(2007/02) February

[giggler]

Sunsweet, it's perfectly normal for kids to roam abt during lessons.

cherryale, when do you intend to go for holiday? My bil asking if we interested to go Vietnam in Nov. But I feel Viet not bb-friendly leh.

milkie, you give me another item to buy leh, double stroller. Sigh.....

 

[cherryale]

milkie, i wanted to ask you the same question too

my hb is quite keen as we have seen quite a few angmos pushing double stroller around tanglin area. Did u do any research, which one/brand is good?

as for cot, have u found a reasonably priced and nice one? i havent found any

actually if i cant find one, i may just do without and buy a mattress for A to sleep on the floor till he is ready to move to a toddler bed. my hb likes flexa but we dun think A is ready to sleep on those beds yet. the flexa range for girls is so nice

the white ones where u can attach canopy, so princess-like

contracting work - i am only doing window grilles for the whole house as A has been climbing on chairs and its getting dangerous. Then I wanted to change the roller blinds to curtains since the blinds are already 5yrs old and i am getting quite sick of them. The painting work is minimal, initially wanted to do wallpaper but in case A draws on them and I will be totally upset, we decided to just paint the walls. Dining chairs, same reason, tired of them, wanted something more comfy

gig, i dun know leh, havent thot of a place. Fil asked me to go bintan so that they can play golf while A can run around the resort. Vietnam, i dun think safe to go esp with kiddos and u are pregnant. alternatively, i may go australia..haha but i wonder if will be in time to book anything. Can we still fly in 3rd trimester?

 

[priviledged]

re: double stroller,
I find that the front-back kind of double stroller is more manuevreable than the side by side kind. Easier to take onto the MRT too. I have an old hand-me-down which I have been using with Sarah and Ben. Lucky Baby. Quite OK lah. Rear seat can fully recline.

cherry,
Bintan is nice! I love Bintan. Sarah is always asking to go back there.

 

[sunsweet]

Mummies,

Is jetstar or airasia better to travel to KL?

Any idea where else to get cheap air tickets to KL in Dec?

Planning a KL in DEC.. tot of flying instead of driving since the $$ is abt the same..

 

[jelly]

Hello mummies!

Most likely another princess for me. Gynae can't see anything between the legs yday. Have kind of mentally prepared for it before the gynae visit. But my mum is most disappointed and told me to try for #3. Anyway, we happily accept the fact of two princesses in our family. Hehe, can save money some more as she has a lot of hands me down from her jie jie and her cousin.

And oh, my weight has increased by 8kg!!! *fainted* The nurse dun believe too and asked me to weigh for a few time. My gynae said weight increase too much, and checked whether i have swollen feet or not, but dun have lei... Haha...

 

[dadah]

Hi Mummies!

Giggler,
which part of vietname were you thinking of going? I've only been to ho chi min... defintely not baby nor preggy friendly. Very chaotic city. Morbid tourist attractions and not much shopping either. But heard Hanoi can be quite nice.

Cherry,
I feel like doing some home improvements too. Since we are definitely going to be here for another 2 years at least was thinking of doing some repainting (the toilets' ceilings are discoloured leow!) and changing some furniture. My coffee table is sooooo scratched cause of Ethan it's quite embarassing when we have guests! But hubby says ethan & baby #2 will damage the new furniture too and prefers to just bear with it for another 2 years... he's right too lor

Aiyah, can't decide what to do.

PVL,
Which resort is nice on bintan? I've never been there before Thought of taking a short break there a few months back but a friend said everything's in SGD/USD there so we'll feel a little ripped off. So cancelled our plans cause I was thinking if we were going to be ripped off, might as well get ripped off in Bali. Ended up not going anywhere in the end

Huskie!!!!!!!
You in Cameron leow?

Catz!!!!!
You in Genting ah?

Cherry,
oh I remember I visited jojo's blog for jerlene some time back and saw that she did something really nice for the walls in jerlene's room. It's a made to measure sticker that covers the whole wall I think. So jerlene's wall has a winnie the pooh theme thing. Different for the wall decals and murals. Can ask her if you are interested.

 

[dadah]

Sunsweet,
I don't like to fly to KL leh. So laychey cause the airport is so far from the city. If you don't feel like driving can consider coaching up too? Hubby took some SVIP coach last time and said it was like business class seats on a plane wor....

