Snow

We went with Julian for snow play at Tanglin Mall today and Kimi has loads of fun!

It's on everyday from now till Jan 2, 2010. Get snowed or wait till next X'mas!

The calm before the 'Avalanche'

Here come the avalanche! The kids scrambled towards this big washing machine! The FUN begins!

Happy!
Then it snowed blissfully ...

Kimi's First Whale Drawing

I came home from a short outing and Kimi showed me his masterpiece! Wow!! Kimi said it was a whale. Wow! What a beautiful whale it was! At least in my eyes!! I felt so proud!

I've Got An Award!

A fellow bento blogger passed on this award to me in a bid to encourage me to keep up with the blogging. Isn't she sweet? Many times, we 'meet' people, other moms online and we don't even know them personally yet they can make your day, literally!

A biggie THANKS to Javapot. Do visit her blog for cute and awesome bentos for both adults and kids!

So, here's my turn to pass the award on. The rules are simple. Just pass on this award to 15 new to me blogs. Hmm, maybe difficult for me cos I'm normally a 'silent' reader... not sure if I just pass to them will they pick it up? Anyway, I will have a mixture, old and new. Like Javapot, I hope this award can sweeten their day and encourage them to never stop blogging cos they have such GREAT blogs which I absolutely enjoy reading !!! :)

1) Sweet Mini Mango
2) Catch 40 Winks
3) Especially For Will
4) Little Prince
5) Our Precious Memories
6) Why Not
7) World of Little Lucas
8) Jireh & Je t'aime
9) Kayla & Kieran's Lil' Big Moments
10) Mamabliss' Treasured Moments
11) Cuisine Paradise
12) Baby Hiroshi
13) Memories of Growing Up
14) Our Pride & Joy
15) Snippets of Joy

Our Friday Dates - Boys @ Prive

Most Fridays, Charmaine and ourselves (when the hb is out of town) will meet and we will have dinner and let the boys run amok. More often than not, we head to T3 - lots of space there for them to run! :)

Fridays are precious as the boys can catch up while the mummies can gossip, grumble and spend girly time together. I love Fridays! Cos we can just pig out! Haha!

I hope that Kimi and Ju will grow up to be best friends and be as close as now. :)

The boys at Ikea - I was there to pick up my side-table as I had forgotten to buy it the day before! Kimi having ice-cream and Julian, a hot-dog.
Instead of just hanging out at Ikea, we decided to drive ALL the way to Prive to let the boys catch some beautiful night lights, boats and yummy desserts! The boys in the lift which wafted of aroma oil blends of Ylang ylang, vanilla and strawberry - delicious!

Kimi's First Trick or Treat?

We were invited to go trick or treating at the American community by Estelle's mummy. Although I wasn't exactly keen on Halloween, I thought why not let Kimi just have some fun dressing up.

We had dinner at KFC first before heading out. But we could only do 1 hour as it started to drizzle rather heavily. And worst, I had forgotten to charge my cam so it died on me minutes into the thick of action. :( Anyhow, I believe all the kids had loads of fun and yes, we are going again next year!

The kids were already discussing what to be next year while in the car on our way home. Estelle wants to be a cat while Kimi wanted to be a skeleton. Kimi had a few scares so I guess he wanted to scare others back? Haha!

Happy Halloween!

Kimi striking a pose as we leave home. He said he wanted to scare the rest with his sword play later... Using his aeroplane for practice.
The 2 cheeky tots at dinner time!

Kimi striking a pirate pose with his 'weapons'

So difficult to even take a decent pix of the kids. Only Egan (in orange cape) was the only smiling, camer-looking kids from start to end! Haha!

Our loot!

Bento #39 - Fish Lunch

Salmon fishes, chicken cocktail sausages, edamame beans, 1 cube of chinese sausage rice (from thu's dinner), corn on the cob and fish fingers

Most things fish in this lunch box today. Again, quick finger foods for Friday after class lunch. :)

Kimi loves it and finished ALL of it! Woa, good job Kimi! :)

Great Tot Finds

I am a FAN of Daiso. Yes, I admit I am addicted to this place. Cos, the things are affordable yet of relatively good quality.

This is what I found recently. These are Kumon-like activity book for folding cutting, pasting, etc. So nice and cute!

Grab them before it runs out! :)

Cute Counters

I saw some very cute counters a long time back when Kimi just turned 1 and was keen to get them. But it was very expensive so when I needed some now, I decided to make them instead.

