Revolving stars

 It has been a while since I last updated about Hunter's preschool. Recently, we had a PTM and I am very glad to say that Hunter has significant improvement ever since he switched out from the POP preschool that he attended previously . Background A poll that I did previously with my family and friends showed that their preference is to put the kid near home, so that it's more convenient for fetching back and forth. We took their advice and enrolled Hunter in a nearby preschool, thinking that we can save trouble for my parents.  Everything was great for IFC and the teachers were very caring and responsive. It started going downhill when the school switched to becoming a POP preschool. It may be because of the change in environment, but Hunter started biting other kids when he went upstairs in PG. The teachers also informed that he cried uncontrollably when separated from the IFC teachers. It became so bad that Hunter was suspended from school for 2 weeks (unfortunately at a ti...

Recently, we went on a family trip to KL with my mum, PL and Hunter. It was an impromptu trip as we caught the travel bug. After a long discussion, we decided on KL as a destination as the flight time was short and it's a place that we are familiar with. For flight, we took Airasia since it was just an hour's flight. The happy boy who was so excited about the flight that he didn't take his afternoon nap. And by the time the plane took off, he fell asleep without any need for lollipop or such. Accommodation Since we had Hunter in tow, we decided to go for an Airbnb instead.  We got a condo unit at Cheras, which is near to Ikea and not so crowded with people the minute we get out. One of the reasons why we chose this place was the kids friendly facilities (a sand play area, a kids' swimming pool and a indoor playground). Hunter loved this place even till now (3 months later) and would still ask if we are going back there again. Booking.com Transport The G...

 Recently, PL and I were down with COVID (after 3 years of avoiding the virus).  Luckily it seemed like the variant of the virus that we caught is mild in nature and the main symptoms were coughing and feeling lethargic. What I felt helped us a lot were the following: - chicken essence This helped me a lot when I was feeling tired and suffering from sleep deprivation and it never failed me. Hence, I got PL and I to take it with me this time round and it works like magic. Of course, we coupled it with rest (a lot of it) - Fluimucil I got to know of this OTC medication when I went overseas with Yu Xi a long time ago. By dissolving the tablet into the water and drinking it, it helps to remove phlegm effortlessly instead of coughing the whole lungs out. It was truly a lifesaver when I was coughing out copious amount of phlegm every day. - Water We drank at least 2 liters of water each day, even when we don't feel like it. PL had a total loss of appetite when he was unwell but I wa...

 Recently, we have been on a puzzle playing spree due to the rainy weather in Singapore. I had bought these items online awhile back but didn't had the chance to start on them. When we started using them, it was a little tough as H was slightly impatient and whined when he couldn't get them right. However, as we progressed and tried them a few more times, he was able to piece the puzzles independently. Hard at work Piecing the puzzles during breakfast He enjoyed it a lot and requested for them on and off when he thinks about it.  Difficulty of the puzzles Each sets have both easier and more difficult puzzles ranging from 4 - 8/9 pieces. I filter them so that he tackles those with lesser pieces than move on to the ones with more pieces. It helps to build his confidence and within 3 days, he would be able to complete them independently (at 36 months). Verdict: A good buy for rainy days and as Christmas gifts. If you are interested, it can be bought from shopee here . 

 If you are staying at the West of Singapore and thinking of a budget place to bring your toddler, I will highly recommend Clusia Cove @ Jurong Lake Gardens ! Clusia Cove is very accessible by public transport; Just drop off at Lakeside MRT station and take a 10 mins stroll to the Gardens.  It is free for everyone and opens from 8am - 7pm every day, except for Mondays that do not fall under Public Holidays. There is both waterplay and sandplay available, with a wash point, toilets and some stone seats to put your belongings. Vending machines and water coolers are also available. Look at the happy boy scooping up the sand Running around in the water area All wet after all the playing Things to prepare: - Swimming diapers (I use Huggies ) - Sunscreen - Swimwear  (optional) - snacks (no food & drinks to be brought into the play area but stone seats area is fine) - Towel - A change of clothes (for both parent and child) - slippers Tip:  - Go earlier in the day when ...