Jelly,
Congrats!!!! Another princess, so envious

Aiyah, you are so skinny it's ok to put on 8kg mah. My gynae said skinny people tend to put on more weight during pregnancy lor. I'm not skinny to start with but I also put on around 8kg leow

 

[jelly]

winniw, thanks thanks! I was 48kg before, now 56kg. Previously i also put on abt 16kg, think this time will be the same also. Find my tummy grows very fast these few days after our ozzie trip.

 

[giggler]

Cherryale, dun think we still can fly during 3rd trimester leh.

PVL, where do you stay in Bintan?

Jelly, congrats on having gal, I like leh!!!

Where's your 8kg??? Doesn’t look like at all.

Winnie, my bil suggested HCM. You put on 8kg liao? How many more months to go?

 

[sunsweet]

Winne,

Bec bringing Lil J so taking coach is like difficult..

cos if i'm not wrong its 6 hrs of journey.. i think lil J will go crazy..

so thinking take flight is less confine for her..
anyway its good to take chance fo the infant ticket

if drive it will take us abt 3 hrs.. thats the best.. but hubby not keen to drive this time round..

 

[sunsweet]

Jelly,

Mummy happy after trip = baby happy = baby grow fast..

keke maybe u took more beef thats why bb grow bigger?

 

[smurf_ling]

while the cat's away, the mouse comes out..

some pics...
QY having art session

QY during story telling

QY during music time

 

[jelly]

Gig and cherry, think SQ allows us to fly before 32 or 35 months. Last time I flew to Beijing myself when i was 32 months. Just need to produce them the certificate from our gynae confirm we are fit to travel.

Gig, most likely the 8kg goes to my bottom. So huge now...

Sunsweet, hehe... ya, i took quite a lot of beef during the trip. Then maybe also becos of mooncakes which i took recently. Actually I prefer to drive to KL then taking plane or coach, if possible. The flight is short but need to take into account the few hours in the airport and transport time to city. By coach, the space is like more constraint. By car, you can bring more stuff and stop for break as and when u like.

 

[sunsweet]

Mummies,

How you keep you kids toys? store in a cupboard?

Lil J has a "Mountain" of toys.. she plays with them everyday.. but no matter how i try to sort them and store them properly.. it will never be tidy.

Like to know what is the best way to tidy the toys???

 

[smurf_ling]

SUNSweet
it's toyogo boxes for me. i go to their main branch in toa payoh..get that 5 or 6 boxes in a pack type...basically for his toys i used 3 boxes..and store them.. and he will select to see which box of toys he wants to play with lor? then i get some of the smaller boxes for smaller items as well.. some cds,... some cartridges from leapfrog products.. intend to get some more small boxes for his crayons and stuffs soon

 

[sunsweet]

Jelly,

U know how much it toll for return on NS highway?

 

[sunsweet]

Smurfy,
you mean to drawers kind?

but her soft toys so huge.. takes up a lot of space..

I only have 1 huge toyogo box for her when she was 4 mths old.. so after a year plus.. the amt of toys she has is so much more then we would have tot.. whahaha.. minus her tricycle.. and stuff at my mum's place..

 

[smurf_ling]

SUNsweet
no, it's not those drawers pull out type.. it those single boxes.. but at their main branch.. they sell in bulk.. like 5 or 6 boxes for dunno how much . i stop buying toys. he's not interested.. onli likes the cheapo cars that my mum buys.. nowadays end up my mum buys him cheapo house wear clothes and cheapo toys..

 

[jelly]

sunsweet,

I can't remember the charge, but think less than RM100 to and fro.

 

[giggler]

Smurfy, QY likes music lots?

Sunsweet, I keep toys in Toyogo box too.

jelly, you took lots of mooncakes? Me very turned off by mooncakes this yr leh, dunno why

 

[sunsweet]

Gig / Smurfy,

I suppose you stack up the boxes of toys right?

So when the kid wants to play something then take the box out for them?

 

[smurf_ling]

sunsweet
yes yes.. stack them up.. and sooner or later.. they will start dragging u to the toy boxes and ask u to open the box one by one until they found the toy they were looking for.. the gd thing is that some times they discovered a lost toy and gets extremely excited.

giggler
yes yes i think he like music. maybe coz we are always playing kiddy songs at home? n i think he likes art oso? maybe all kids at this stage do lar, i dunno

 

[jelly]

Gig, ya... I took quite a lot of mooncake. I love all sweet stuff!

 

[giggler]

Sunsweet, yup I stack up the boxes. We only take out one box at a time. The kids have to keep the toys before they can take out another box. And I categorize the toys lah, there's dolls, books, cooking, etc...

smurfy, Sherwin likes music and dances alot but not really into art.

jelly, love sweet stuff? Maybe that's why you put on wt...

