we just ignore the world hahahaha and that we just immerse ourselves in each other wtf. And apparently when we’re together we’re assholes cos we don’t care about anyone else hahahaha.
The wedding venue was super beautiful actually. But we also beautiful WTF that’s why only take photos of ourselves hahahahaha. It’s called Gardens of Dinsor (I think) and it’s a restaurant but they had an enclosure filled with white peacocks ok! (also white pigeons which I mistook for baby peacocks wtf). And swans in the pond!
(But our outfits go so well right <3)
Forgot about other people and focus on ourselves again wtf. That’s Frank behind taking pictures for elderly relatives. FHL cos he wore white shirt then all the relatives thought he was a photographer HAHAHAHAHA.
Oh for everyone who’s asking, my top and skirt are from a shop called K9 in Terminal 21.
Seriously my Huawei Mate 10 camera is the best shiznit ever.
After the vows Mild had a surprise for us! She asked all the girls to go find a balloon each and tied to each balloon was a tiny fortune. Mine was surprisingly very good, like I will have a long and happy life or something.
This was Angela’s. HAHAHAAHHAAHHAHA. Why do they bother printing this fortune HAHAHAHAHA.
Elise all ready to be a mom with Deer (another MHC friend)’s baby.
Eh sorry ah. After years of not being together we had to make up for lost time hahaha. It’s like we grew up but we’re still the same. Elise is in Singapore working with the Pedder Group, Jeannie is a neuroscientist studying dementia and she has a 15 month old baby AND she’s starting her pHD omg what am I doing with my life. Oh and Angela is doing her cold pressed juice business MELU of course. But actually Elise is still as drily funny as ever, Jeannie still talks non stop, and me and Angela are still assholes hahahaha.
One more photo with the happy couple!
Reunion not over yet! Mild organized dinner for us the next night too so we could catch up more. This is a super beautiful Thai restaurant called Ma Maison (Yea the name and the cuisine don’t gel wtf). I love the shelf styling omg this is what my bookcase at home wants to be when it grows up. (except maybe without the stuffed dead birds)
This Angela totally got the name wrong and kept saying ‘My Mansion’ to cab drivers no wonder nobody would take us hahahaahah.
Us. <3
Jeannie talked so much she lost her voice HAHAHAHA. We could only hear maybe 15% of what she was saying.
At Train Night Market where I wisely ate salmon sashimi (which was just hanging out on a banana leaf in Bangkok temperature) and paid dearly for it with full on diarrhea the next day.
… at Chatuckak! Yea I had to lau sai here FML hahaha. Didn’t come hear the last trip and I wish I did now! Feel like the stuff here is so much nicer and more special than in Platinum.
Like this bag LOL. Except I don’t think it should be model-wanna be guys, it’s obviously model-wannabe girls la on Instagram! I refuse to conform! *does motion OOTD wtf
Frank trying on pants behind a sarong ahhahaah. We were trying to IG story this and the girl pretended to drop the sarong HAHAHAHA. She damn funny should have tipped her wtf.
Also visited this beautiful place called The Commons! It’s filled with quirky shops and cafes and is basically an Instagram-worthy place to hang out.
Like this backdrop wall!
I’m so good at doing the Batman face Angie can’t keep up wtf.
Hahahaha.
One of the cafes.
The place really very nice! But Angela’s shoe very dirty haahhaahha.
Fatty couldn’t join us cos he had another wedding in KL but it was such a good chance for me to catch up with the girls especially Angie. It’s been nearly ten years and it was pretty interesting to see how our interactions and friendship had evolved, and to see myself reflected differently in their eyes.
How to say ah? Like same but different wtf. I’m still blur and uncoordinated and mildly irritating I suspect but I realized since we graduated that I’ve also developed more sides to my character. And one thing Angela said really hit me.
She told me that I said to her once that she always took the easy way out. I wasn’t exactly right, but she did always take the easy way to achieve whatever she wanted. In her case, she wanted to graduate with honors so she took the most convenient classes in order to maintain the highest GPA possible.
I on the other hand, always wanted to try new, random things. I took an art class and I was so bad at it Angela wanted to keep my final portrait to look at whenever she was sad WTF. It pulled down my GPA quite a lot hahaahaha but it didn’t matter to me as long as I was learning and experiencing new things.