 This trip was an impromptu one as PL got a last minute call from his friend and she informed that she was coming to Singapore for a week long trip. Since PL had to reserve one of his precious weekend to bring his friend (and family) around, I decided that H and I shall tag along. We started off our journey from Mount Faber Park and took the Cable Car to Sentosa . (You can get your cable car sky pass here !) H was very excited about the Cable Car as he had went for it once before when he was about 24 months old. Now that he is nearly 36 months, he is able to articulate his likes (and dislikes) very well, hence it is VERY worth to bring him along. And the plus point is that he doesn't have to pay for the ticket! YAY! The view from the Cable Car is awesome and I can understand why there is a demand to dine on the Cable Car. It would be very romantic :D When we reached Sentosa, it was a long walk to Adventure Cove Waterpark. A very long walk. We were very close to Imbiah Station, wher...

The long weekend trip to Sinar Eco Resort was our first family trip post-covid. It also served as a birthday trip for PL. As H's school was closed on 2 and 5 Sep 2022, we had to make plans to ensure our sanity. Initially, I wanted to go somewhere further but common sense and logic won out. After much deliberation and consideration, we narrowed the locations to JB and had 2 choices in mind. One is Sinar Eco Resort and the other one is Rainforest Tree House. In the end, we decided on Sinar Eco Resort because of the following points: All-inclusive stay (RM280 per night/pax) H doesn't need to pay since he is below 3 years old. Location (Near to SG. If H falls sick, we could rush back.) Kid's safety (Since it's an enclosed farm, we could be sure that he wouldn't be kidnapped or something along the line. Sorry, I'm just too paranoid) Activities (H loves animals and animal feeding is included in the package) One thing I must say about PL; he is really a do-er. After we...

I first got to hear about TSL Chiang Mai on IG, where I am part of the studygram community. Yes yes, call me weird, but I like to experience and learn new things, especially languages. Due to COVID, they had moved the classes to 2 options; hybrid and online class. The most enticing part was the price; 2500 baht for a month's worth of lessons, 3 times a week. This translates to about SGD102, which is very affordable! I gathered a few of my friends to attend the trial class and they were quite interested. BUT, when they heard about the frequency of the lessons, they all backed off, citing commitment issues. I pondered for a while, and when I had to clear my time off and leave to start my new job, I decided to take the plunge and try out their hybrid morning class. Thai 1 hybrid class Class intro:  The lessons were taught by Teacher Cindy, and I was the only one who is stationed out of Chiang Mai.  Lesson format: The lessons focused very much on speaking and the handouts that the...

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own . This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.   As many of you may know, H suffers from colic since young. We didn't realise that one of the factors leading to his colic was because of this tongue-tie. What it meant was a constant trial and error of different anti-colic medicine/supplements for him. In the end, what works best for him is the BioGaia Baby Drops, which he is taking still, even at 32 months old. It prevents him from getting very bad colic and has the added function of providing probiotics, killing 2 birds with 1 stone. If you go to the PD, they will also recommend this brand. However, it is very expensive to get it in the retail stores. What I do is that I get them from iHerb store,  when they are on offer. The usual price is around ~SGD38 for a 10ml bottle, as compared to ~SGD48 for a 5ml bottle in Watson...

Every year, K2 kids' parents would be very anxious about the P1 registration which occurs around this period. This year, my SIL is enrolling her daughter for P1 too. Despite my advice for her to try for Nan Hua Pri, she took the route of enrolling her daughter into Pei Tong Pri (our alumni) instead. (I guess you guys could also guessed where we are staying lol) My SIL's logic was: 1. She wants her daughter to have a carefree childhood without any stress and worrying about results. 2. She don't want to stress herself when it comes to exam period (and the though of balloting terrifies her) . It led me thinking, "Who are the ones being stressed up here? The parents or the kids?" I was in the above-mentioned neighbourhood primary school and to be honest, I didn't had a good experience there.  Example: When I finished my exam papers early in P1, I was accused of cheating because I fidgeted and looked around! (On hindsight, it was such a stupid accusation as the res...

