Kiddy lunch! ;)

Had lunch at Sun with Moon Japanese restaurant at wheelock place today! Bought a kids meal for the little gal. When it came, she was so amused by the presentation, she went "happy birthday to me uh?". Lol, she thought it was a cake... :p As always, I learnt something - "forget abt kiddy meals!" because you land up eating more! Something I won't want to be doing!!!

My new shoes!!!

Have been eyeing this pair of Crocs for the little gal for quite a while. It went out of stock from my friend's BP and it was dissapointing!

Luckily, the lil gal's 姨姨 (little aunt) workplace oragnised a basar. Though more expensive than the BP, it's still cheaper than buying from Crocs store. Since her shoes usually last for quite some time, it should be worth every penny. :p

Thanks to 姨姨，here is her loving the pair of ladybug shoes and with her favie umbrella...

Zoo zoo zoo!!!

The lil gal went to the zoo today. It's an excursion organized by her childcare centre.

The weather was pretty hot with the sun but I was glad it didn't rain. The little gal got to catch up with the orang utan, monkeys, snakes, zebra, giraffes, lion, leopards, etc. This time there was also the penguin enclosure which had re-opened.

Mama got to feed the giraffes bcos the lil gal refused! -_-" we manage to watch the rainforest show which features the spider monkey, orang utans and others. We headed home eventually with the lil gal falling asleep in the car all the way home...

Here's a pic of her with the "seals"...

Testing out the new iPhone blogger app!

Finally chanced a new Blooger app by Google for iPhone! And it's FREE! (double delight!)

Since we are talking abt technology/programs, hubby recently got an iPad2. And the little gal is of course happily enjoying the big screen and the apps that are available in iPad... ;p

Manage to catch a picture of her hard at work - playing the puzzle game - Tozzle. It's a program which Jinny introduced and it keeps her entertained. What I do not like about iPhone and iPad is she gets addicted (keeps whining to daddy for the 电脑！). My worst fears is she looks at the screen too closely and may need to wear specs at a tender age...

Well, got to keep reminding myself to balance out the use of technology! :)

The small things in life...

There is an unknown attraction between the little girl and the MRT. She gets all excited when it comes to taking a ride in the air-conditioned train... Maybe it's a novelty to scan the ez-link card and see the gates open... She got her fix on Sunday. One day before, she tried desperately to convince daddy that it is absolutely OK for him to take her on an MRT ride without mummy since mummy does not have her ezlink card (what more can I say right?).

Isn't it true that some small things in life can make one happy?  

The novelty of scanning the ez-link card... ;p

Kids and cold stuff... I remember loving ice-cream and yakult. This is totally random because I did not know that Ikea was giving away a soft-serve with every kids meal purchased! The cashier gave us a token and a cone. The machine is easy to use but I have serious doubts about the hygiene... ;p

 

Holding on to the ice-cream and trying to keep daddy and mummy distracted... 

*you cannot see the soft serve in my hands... you cannot see....* :p

 

Toilet training!

Toilet training is one of those parenting topics that I know almost nothing about. Admittedly, I hate looking at the clock and repeating myself like a broken recorder (You want to go pee?... You want to go pee?...). I am also not into cleaning up puddles of liquid and even less keen when she takes the floor mat to soak up the liquid mess on the floor... Toilet training requires lots of persistence from the parents/caretakers and lots of encouragement so that they feel proud to have accomplished it. :)

My girl's CC teacher told us that the little girl has been indicating that she needs the toilet and will be ready for toilet training. We jumped at the idea since consistent toilet training from Mondays to Fridays is better than just doing it on Saturday and Sundays (where we spend most of the time out). A successful toilet training also means I pack one less item in her bag and saves Ah Gong's money (Note: Ah Gong been sponsoring the little girl's Mamy Poko).  So for 1.5 months, I washed a total of perhaps 4 soiled school shorts. Somehow, the training went so well, she could go to the potty to poo and pee on her own over the weekend.

On Sunday, while dressing little girl for dinner, she chose an inner-wear and told me that she wanted to wear it. Not wanting to "over-stretch" it with the bulky diapers, I told her it's either inner-wear or diaper. She chose inner-wear and off we went for dinner without diapers. After dinner, we stopped by at a Caltex petrol station for the Restrooms. Caltex really pride themselves into providing really clean toilets! It's heaven compared to those dark, dirty and remotely located toilets where sucking your breath while doing your business is the only way out. A great choice for pit-stop toilets (LOL!). So a cool 2.5hours without any accidents! *Phew*

At 2 years and 8 months old, I would happily say that she is pretty much toilet trained (except diapers during zzz hours). Yeah, I am a lucky mum since I no need to clean so many "puddles"... :p

妈妈的爱心﹣八珍汤

Yes, mum made me her version of 爱心八珍汤! This soup is a chinese herbal soup that can be cooked with meat (chicken or pork) or without meat.

The soup is something which I drink regularly as a teenager until I got married. I did not get to drink it as much because I no longer stay with the persons who cook this soup (my mum and my grandma/aunt)! Anyway it's because I am lazy because the soup is really easy to prepare.

About 3 months back, I cooked the soup and shared it with my mother-in-law. :) This round my mother cooked it for me. For some reason, hers' taste better and it could be because I used "black chicken" while she used the normal chicken.

For those who are wondering, this soup should be taken regularly (monthly) by girls if possible. The tonic soup will nourish the blood. It is known to reduce menstratual pains and keep cycles regular. Some fellow mothers say it's good for women trying to concieve as it "warms" the womb. Men can drink this soup but in small quantities... :)

Anyway it's quite easy to prepare. You can boil it for 2-3 hrs on stove or use a slow cooker. I do not like to keep watch on fire so I use a slow cooker.

Step 1: You can buy a pack of the herbs for the soup. I usually buy from Eu Yang Sang and wash them before use (thou EYS says no need to wash la).

Step 2: You can choose to buy meat (about 1 chicken chopped up or into halves) to make the soup. Just wash the meat then place them into the slow cooker. Place the herbs on the top of the meat and pour water to cover the herbs and meat (if any).

Step 3: Set the slow cooker on high for about 3 hrs and the soup should be done. My grandmother usually cooks the soup on stove for about 1-2hrs only. The soup is usually dark when it's done... :)

This is my mum's 爱心八珍汤 (one BIG BOWL!). Thank you mum (you're the best!).

Jacob Ballas Children Garden...

It's been such a long time since I blogged. I read in a parenthood magazine about stolen identities and how a blog exposes private life for everyone to see... So got a bit scared and took off the blog into a "private space". Nevertheless, without the blog, it seems I have stopped tracking the little one's growing up proccess... How could I do that?

It's been 3 months since the last blog. Recently, her school had an outing to Botanic Gardens - Jacob Ballas Children Garden. She had missed this little outing as she came down with fever and lack of appetite. Hubby and I decided to bring her there on a Sunday. The map of the garden can be found here (http://www.sbg.org.sg/bukittimahcore/images/map.jpg)

The Jacob Ballas Children Garden is a small cut out of the bigger Botanic Gardens. Abeit the lack of care in certain parts of the garden (such as the water plant section), it can be an educational place for the little ones to explore the different plants - the "Touch Me Nots", spices (such as Pandan, lemon grass, lime plants). The banana tree was flowering when we were there! :)

There are physical activities which kids can explore there! The sand playground (which we skipped as time was running out), waterplay area (small, we also skipped as we did not bring spare clothes or towels), tree playground (for active kids to climb around, features very long enclosed slides) and of course the suspension bridge!

Well here are some photos!