This is so easy to do and so customisable as you can choose the kind of pix your child loves most, beating all commercial counters and at a fraction of the cost! :)

What you need :

• Some large puffy stickers (preferably a few of the same sheet)
• Foam sheets
• Scissors
• Patience

How to do it?

• Stick the stickers lining them up nicely on the foam sheets
• Cut around the stickers
• Use it!

Tips

If you find foam sheets too light, you can stick them on magnetic strips or magnets (avail from Daiso) and use them on those cheap white magnetic boards for games, etc.

Besides being counters, you can use these for :-

• Sequencing
• Sorting
• Maths activity
• Memory game

Cheap and cute puffy stickers
All lined up and ready to be cut - various themes!

Cute counters!

Moscow Hols Pix

Phew, Yes! It's the long awaited post and pix! Enjoy!!! :)

1) Moscow Houston Part 1

2) Moscow Houston Part 2

Russia Lapbook

As much as I can, I try to do pre and post activities with Kimi for the places we are going to visit and use that as a theme for some homelearning activities.

I find pre-learning especially useful as Kimi will then be able to put what he has learnt to something he can feel, see, touch, experience, etc, first hand. This makes learning easier and more interesting and more often than not, the post learning reinforces everything.

This is a lapbook we've done along the weeks since we were back as Kimi was sick for 10 days and we couldn't complete it. It's finally done and he has learn a fair bit too!

Kimi doing the counting and sequencing sheet which I made

Kimi thinking before answering which mode of transport to take in relation to the distance to the places. Eg to go to the zoo, we need to drive as it is very far and we only need to walk if we are going to the supermarket next door.

The cover - I printed out some travel shots and pasted on these 2 cute matryoshka dolls which I found at Daiso.

The first fold which featured the Russian flag, Russian on the map, simple facts about Russia, an activity which I made to explain to Kimi about distances and its relevant mode of transport, some Russian phrases and comparison of the Russian and our alphabets.
The 2nd fold - A flap chart showing the things found in Russia, a counting and sequencing game (Kimi loves sequencing game and am surprised that he can be so good at it too :) happy mom), Russian currency, a pocket of animal cards of animals found in Russia, some poems/rhymes and list of the books we read.

An overview of the lapbook

Home Learning - Russia, St. Basil's Cathedral Craft

Remember the many bottles we inherited from the large amounts we drank? I saved some of them to make this craft for our homelearning.

What you need :-

• A few bottles, 1 taller than the rest
• Some cords or ribbons
• Some gold paper, I use those cigarette box inserts (donated by my sis)
• Printed paper of the facade of St. Basil's Cathedral (you can used plain paper and colour in the exterior)
• Double sided tapes

The materials

I use double-sided tape on the body of the bottle so it makes sticking on the paper easier. Kimi rolling the paper onto the bottle.
And then using double-sided tape, I stick that alll round the top so Kimi can line up the cords wind it up nicely and easily. With glue, it will be very messy while with double-sided tape, you can remove and re-do and re-adjust. It's also easier for the kids. :)
Our neighbour, Kieran joined us much to Kimi's happiness!

Our completed craft! Yay!! Kimi loves it and is soooo protective of it, not allowing Kieran to bring his piece home. In the end I sneak it to him. :)

Bento #38 - Animal Lunch

2 fish fingers cut in halves, 1 chicken nugget, 2 sticks of soya beans, corn, cocktail sausages rolled with bread

Nothing fanciful. Every Friday, I need to get some lunch ready in a jiffy for Kimi so that he can chomp on it right after class.

I usually prepare simple finger food cos Kimi will eat at his stroller or finish up any last bit in the car, on his food tray. So, really, nothing too fanciful or messy. Mostly, it's the same stuff cos I also prefer making stuff which he likes. After 1.5hours of class, I have no energy to fight with him during meal times.

After Kimi's stomach-flu, these few days, he is eating with a vengeance! I made a variety today as wasn't sure what he wanted and wow, he finished all of it!

Diary of A Stomach Flu

I am recording this down for my own reference cos my memory is failing me rather badly and of course to share. I pray in Jesus' name that no one reading my blog would need to use the following information, Amen!

All of us were down with this horrible bug, Kimi first, hubby then me. I am able to detail these cos we first see the symptoms in Kimi then hb experienced it and I was prepared for it. Initially, we weren't sure what to make out of Kimi's complains. We didn't know it was real or imaginative cos Kimi can be such a drama fella these days! So we took all his complaints with a pinch of salt till it came to hb. Everyday was a different experience. Terrible is the word.

