We are here to see Mr President...

Dear readers, sorry for not blogging for the longest time...no discipline and many other things have taken higher priority. Shall attempt to back-date some of the things I wish to update.

Last Thursday, May Day, we brought the family to the Istana... Ashamed to say that being a singaporean, this is my 1st time to the Istana (ie completing the walk). The last time I went to instana when I was in my primary school with my dad and mum...I remembered that halfway walking , we gave up and went to the then Plaza Singapura or Yaohan for shopping instead.

So last Thursday, was my 1st complete visit : )

We went all ready with picinic mats and snacks. After some security checks and about 30 mins of queuing, we were soon having picnic at the greens and enjoying the music from the brass band performed by some schools. Thank God that the weather was not so humid though it was sunny.

The two older kids enjoyed themselves running freely in the vast greenery while the adults just sit and chit chat ...even baby nicole is excited with her 1st visit. Enjoying her home-cooked porridge when sitting on the mat.

No, we didnt manage to see S R Nathan, our president...he is in NZ for official visit when we were there...according to the news on TV, the previous nite.

Chinese New Year

Happy Children, Happy Memories - Photo with my niece's daughters (From Left : Michelle, Nathan, Baby Nicole, Naomi and Joelle)

Top: Photo taking on 1st day new yr at my mum's place .Bottom : Posing with Mr Gong Xi and Ms Fa Cai at PP

This year Chinese New Year is especially special to us for two reasons. 1) Staying nearer to my sibilings' and my mum's house means that reunion dinner, visitation by relatives and gathering of my family members are held in my home. This is good as it means more bonding time with my sibilings, nephews, niece.
2) New Addition to my family i.e Baby Nicole who brings joy to our family.

Staying near my mum's house also mean that we go visiting together in a group. Today we went to two of my relatives' homes for visitation , much to the delight of my 3 kids (yes, even baby Nicole is very excited too with her two chubby legs kicking away). The drinks and the new year goodies are just like a buffet spread to them..eating without any inhibitions.

Complimentary Photo Session

A week ago, I received a phone call from a photo studio offering us complimentary makeover and 2 digital shots to take home. We went ahead with the apppointment, though we expected some sort of sales speech following our shoot. Today being the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year, the studio was quite crowded..we were surprise that we dont have to wait too long for the makeup, photo-shoot as we were the 2nd family and there are plenty of studios and photographers.

Naomi and Nathan are especially excited with the hairdo and the dated Korean costumes which we wore for the 2nd round of photo shoot.

At the end of it, we took 50 shots but were disappointed that we couldn't buy just a few of the nice shots. The package price is way too expensive , so we just took the two complimentary digital photos. I must say that the photo shots are nice, and they dont really hard-sell...but we find that the package price is not value for money.

SANDtastic SUNday at Mcdonalds

Video of Ronald Mcdonald doing the dance

Naomi and Nathan had a fun time at their 1st Mcdonalds Red PEA at Kallang Mac. There is art and craft, drama by Lorna Whiston about family values and appearance of Ronald Mcdonalds. Both of them kept talking about it after the event and requested us to bring them there every month. Adding on to the fun, they also won themselves some stickers, magnet and goodie bags after answering some questions. I have enjoyed myself too..overall , is a good program and best of all is Free ! It wasnt full house yesterday, however, to avoid disappointment , is best to pre-register before going.

Festive Mood at Parkway Parade

The Chinese New Year festive mood is in full swing! We visited Parkway Parade last weekend and the mall was packed with shoppers. Geraldine signed up as a member of Borders and got a 40% discount on some children's bargain books, much to the delight of the kids.

The Chinese New Year decorations this year are dedicated to the year of the rat. Many street stalls were selling Mickey Mouse designs. We decorated our living room with a few of these. They were gorgeous!

Heritage tours to Chinatown

As a parent volunteer in a pri school that is near my place, I followed the students for a heritage tour to Chinatown yesterday morning. The tour is conducted by a very experienced STB tour guide Mrs May. Her interesting commentaries made the tour really informative and I was surprised that being a Singaporean I didnt even know of such places and some of the things shared. It was really an eye opener for me. Though we walked for nearly 3 hours from Telok Ayer, Amoy Street, Ann Siang Hill to Pagoda street, Chinatown, I enjoyed myself admidst the hot scorching sun and tired feets. If given a chance, would like to bring my kids to experience such tours.

