We're Going To The Zoo...Again - 17/07/2010

Thanks to Joycelyn...yet again...we were able to visit the zoo for free! Yippeee....apart from the zoo, K was thrilled to be able to meet up and play with Trishelle jie-jie. If K has a list of her favourite playmates, Trishelle jie-jie definitely will be at the top of the list :)

2 pretty girls posing for the camera. I love the way K pretend-played with her toy camera (see the bottom 3 pictures)

Daddy is a strong man!

Bubble time after a showHighlight of the trip: Waterplay!!!
2 hot babes and 1 old hunk...hahaha!!!
The 2 girls monkeyed around!Bonus: a kiddy ride after waterplay! Very happy indeed!

K did this Noah's ark animal sticker scene after the zoo trip

K's 2nd School Excursion - 17/07/2010

K should be in for a good time this field trip as she will be on the bus and ride on the MRT for the first time. Any idea yet where we will be going? Drum roll.....Changi Airport, Terminal 3 via MRT at the Tanah Merah MRT station. True enough, she became very excited the minute she sees the buses at the carpark! We took the bus to Tanah Merah MRT Station.

I shall let the pictures do the talking:

K's bento lunch: Three cheese tortellini in bolognese sauce, baby carrots, brocoli, mango and strawberries
Parents and children waiting in the classroom before setting off for Tanah Merah MRT Station. A friendly and approchable staff of the station gave an informative briefing.

All children and adults listened attentively

K with her MRT pass

In the train with Maximus' pretty mummy, teachers Auntie Shuyee and Auntie Sunying

Arrived at Changi Airport MRT Station

The girls were hungry and snacked while waiting for the Skytrain to Terminal 3.

Left to right: Ella, K & Joyce

A garden theme exhibit at the airport

After much efforts, we finally have a decent group photo

Daddy met us at the airport :)

So sweeeeet!!!

Playground time & home-sweet-home

K Progresses In Reading - 11/08/2010

I am really happy that K is progressing well in reading and loving it! I have started her on the Ladybird Level Keyword Readers (Peter and Jane series). She has finished level 1 and will start level 2 tomorrow. As K progresses each day, I can see her confidence level rise and clearly she is happy that she is able to read the whole page/book on her own. However, although K likes to read, her concentration span is very short. On average, she can only sit through 3 to 4 pages at one go. I would let her continue with the readers whenever the opportunity rises e.g. during her daily poo-poo time...hahaha!!! Rule of the thumb: Stop before your child wants to stop. See how applicable Glenn Doman's teachings are?

Apart from the Ladybird readers, we read other books too but of course, these books are filled with vocabularies strange to K. Unlike the readers which she would "snatch" to read on her own, K would patiently wait for me to read each sentence and then repeats after me. If the vocabularies appear again in the book, there is a good chance that she is able to recognise and read them aloud!

R&R(Romantic & Relaxed) Phuket - 14/05/2010 To 16/05/2010 (Part II)

Hotel breakfast; mediocre in my opinion

Our tutuk driver, Mr Man, whom we engaged whenever

we go to Patong Beach because Cape Sienna is located

highup on Kamala Beach

Phuket is hot, hot, hot! Bought a big hat from this lady

Unable to escape the clutches of Junky "M"

Hubs enjoyed 2 hours of body massage here while

I had an hour of massage and another hour of cuticle pampering

Idyllic soak at both Sienna Rocks and the hotel pool

after our massage

The overhyped and definitely over rated(food wise) Baan Rim Pa Restaurant

You can't miss the restaurant with its ice carving and huge golden signboard at the entrance

Beautiful staff and numerous accolades adorned its wall

The patio

Inside the restaurant; very romantic ambience and good view

Come here only if the ambience is of primary concern

e.g. a proposal and you have extra cash to spare for it is not cheap

The restaurant was so dimly lit that the staff had to give

each diner a table lamp so that we can read the menu clearly

For the record, we were dressed too casually(especially hubs) for at our next table,

a caucasian gentleman wore a tuxedo(yes!) and his partner a cocktail dress

Food which looked better than they tasted

After our dinner, we went to the Phuket Town Night Market

which is about 20 minutes drive from Patong Beach

and is opened only on weekends

Food and shopping aplenty in the night market to keep one busyYou wouldn't believe it but yes, we went back to Patong Beach

after the night marketing for a last round of seafood feast

before we leave Phuket! A dog's life?! A super fortunate canine
Back at the resort :)
Enroute to the airport, the taxi driver brought us to a popular

local stall which sells Mango Glutinous Rice. Yummy!!

Finally, my first and last drink in Phuket - Ice Buay!!

We had a great time in Phuket and indeed, it was relaxing and pretty stress-free the few days we were away from K but we missed her badly. Surprisingly, it was me who seemed to miss K more. Machismo act up for hubs? Hehe.....