 

[littlegirl]

gd day to all.

It's bn a long time since I came in.

Winnie - strike wat 4D? u mean as in getting preg or the real 4D? Neither! ha ha ha.... to whichever your qn was. 1st - nt keen in having #2 yet, 2) I dun buy 4D religiously also.

EYS - yes I am a member. I stocked up ALOT during the Motherhood fair, cos they had specials. Bt I think now, on/ off they also hv like 20% off, so u can go & look ard. I dun really keep track one leh... they do send me phamplets, bt most of the time I read & throw. hee hee... I'll post here again the nx time I recv it, bt u can perhaps go & chk out their website. http://www.euyansang.com/

Sunsweet - storage - we bought a few of those zipped boxes from IKEA, can b flattened if one day we dun wanna use it. Besides tat, we also hv a cupboard, to store them inside. Cos if boxes lie ard the hse, end up collect dust, so all in the cupboard will only collect dust on the cupboard - lesser things to wipe! LOL....

Oh, over the wkend A started his 1st JG Bilingual lesson. Ok, nt too bad, lots of songs also. Also has craft works, story telling & also playtime. Nx wk wil hv swimming. Hb nt v keen to let A go & play cos of the advice we got when he was born. Bt I told him, it's just playing in those inflattable pool, shld b fine.

 

[sunsweet]

Re: Music

Lil J like songs.. but not when her teachers sings loudly during her class..

bascially Lil J dun like loud noises..

Sat went Chi Garden , there was fire works.. it wasn't relly loud.. but Lil was really frighten by the noise (trembling).. she've seen the firework many times.. cos we stay near Chi Garden but then I did not expect her to be this frighten

 

[smurf_ling]

sunsweet
wow. u must be feeling very rich on this day.. the tickets r so expensive... $15 per adult to Chinese garden. i was soo tempted but i just couldn't fork out the money.. QY oso scared of fireworks...

 

[dadah]

Giggler, I'm due in Jan - same as you

HCM not good for sherwin and you bah... the city is really chaotic lor. Nothing much for the kids too...

Smufy, QY looks so happy in the pic! you're doing a great job with him

Ah ger, I meant pregnant Cause the last time you complained that your da yi ma is late mah. Hehe. I remember last time when we were all preggy you recommended the EYS opening sale at GWC. That was a really fantastic sale! That's why ask you again lor. Thanks anyway!

 

[giggler]

Ah ger, think the swimming at JG is not really swimming lah, it's more like playing with water. I brought Vane for JG classes before and I like it too.

Sunsweet, Sherwin scared of loud noises also leh, he cried if someone started scolding the kids in my parents' family...

 

[sunsweet]

Smurfy,

My SIL have discount so asked us want to go or not loh...so bought ticket for everyone..

but its still not cheap lah.. but HK Lanten v cute leh.. i think its more of an adult thing then for the kids to see loh

 

[priviledged]

WInnie, Giggler,
We just usually go to the hotel - Nirwana. With young kids I preferred to be in the hotel cos there was a pool nearby, and the rooms are big - comfortably fit in one cot and one extra single bed with space to spare. The chalets I hear might be smaller, and the pool is not so accessible. Must play on the beach, which Sarah is scared of! Everything is in SGD. Off peak like now, you might be able to get good packages. You can ring the resorts directly, or look in the papers for promotions. With food, we found that ordering a la carte from the hotel restaurant was quite worth it cos the servings are large. My hb & I took turns to go for the massage at the spa. Nice

. We like it just for the quiet break lah. The last time we went was June last year, when Ben was still breastfeeding, at 4 months old

.

Wah, you all send your toddlers for classes already? Wonder if I'm short-changing Ben ???

Smurfy,
QY looks like he is really engaged in his class leh. Very good! Great attention span.

Toys : My kids have a ton of toys. A lot of them are now thrown into the playpen . Must tidy them up soon for #3. I have 2 large Toyogo boxes, + one big basket of toys. And then there are the toys that are in a big wardrobe drawer, and others scattered here and there.

 

[littlegirl]

Gig, yeah, I know it's nt actual swimming. Cos A doesn't know hw to swim anyway... bt I dun wanna buy Little Swimmers, cos nt cheap leh.. was thinking of buying something which is reusable.