Day 1

• Nauseous
• Vommitting/wretching
• Overall unwell/'sick' feel
• May start some diarrohea
• Joint and muscle aches
• Tongue starts to feel 'chemical', no taste and the Chinese called it 'siap'

What you can do -

• Kids - Best to rest the gut. Children can go without food for 2 days but you must hydrate the child frequently. Good to use Pedialyte and serve small amounts like 30ml every 15mins.
• Signs to look out for are dehydration and fever. Dry lips is 1 indication of dehydration.
• Most kids will whine for milk cos they are hungry yet they can't keep food down. Really if possible no dairy but sometimes when they cry so badly,we give in. I suggest 50% dilution and small amounts like 30-50ml. If child is willing you can serve soy based milk or Pediasure.
• Always standby a basin and teach child to vomit into it or into a plastic bag.
• If you can recognise the signs early, bring child to Dr for a jab immediately. For us, we knew that Kimi will not vomit in a space of 45mins (merlion style) so we brought him the the hospital after his second vomit.
• Adults - I downed many cups of green tea, it really helps!

Day 2

• Fever starts (for young children)
• General weak feeling all over body
• More vomitting
• Cannot keep food down. Completely no appetite. You don't even feel hungry

What you can do -

• Adults - try to drink small amounts of fluid like Htwo or 100Plus. Try to eat 1 or 2 pc of crackers if you can. Eating in small amounts help. Very running porridge is good too.
• For young children - Continue to rest the gut hydrate with Pedialyte. If they can or willing can give runny porridge, just plain with a sprinkle of salt. If not, can eat cracker or plain toast too. Kimi refused everything! :(
• Kimi can't even stomach Yakult. Wierd right? This was what he wanted to drink but threw up after each drink.
• You will need to give child paracetamol and monitor fever. Can also give med to prevent vomit.

Day 3

• Headache starts and it is located at the back of the head, radiating to neck and upper shoulders
• Still general unwell feel
• Throat feels rather warm and feels like there is a thick lining from the tongue to throat. You also sometimes feel like you have phelgm.
• Show some signs of recovery, vomitting lessens. Able to keep some fluid/food down.
• At Day 3, I felt the immense urge to drink Orangina and jelly. It gave me such satisfaction. At this point, it is best to serve drinks that are a little chilled as it made drinking easier and satiating. I feel it is good to give child jelly as it provided nice, cool comfort and a good way to open appetite and get him interested in food. Its also light and easy for the gut to absorb.

What you can do -

• Give paracetamol if child starts to roll all over the floor cos he may be having a headache. As Kimi can speak, he can tell us where and what pain he had.
• For younger ones, you will have to use your discretion to help ease their pain. It is really very painful cos I took 2 Extra Strong Panadol and it did not go away.
• Kimi also was very whiny and we observed that when he had stomach cramps or this headache, he will roll all over the floor.

Day 4

• Just when you thought it is over, the cramps hit you today!
• It leads to some vomit and watery stools/diarrohea. Kimi started vomitting and wretching again.
• Appetite may improve but we can only take in 20% of our usual portion.
• Tend to pass out alot of wind too

What you can do -

• Kids - Continue to rest gut and do not over-stimulate with whole meals. Snack frequently and hydrate with Pedialyte.
• Start to rub Ru-yi oil or Eucalyptus oil to purge out the winds. You can also give child Colimix to ease cramps and help to relive wind.

Day 5

• Appetite improves and can keep food down. Start wanting to eat all kinds of food but can't stomach and probably only can eat 20%. Tend to get hungry very quickly and feel faint easily.
• Kimi kept saying he is going to fall down.

What you can do -

• As we would have douse our child with so much medication on an empty stomach, it is good to give child some Yakult/yogurt/pre or pro-biotics tablets (fr Dr) if he can stomach it.

Day 6-10

• Continue to feel hungry quickly and feel faint.
• My body felt erratic but cos my stomach is stronger, I recovered faster. But it was funny cos I can feel so well 1 minute and the next I felt feverish and an hour later, I was well again.
• Frankly, all the porridges I made, mostly were in the bin. This bug is so wierd. All of us wanted to eat foods that were considered 'no-nos'. Like fried chicken, fried rice, hor fun, cheesy fries, etc.
• Kimi took his first meal at Day 8. He was completely well with no more vomitting and passed poo at Day 10.