Unfortunately, I rushed out in the morning and forgot all abt my camera so dont have any photos to put in the blog.

Some of the interesting facts shared are :

1. Tan Thiam Hock temple is built without any nails. The whole structure is built so precisely on top of each other (just like lego blocks)

2. The 1st ACS school is along Amoy Street. The badge and the name is still at the shophouse and preserved but too bad , now is sold off to a PUB

3. Along Chinatown NE Line exit , we went to the shophouses which used to be an opium den and the coolie squarters.

4. At Telok Ayer Gardens (opp Hokkien Huay Kuay), there are those iron scupltures displaying the olden days lifestyles like the indian milk man, the old junk boat etc

5. We went into the Lee Clan Association where they still use blackboard and chalk for their announcement and there is an airwell in the centre of the hall for ventilation.

6. At the indian temple in Chinatown, the guide explained that the mango leaves symbolises welcome and to walk of evil and the leaves that are shaped like spears are to ward off evil. The banana leaves outside the temple symbolises that a special event is coming up. Apparently , today is Taipusum Festival .

Many many other interesting stuff shared...

A casual and relaxing Christmas day

Our church does not have a tradition of having church service on Christmas day. Last Sunday's service saw us celebrating Christ's birthday with Hall 10 filled with Christmas worship songs and festive decorations on the stage and all. The children's Christmas service at Hall 9 was also packed with children witnessing a Christmas musical. Naomi and Nathan were thrilled with so much gifts and goodies from their Sunday School's teachers!




This morning, after going through some MSN chats with my father in-law and sister (with the kids busy playing with the "winks" feature), we decided to go for a picnic at East Coast Park. It's the first trip to the beach for Nicole! The other 2 kids played "bubbles" and we had an enjoyable time snacking and simply catching some cool breeze by the seaside. Boy, was the park crowded!

Merry Christmas, every one!

Sesame Street and Dora, here we come....

Today we brought the kids to Ngee Ann City for the "Sesame Musical" and United Square for "Dora's Best Friend Day" Christmas shows. The kids enjoyed themselves and laughed themselves silly at the two shows. They especially liked the Dora the Explorer show, as the musical is a show itself with a storyline just like the CDs with talking map, Swiper and more.

Naomi braved herself to take with her favorite cartoon idol though she is very fearful of such big dressed-up characters. She always claims that they are so big and gigantic compared to the usual soft-toys. That was why she was missing in the Sesame Street "meet and greet" photo-taking.

Visit to Changi Airport Terminal 3 (Open House)

After our church service and quick lunch, we spent a great time exploring Terminal 3 (T3) of Changi International Airport this afternoon before its opening to the public on 9 Jan 08. We took the skytrain service from T2 to T3 and arrived at the magnificent departure hall. The hall's ceiling is designed to allow natural sunlight to penetrate into the interior, yet regulating its intensity and keeping the hall sufficiently cool.

We were impressed by the "green wall" and landscaping at the arrival hall. Imagine walking into a garden after a tiring flight --- what a soothing thought!

At the viewing gallery, the authority has installed a koi pond and a butterfly garden to pamper the public.

The kids have had a wonderful time running around the restricted areas and halls. We also took this opportunity to educate them about aviation history and some of the screening process at customs and immigration.

Christmas celebrations at shopping malls

It's the season of the year again. For the younger children, it's goin' to be a joyous season of receiving Christmas gifts and attending parties.

The streets and shopping malls all over Singapore have began to be don with the yuletide decorations, spreading the spirit and meaning of Christmas.

For the last few years, I had brought my children to shopping malls to watch and/or participate in the various children programmes. The kids enjoyed themselves very much. As parents, watching their joyous expressions at these shows was worth the time and hassle bringing them to the packed malls.

For parents who fret what children activities to fill their school holidays schedule, Christmas celebrations at the malls may be a good idea. I have consolidated the Christmas show schedules from various shopping malls for easy reference here (click here to download the xls file). Feel free to pass it around.