Winnie - oh, no no, I m def not preg! ha ha ha... tis mth, playing the waiting game again. LOL

 

[smurf_ling]

giggler
go go china...shanghai.. i'm thinking of lugging hb and QY there if i have to attend a 2 days conference in nov... share with us what other programs u brought vane to last nite. i bet u were oso another crazy mummy like me hahahaha

sunsweet.
shld have tompang u to buy for me. this silly boy sees other ppl lanterns yesterday keep wow-wow here... wow wow there. <- at that moment i was sooo tempted to go chinese garden ar..

winnie
ehh i did not do a good job.. it's his nature look to have tat smiley face and happy look? he just got that kind of silly, happy face?

pvl
u have not seen the moments he's went off to play with the toys in the class. i sooo tempted to sign him up on half day cc there now..u have have shortchanged ben alot, given the fact that u brought sarah to Gymoboree last time

ah ger
hey, JG is good leh. QY sorta enjoyed his chinese trial lesson there... and i like oso, but kinda far for me...

 

[giggler]

PVL, you stayed at the hotel? I thot of trying out the chalet, hehehe... The food there is exp and not fantastic hor? I haven send Sherwin to any classes yet.

Winnie, you also in Jan? Same period as me and PVL then

Smurfy, yup, brought Vane to lots of trial classes. Really 'on' lah... So far, I find JG the best, most value for money. GUG also not too bad. I like Montessori for their toys. Hehehe...

 

[smurf_ling]

giggler
so in the end, u signed vane up for what kinda classes? JG? or some music classes? i went for GUG trial recently, very tramatizing arr..

 

[sunsweet]

keke i often say lil J scary cat..

 

[giggler]

smurfy, Vane was with GUG for abt 2 terms, then Montessori for few terms also. Usu we attend JG holiday prog. Now Vane is attending Yamaha music class. Why GUG tramatizing?

 

[smurf_ling]

giggler
wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... vane sure attended alot leh. when r u starting for sherwin? u took leave to attend the JG holiday program? montessori where? GUG was tramatizing coz that day Qy teething.. cranky.. then the teachers kept snatching the toys away frm his hands instead of coaxing him...they never do anything to distract him from crying...

so u do u these classes makes any difference? for sherwin and vane?

 

[giggler]

smufy, I just brought Vane for trial classes for most of the sch lah. I took leave to attend JG holiday prog. Montessori is at Jurong West, the same branch that Sunsweet send lil J. Actually I dun find much diff bet Vane and Sher leh. That's why I not keen to start Sher with classes lah. Most prob I'll wait till he ard 3yrs old then send him for nursery class.

 

[smurf_ling]

GIGgler
wow u sure got alot of leaves to spare .. it's a big big commitment leh.. a few days in one week right?... leaves some for sherwin oso hoR....has vane started on nursery? where? u planning to get the 2 of them in the same nursery? bubyee knocking off soon.

 

[cherryale]

smurfy, great that QY is so attentive in class during story telling. Is this d'story club? So u decided to put him in pats cc now? But got to wait till 2.5yrs right?

have u visited MMI at kovan road? I wonder how they compare to pats.

PVL/Winnie, I think bintan lagoon is having some promo, SGD109 nett per night but can only be from Sunday to Thursday.

jelly, its good to have two princesses, double the fun!! as for #3, just let things happen naturally

winnie, i think my nesting instinct is especially strong when i am pregnant, so I like to change furniture or just do some improvement works to the house during this time

As for furniture, maybe u can consider a table that is more scratch resistant? but really when there are kids at home, even the showflat standard homes can also turn to be quite messy

 

[sophie]

Calling milkie!!!!
Did I see you at Great World City today? You were wearing a purple cardigan playing with YR outside the sports shop at B1?
I'm a bit short-sighted, and not wearing any glasses, I couldn't see clearly till I was much further down on the escalator.
But hubby and I were rushing to buy rice for Sophie's dinner, blur us forgetting that Kenny Rogers actually has some rice as side dish.
If that's you, you are still soooooooooooooo slim!!!

Winnie,
No, I've decided not to go to Cameron Highlands... will be going to Darwin instead.

Re. hotels in Bintan: I like Mayang Sari. They've got nice rooms that have balconies that open up to the beach, and of course a nice spa, but no pool I think... more for couples

For kids-friendly hotel, Bintan Lagoon Resort is not bad.

 

[milkie]

hi mummies,

today is YR's official 1st day of school. Hmmm so far so good...don't wanna jinx it yet so don't wanna talk about it yet. hee hee tomorrow will be her 2nd day.

cherry, we haven't really thought of what cot to buy. BUT i will make sure i let u know what cot i get (hopefully for this month).

My hub did think of getting a better cot from australia and asking his parents to bring it over...but a bit too heavy cos the wood they use is quite heavy. So we might have to just settle for something else that we can easily get in singapore that's not too expensive.