Still, I hope to take a similar vacation soon. After this short getaway, I am now a firm believer that "couple only-time" is very, very important to keep a relationship healthy and alive (^_^)

R&R(Romantic & Relaxed) Phuket - 14/05/2010 To 16/05/2010 (Part I)

- Patiently waiting for our flight which got delayed

- We had a simple but costly breakfast inside the terminal

- Tiger Airways' measly compensation of Fried Bee Hoon Set for its flight delay

- A vintage Mercedes parked at Phuket's airport

- My favourite drink found only at this store and

nowhere else in Phuket - Ice Buay!!

Our lovey dovey resort - Cape Sienna

View of the resort lobby and view from the lobby...simply breathtaking!
- Welcome welcome - chilled tea with hints of cinnamon & cold towel
- Select our favourite aroma for our room from the given 4 fragrances
Our room with a huge balcony and jacuzzi outdoors
View from our balcony
Apart from the usual pool, there is also an infinity pool
Must visit! Sienna Rocks - an extension of Cape Sienna with
superb view of the ocean and a big infinity pool.
Although many ply its entrance daily,
not many knew about its existence which was good for
we had the whole place to ourselves!
Love is in the air @ Sienna Rocks *blush blush*
What's Phuket without cheap and good seafood?
You should try the Phuket way of eating oysters, delish!!
Food, glorious food! So much for only S$70+!!

- Jungceylon shopping mall

- There are 2 big facial salons in the mall which adopt the "open concept",

thus all customers have their facials done in full view.

Somehow, in both salons, there were more male customers than female.

Hubs got vain and did a facial too! I did not want a facial, thus I shopped

in the mall and amongst other things, I bought a bottle of bathing oil from

Boots which was put to good use in our jacuzzi :)

- Outside the mall, there were many street vendors plying their ware

- Some caucasians clad in nothing but their swimming trunks/undies!

Under the recommendation of my colleague who had heaps of praises for Cape Sienna, we decided to go for a short getaway. We wanted to bring Krissa on this trip but as the resort practises an "all adults only" concept and no child under the age of 12 is allowed to stay overnight, we had no choice but to leave Krissa under the care of my sisters; Keng yee-yee and Auntie Anna. This was the first holiday we had without Krissa.

As strange as it may sound, Krissa fell sick (high fever) in the wee hours of the morning on the day we were suppose to go for our getaway! We kept mum about our going away as we did not wish to upset her. I have heard from friends that it's a kid thing; premonition or intuition whichever term you want to coin it i.e. even if the adults do not tell, the child somehow knows and triggers a reaction. As in K's case, she fell sick! We were suppose to leave for the airport at 6a.m. but we were at KK Chidren Hospital at 4+a.m.! I had thought that hubs would call off the trip but he did not. All of us went home to catch some rest and then ferried K to my sisters as per scheduled.

This trip certainly did not kick off to a good start because after K's episode, we were told that our flight was delayed and instead of departuring at 8+a.m., we were to depart at 11.20a.m. instead! Tough luck! What else could we do but to resign to fate? Moving on, we had breakfast inside the terminal and after brekkie, I can contain my sleepiness no more. I sat myself comfortably on a couch and slept! For the first time, I was like a vagabond sleeping on a couch under public scrutiny! But I can't be bothered, really.

Fortunately, our luck changed for the better when we reached Phuket International Airport. We managed to get a ride to Cape Sienna for a what we deem as justifiable rate after some bargaining. We all know that we have to bargain our way in Thailand, don't we?

Once we stepped in the lobby, I was blown away by the view and had a gut feeling that this trip, in spite of the initial hiccups, will turn out good and memorable afterall :)

New Clothes AGAIN From USA - 20/06/2010

Those who know me would know that I LOVE to buy apparels, shoes and accessories for Krissa. I just love to doll her! These dresses are customised and are handmade. I had spreed together with some other mummies who, like me, has a softspot for all things handmade. For the record, I had also gotten matching mummy dresses. I love customisation. I get to mix and match different fabrics and the end product is an unique piece. They are, of course, more expensive than the off- the-rack clothes and take a long time to arrive (mainly from USA) but they are definitely worth every penny and the wait :)

Rustic Collection - 19/06/2010

K with her treasured collection

Look at the upper left 1st picture; doesn't it look like K is looking at the mirror?

Daddy got to work in the evening, so after Krissa woke up from her nap, I brought her to the garden downstairs to practise riding on her G-Bike and play at the sandpit. She was the only child at the sandpit but we had tremendous fun! She would pick up a leave from the ground, threw it in the air and watched it descend to the ground, all the while letting out loud giggles. She also liked to dig the sandpit with some twigs she found nearby. When it was time to go, she happily collected some leaves and stones. Her treasured collection will be given to her art school teachers to help her create a beautiful collage.