What you can do -

• Continue to monitor intake of food or give child whatever he wants to eat. Cos at this point it is really not how nutritious each meal is BUT what you can keep in his stomach and not let his stomach go empty.
• Hydrate child well. If child like ice-cream, you can freeze some ribena lollies and let him suck on them.

Elephants and Fire Trucks

Kimi is starting to make more creations with his Lego set. But mostly it's about elephants and elephants. His elephants look more like giraffes, at least to me. But Kimi said that's the elephant's long trunk trumpeting and not a neck like how we see it.

Well... Kimi always sees things differently from me. :)

Fire truck with a super-long ladder, elephant on ambulance, elephant on a skate-scooter and elephant

Stomach Flu

Upset, frustrated and exhausted.

Upset cos Kimi caught the bug as I needed to let him go to school on Thursday. He has not been attending school since last week, averaging once a week. Kimi started throwing up on Friday at 10.10pm. When he threw up the 2nd time at 11.20pm, we whisked him to the hospital.

Frustrated cos the school did not do any sort of clean-up, whatsoever even when one (as far as I know cos I only have this parent's contact) of Kimi's classmate and subsequently teacher had the bug!

Exhausted ... 'nuff said.

Now even hubby has caught the bug. I'm the last man standing ...

"Father God, please keep me strong so I can care for them both!"

Be back soon.

Moscow Houston Part 2

We arrived in sunny Houston, USA on the 28/8/09. It was to be a short 3 days stay. As we had not reserved a car earlier, the car rental branch near our hotel did not carry any car seat. So, there out my outlet shopping and frolicking in the countryside out of the window.

Nevertheless, we make the best of the situation and shoppped near us and ate and ate!

When we were back in Moscow, we were so disappointed that the Moscow Circus was closed as it was the 1st day of school and it had a private performance. Hence, we spent the day at a large amusement park which was rather nice too but we had to pay for every ride despite paying a high entrance fee.

Well, at least Kimi saw some animals and sat on a pony so he was very happy!

Kimi insisted on his hat and sunglasses as we walked to the mall
This shop sold very insteresting puppets - all full sized and lots of detailing! I love the Llama!

This has got to be the best cheesecake I've eaten and we love the food served there too! Cheesecake Factory

My FAVOURITE!!! Carrot Cheesecake. This is the 1st time I eat something and I wasn't sure how to recreate it! I'm still working on it. It's the best carrot cake ever! Yummmm!

Sorry, the photography didn't do justice to the cakes as the lighting was really dim. This is the Lemon Raspberry which was delightfully sour so it didn't feel as heavy.

Look at the row of bottled water we drank! All 35 bottles of them, not including a few large PET bottles too! We were a thirsty family! Haha!!

Kimi's fave finger sign - no.3. Happy to be going for a dip in the hotel's pool.

Back in Moscow and inside the ticketing office of Moscow Circus. Kimi was so disappointed but he was understanding and did not kick a fuss. Good boy, Kimi!

From there, we walked to a nearby park to have our breakfast - bread with jam and Milo

Kimi saying Grace before brekkieThe large amusement park

My lunch - a hotdog wrap. It was rather nice as the crispy pickles was cushioned with a rather bland mash potatoe which was a nice combination. The wrap was too large though so alot of leftover wrap at the bottom with no fillings.

Kimi's ride on the pony

The most expensive toilet I've ever used! And it was jus a hole that you use inside this cubicle. No flushing system and no place for you to wash your hands after, inside or outside of the cubicle. Yikes! I had to slather on loads of sanitising gel after wet wipes! I couldn't use the toilet knowing there are 'goldfish' there! See the lady there? She stays in the cubicle and some of these ladies decorate them like their rooms. I couldn't snap a pix as she looked like she could eat me.

Look at the beautiful 'rainbow' that came about from the scorching sun against the vapour of the large musical fountain. Such a lovely sight!

Kimi sat on this tiger for a pix. It was so tame! Why? Cos it sat up when it's trainer walked towards him. This is what most trained dogs would do.

This bonobo really has the makings of a photo-model. As people gathered, he started posing! Vanity? Keke!

Kimi is so happy... why? Cos I was about to give him his dummy! Haha!

Guess what is the above? It's a bakery kiosk! Many operate their businesses out of such kiosks. Even a sundry shop!

Kimi playing with his playmobil and chomping on his apple. Even as we travel, we try to let Kimi have his servings of fruits. ;)