 The week flew past too fast and it was the weekend again. Our destination was kidSTOP (next to the Science Centre) which caters to kids who are below 8 years old.  We initially wanted to go on 1 May (a public holiday) but when we reached there, the slots were all fully taken up! The staff at the counter informed us that we had to book a slot for weekends and public holidays. Thus, we booked the slots for another weekend on the stop. So, after much waiting, we finally managed to enter this area. The first impression we had was that the area is very small. I'm pretty sure that kids can't really go missing in KidsSTOP. It's divided into 21 areas according to their site map but do not be deceived. They are all close by and you could finish the whole tour in 10-15 minutes (provided that there are no distractions). Site map Below are the areas that we managed to visit: Four Seasons I can only say that the exhibits here are dated and forlorn. There were no one there (even though ...

 Every weekend, we have to rack our brains for places to bring H. As I am a paranoid parent, I don't bring him to indoor playgrounds due to the covid situation, even though the government has loosen the restrictions. Below are the places that we have brought him to (and counting): - Jurong Bird Park - Zoo - River Wonders - USS - Kidstop - Jurong Lake Gardens - Jacob Ballas Children's Gardens - Gardens by the Bay - Playground at Vivocity - Mediapolis - One North - Fire Station Hopefully, the list will provide some ideas of the places to bring your active toddlers :)

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own . This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.   H tends to wake up early in the morning and drag me out for walks in the park/garden. Since it was raining, I introduced H to a new activity; button threading. The objective of this activity is to get him to thread the string into the 2 holes in the button. It looks pretty simple but it was not so straightforward for him at first. Look at H hard at work! The idea is to thread both holes so that the buttons will stay in position. If you just thread one hole, the button will freefall out of the string. Initially, H didn't get it and the buttons keep falling off. It took him about 7-8 tries to get it right, and even so, it took tremendous effort. After threading 3 of them, he decided to call it a day. This set was passed down from my aunty when she bought it for my cousin 20 odd y...

 We managed to secure tickets for the Army Open House! This would be H's first visit since he was born, and as per standard practice, we had received the notification that H would be required to serve National Service (NS) when he is of age. Since we had extra tickets, we got S and W to come with us. It was an extremely hot day with tons of people visiting the exhibitions. We only took a few pictures as it was just torturous to be standing out in the sun, waiting in line to take photos. H and us taking photo with Hunter AFV After taking this photo, we immediately went into the indoor exhibition area to take cover from the sun.  The queue situation in the indoor areas was even worse. We wanted to try the ration food sampling but H was too fidgety and we had to abandon the idea. We moved on to the children's area but the queue was even worse. How on earth do they expect kids to stand and wait for so long I cannot fathom. Anyway, it was a pretty short visit (technically our commu...

 H has been attending Childcare (CC) since we are both working and he is too hyper for my parents and parents-in-law. After the no-so-good experience in Sunflower Clementi , we decided to switch him over to a private CC because of a lower teacher student ratio. Long story short, H is currently in Our Children's House Montessori (Clementi). It used to be called Blossom Blisssparkle Clementi but it got switched over in Mar 2022. As we had to adjust to the new management, I thought now is a good time to update since a quarter has passed. As with all schools, there are pros and cons, and it differs from parents to parents. In general, Our Children's House Montessori is structured in a sense. They insist that the children has to carry a standard school bag to school, wear uniform, and be punctual (latest 8.30am*) everyday. *As H takes the school bus, we adhere to the school bus timing instead, which for him is about 9 - 9.15am for the arrival of school bus. Pros of the school Montes...

 As a Westie, I love the Jurong Lake Gardens. It's a fantastic place to bring H on the weekends (if it doesn't rain). As we take public transport, we always end up starting from the same point and could not finish walking to the end of the gardens. (You will have to take the bus and get down 1-2 stops later to reach the other side of the gardens, which was what we did in the end.) Photos below are from various occasions as we are unable to cover all in one trip. Outing with the grandma Enjoying the gardens Resting after walking for a long while due to his short legs The futile attempt to shield him from the sun At the far end of the Gardens Too hot to sit on the swinging chairs Walking along the path First time at Clusia Cove, coaxing H to dip his feet into the water After 30 mins of coaxing We really enjoy Jurong Lake Gardens a lot, and if you are heading there, do remember to bring food and drinks along as it's quite hard to find them there. Tip: If you are heading to Clu...