When we got back from our study abroad program in Japan, I wanted to continue learning Japanese but our college didn’t even have such an advanced class anymore. So I decided to take an hour long bus trip each way to Smith to take Advanced Japanese each week just because.
I think that was when I told her she always took the easy way la cos I was trying to get her to take the advanced class with me hahahaha.
Anyway it hit me that… I’m not like that anymore. I don’t push out of my comfort zone or focus on trying new things. Maybe I need to get that back.
This blog post took a serious turn so quickly wtf.
Anyway to more reunions! Hopefully Angie’s wedding next year!
So the last post I talked about my inspiration ideas for our home.
This post is gonna be about the process of our renovation! It’s a very long blog post cos I realized I’d never properly blogged about this besides snippets on Dayre.
Okay so the story is this.
We’d been staying in a very old apartment ever since before we got married and when I moved in with Fatty we didn’t change a thing. The decorating was done previously by Fatty’s older brother who’s since moved to Singapore and I think the style is maybe skewed Balinese? I don’t know la but it features a lot of dark wood and beige-y tones and wooden shutters and er is not really my taste la hahaha. But because everything was in working condition and we were young 20 somethings wtf we didn’t bother changing anything.
When we had kids we er had kids and were too caught up in life to consider anything beyond what was happening day to day. But we actually live with Fatty’s brother and sister, and his brother got married last year and they were expecting a baby too! (Delivered already wtf) So family was expanding, Fighter and Penny also getting bigger and space was slowly getting to be an issue. We actually have another unit next door that used to be tenanted but since the tenant moved out and we couldn’t find another, we decided to just move into it ourselves.
So last November (omg a whole year ago!) we started our renovation process. And since we’ve gone through the entire process, I thought I’d write about what we’ve experienced and what I learned.
Interior decorator – yes or no?
I think that’s the big question for most people – whether there’s a need for an ID even. I think most people just hire a master contractor and sort of go along and decide on the design themselves.
I decided to get an ID though because I’m a total noob in renovation and design! I didn’t have confidence in myself at all – not just in the design but even stuff like estimating how the sizes of furniture pieces might fit in the same space. Even more so for the renovation bit – I had no clue about buildings and construction and even what to look out for, and I wanted someone I could trust to manage and coordinate the project. Also I didn’t want to be yelling at the contractor and different sub cons every day wtf die early meh.
So based on friends’ recommendations, I interviewed a couple of interior designers to compare prices and settled on one I liked.
I think it’s very important to have rapport with your ID! Our ID is also an architect by training so I felt comfortable that she would be able to do the structural work well too, not just the design aspect of it. Also different IDs just have different styles and not everyone can switch up styles just like that. So it’s important that you look through their portfolio and figure out if their work reflects your taste as well.
Katrine (our ID) seemed to have pretty versatile styles – she could do contemporary, but also classical. And more importantly, she could do a mix of contemporary and traditional, which is what I wanted.
You sure fight one
Hahahaha my sub title. Apparently this is super common. Katrine told me she’s had clients who couldn’t agree on decisions and started bickering in front of her FHL. Couples sure fight because it’s a home they share but they may not necessarily have the same tastes and opinions and the entire process can be a balancing and compromising act between the both of you.
Fatty didn’t really care either way cos he was also working on Colony by then. So I had more or less free reign over the direction and ideas. But even then we still fought wtf. When I went over budget lolol.
Design
Katrine confided that a lot of her clients don’t really know what they want. Like maybe they ask for a minimalist house but then want to buy baroque chairs for the dining table wtf. I knew what I wanted for sure, but the more I worked on Colony, the more my tastes evolved hahaha. So towards the last 1 month, we changed up the design, which caused some delays too. So to avoid too much waffling, I’d say really do your research and Pinterest first to get a clear sense of what you want to achieve for your house.
Budget
Um this is probably the first thing you should agree on and fix before you start talking to IDs and contractors. Budget is important obviously cos that’s how much you’ll be spending, but it will also give your ID/contractor an idea of how much can be done within your budget. Our ID was pretty creative in making our budget work by recommending cheaper options or alternatives to what we wanted.