Regarding double stroller, I think we will get our friend to get a stroller from the US for us. It's by joovy and i think it's more practical for YR and ourselves cos she definitely won't be happy sitting on a pram for long.

I know a lot of angmohs here like to use the phil and teds. It looks good actually but husband doesn't want either one of the child to be so close to the ground. But fyi, phil and teds has come up with a latest model called vibe so if u intend to buy the phil and teds, get vibe and not the sports or e3 model. Only problem is the latest model comes with only 2 colors.

Hmmm, regarding the maclaren double side by side stroller, I also have same opinion as pvl. Also, I think it takes a lot of energy to maneuver the bloody pram lor cos the handles are quite far apart.

The bugaboo i know has a toddler seat too that u can attach to the main frame...but the reviews i got was not too good. So don't bother wasting your money on it unless u intend to use the bugaboo as a single stroller.

the front and back seating is of cos okie too but a bit too bulky for my liking lah....plus i am too lazy to take an elevator with it. I rather just use escalator with a pram. hee hee

Ultimately it is up to u. If u go out a lot with your maid and husband and only use the pram more for weekends, then i think it's ok for u to use 2 single prams.

For my case, I intend to be still going out with YR and TR on weekdays so I need a pram that will work for me ie. carry my barang barangs and allow YR some sort of freedom to either stand or sit whenever she feels like it or run ard the mall. That's why after researching quite a long time, i decided to get the stroller.

Huskie, yes yes yes..i was at gwc today with my YR and my gf. We were actually waiting for my husband to come by and pick us up. hee hee why no say hi hi?? *smack smack*

I'm not slim, i'm like a balloon. As u said, u not wearing glasses so u probably thought i looked slim.

OMG, u still going holiday ah?? u really cannot stay in singapore for long ya???

 

[giggler]

smurfy, I only bring for JG hol prog once a yr lah so dun really need a lot of leave. Yes, Vane started nursery last yr. I plan to let the 2 of them in the same nursery lah.

milkie, wow… you're expert in stroller now. Hahaha…… Only can get joovy from US now?

 

[priviledged]

smurfy,
I probably won't send Ben to any enrichment classes til he's 3, then I'll send him to Prime Gym and start him with swimming. I don't find that the other classes are that useful. Don't think Sarah learnt much from Gymboree - have fun only - very expensive! In fact gymboree sort of gave her the 'wrong' skills for real gym. I had to re-teach her some things when she started real gym. Just my opinion only lah. I'm home with them anyway, so I can teach them music and stuff.

Bintan Lagoon's offer sounds good but my hb is having his peak period now, so can't take leave.
Giggler,
The Mayang Sari resort is more expensive than the hotel. The basic chalets are too basic for us

. So we settled for the hotel. Some of the dishes in the restaurant are quite nice lah. Can also go out to eat, but with toddlers it's a bit more difficult.

 

[chara]

PVL..I dont think u are short-changing Ben lah..cos you are so experienced and you can do so much with the kids at home..enrichment classes are all extra not essential..I'm stopping Yael's class next month unless I can see the "fruits" n we have enough $$ to accommodate..but I want to send him to Prime Gym someday too! I want him to do some form of gymnastics thru out his childhood.

 

[sunsweet]

morning..

ok its almost 11am liao.. keke

I was thinking to bring Lil J to some gym class too.. to get her more active and physically developed.

where is good?

I remembered being so afraid during gym class in school.. cos I dun know how to do a cartwheel whereas my frds can do it..

I hope Lil J will be more active

another thing i want to start Lil J is swimming .. hopefully I can intro the pool to her after my HK trip this weekend.

Ladies.. my 1st trip to HK.. what to buy huh? I only have like 1/2pm on Sat and 1/2am on Sun to go on my own..

 

[jelly]

milk milk, the joovey looks cool!!! Which one u are getting? This one? http://www.joovy.com/pages/pd_caboose.php

Sunsweet, enjoy ur trip and shopping in HK! U gg to HK disneyland?

 

[giggler]

PVL, you'll teach Ben swimming yourself or get a coach? Where's Prime Gym? I really peifu you as SAHM!!!

Sunsweet, I also want to start Sher with swimming cos I feel that it's basic skill. You gg to HK Disneyland? Heard from my fren that there is a new shopping mall near the disneyland.

 

[sunsweet]

Jelly,

nope.. not giong to disney..

company trip only fri - sun.. too tight to go disney..

I think 1/2 am and 1/2 pm is only suitable for shopping right?