Even then our budget bao zha la wtf. There can be unforeseen costs. Actually I feel like renovation is just one big unforeseen cost at times. For example, we realized that our balcony floor wasn’t level so rainwater would flow in to our sliding doors are, causing a flood. D: So we had to level off the floor to make sure the water drains out. We also had to do a lot of waterproofing cos it’s an old apartment and there were some leaks.
Let’s not forget adding items on halfway that we’d forgotten, eg. alarm system and CCTV for one. Another unexpected expense was when we realized how much nicer (and warmer!) timber flooring looked, compared to tiles or laminate and timber flooring wasn’t in the budget wtf.
I think with the budget you gotta be reasonable too. Don’t give an RM50K budget and then expect the world cos that’s not happening. If you want certain things that you’re not willing to give up and you have an unreasonable budget, you just gotta expect it to go over then.
Hiccups
Renovation is just a huge spell of hiccups lolol. You have to accept that! *bangs table wtf. Like I’d mentioned, the balcony flood and the leaking were just two of a lot of problems. And these hiccups often cause…
Delays
From everything from getting approval from building management to issues arising on site to even screwed up delivery of things. Our delay was extra special cos we actually used the same ID firm to build Colony. And Colony was more urgent so we diverted all the resources to Colony and put our house on hold. End up our house renovation took like seven months to complete (not including design phase ok) lolol and our place is not even big.
Problems after moving in
When everything is set up and ready, moving in is the final test to make sure everything is working fine. When I moved in only I realized… cos my closet is small, we installed a baby ceiling fan. Then when I opened my cupboard door, the door hit the fan WTF. Hahahaha so we had to move the fan. And random things like the front door was hitting our kitchen counter when opened, so we added a stopper. Or I found that Fighter’s shower head was missing WTF.
These are all teething problems, to be expected and settled accordingly. The bright side is you get to do it while in the comfort of your new home. 😀
But all in all, I had a great ID and project manager. And while we had minor problems here and there, I was quite satisfied with our sub contractors too. And we had some really nice sponsors!
Here’s the team from Suzuka, a company that specializes in wall finishes and stone/brick veneers working on the kids play room.
I installed a white brick veneer as a feature wall for the play room, and for our balcony too.
This is what it looks like (and that’s our new wooden floor). Why I’d recommend doing a veneer instead of regular bricks is that it’s cleaner and less dusty. Also it takes up less space than normal bricks. And Suzuka’s quality is fantastic – the brick wall looks so real. 🙂 It’s certified with SIRIM and Singapore Green Label and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor – I used it for the kids’ room and the balcony after all!
(There is a 20% off promotion for their brick collection from now till February 2018, and free 1 kg grouting material with every box. Go here for details. )
For the look I wanted we also decided to install paneling/wainscotting. Yea la now everyone says my house like mini Colony wtf. #onetrickpony
Paneling halfway through!
A lot of people asked about my lighting too! I gotta say that Katrine is fantastic at lighting. She really knew how to balance regular down lights with ambiant lighting and spotlights as well. My pendant and ambiant lights (the three lights above my kitchen peninsula and the bubble lights above our dining table) are all sponsored by a shop in Kota Damansara called Ambiant Lighting. They don’t have a website but here’s their contact details and address.
Pendant lights in the living room are also from Ambiant Lighting!
Our kitchen was sponsored partially by Venture Ideal Renovation. OMG my kitchen I went back and forth between blue-grey cabinets and my original love, white. I think I made a decision at least three times F Katrine’s and Venture Ideal’s life. In the end I settled on white la cos that’s what I’d always wanted – a clean, white kitchen.
See where the three lights are? There was a wall there but I broke it down to create an open concept kitchen. MIL warned me that oil is gonna get everywhere and my sofas are gonna be oily wtf. O_O So that’s something you gotta think about ok don’t say I didn’t warn you. My MIL did warn me but I stubborn hahaha. But on the upside, the space looks much bigger and I like that if I’m in the kitchen I still get to keep an eye on the kids.
And last but not least, thank you Mitsubishi for furnishing our kids’ play room with the air conditioner!
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