Any Mommies in mid-late 30s or over 40 with small children?

Hi Sophia

Congrats. Agree with Tam - not quite safe to lend her $2000. In smaller amounts perhaps but she has to sign/agree that all these disruptions won't affect her commitments as a domestic helper? Definitely safer to have more at home and do meanwhile see to emotional well-being. If she gets weepy and temperamental - guess it's time like Tam suggests to get help/change.
 


hi tamarind and mumusings,
i've spoken to hubbi and have decided to lend her 1k. I think i will take up your suggestion to have it signed that she will not be disrupted. otherwise, will need to consider changing liao.
 
Hi Sophia,

I sure hope everything will run smoothly for you. Not easy handling maid, twins, household and another on the way...
 
Hello mummies!

CCA:
My gal now in P2 still has no CCA leh- do you mean CCA during school hours, or after school hours? I do not hear of any- so perhaps only in P3 they start?
However, there are many many after school enrichment classes offered daily- but I said no to sending her for any....I think she needs a break after the school day and always plenty of homework or studying to do after school....

Tam- do you mean your boy's school allows students to opt-out of CCAs all the way till P6?

I dun know what my gal will choose, but I encourage her to choose Brownies- cos I really enjoyed myself as a Girl Guide during Sec school...we shall see....

Sohpia:
Take it positively- congrats on your pregnancy! Yes, do not be afraid to ask for help....My kids were born 21 months apart, and I also had my mum and maid to help full time...you will naturally find the strength you need...and also, based on my experience, as it is not your first preg, your expectations will be lower and looking after a subsequent newborn will be less straining...
 
Fairyprincess,
Yes the principal said that so long as the child has extra activities outside of school, like swimming, chess, etc, then we can inform the school, and he will not need to take any CCAs all the way to P6.

In my kids' school, kids can start to join CCAs since P2. They are highly encouraged to join if they don't have any other activities outside of school. Piano is not considered as an extra activity, so kids learning piano still have to take a CCA.

I thought your girl's school need to start from P1 ? I must have remember the wrong school.

yawn,
I share the same views as you. If the CCA is something that the child is interested in, then that will be the best.

My girl is quite keen on learning Guzheng, so I will just let her continue.

I don't think my boy will be really interested any CCA. He is a bit of a slacker, unless it is something that he is really interested in. He likes swimming, but the school does not offer that. So I might as well let him focus on learning to swim.
 
hi, mummies who has fb accounts can help to vote Sabrina show white princess contest in"Kidscoverlooks fB"
How to vote
U need to "like" kidscoverlooks" then go photo No 4 then click "like" again on the photo
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?fbid=206273142729830&set=a.195861817104296.48067.195860497104428&theater
 
Sabrina's in Show white princess..

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tam
Dictionary - finally the Bishan outlet has stocks and I bought a copy. Thanx for the recommendation.

Online shopping - I suddenly realise why they pack in big boxes. Many a time when we purchase, our orders are considered domestic (since they are VPost USA address), and usually domestic shopping is free or at a cheap flat rate. So they won't bother to put in smaller boxes. But from VPost, we still need to have the boxes shipped to S'pore.

CCAs - not compulsory for jesse's school in P1/P2, but will have to join sth from P3 onwards.


sharon
Yeah, I also think you just tell her not to bother. Just do her own thing.


sophia
Congrats! (Were you surprised?)
My kids are 2 years apart.
For me, when the twins, were young, all the help I I had I use. ahahaha.

Maid - $ - sensitive issue. I also advanced salary to my maid before when she needed, ie pay her earlier. But $2000 is a large amount. What if she decides to leave after you pass her the amount? I trust my maid but I always have this 'what if' question at the back of my mind. It's not that we are not compassionate but who wl pity us if the maid suddenly leaves?
Btw is your maid the only one looking after your twins?


tam/fairy/yawn
Wow, looks like we all had the next kid(s) within a 2-year gap.
 
stylobb; how old are your kids now? yeh, very surprised coz didnt expect myself to be so fertile esp when I had help to conceive the first round. But after the excitment, comes the fear and stress. Especially with my age, worried about Down Syndrome and all that tests. Looks like I have to go through this all over again....

Maid: I gave her the $1000 + two months salary. Started all that emo things about how grateful blah blah..... I am just crossing my fingers that things will be ok otherwise it's back to the agency to get another maid. What to do, money gone also no choice......
Luckily she doesnt take care of the twins in the day as they go child care, but at night when they are home, she helps out. Moreover, she gets up in the night when they cry coz school really very tiring, I cant get up and sometimes so knocked out that I dun hear their cries.
 
Sophia,
Congrats!
Ya, agree with the others. Get whatever help u can, especially when u have 2 at the 似懂非懂 stage. Although without any help, I had it easier cos my 2 gals are 6 years apart. As what Fairy said, you will naturally find the strength u need. Enjoy your pregnancy, and don't be unduly worried
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Tam,
Sent u an email last night. Thanks again for the thermoScan.

CCA
It's nice that the school recognizes private swimming lessons as CCA. My dd's school allocate 2 hours of academic time on every Friday for CCA. Only those in competitive teams need to put in extra after-school hours for additional training. Essentially, dd don't need to stay behind at all. Just as fine that she was not shortlisted for handbells, although she was a little disappointed with the news.

Helper,
No matter how much u trust them, there's always the concern of "what if", given all the awful incidents that happen. My ex-boss had a helper who was with the family for 16 years, and was very close to the kids. Out-of-the-blue, she spins a tale about a sick husband who needs $$ for a major surgery. My ex-boss gave her a loan, and quickly send her home to see the husband, and guess what, she never return. The helper's niece who also works for the same household, claimed not to know anything. My ex-boss was so pissed, he sent her home when the contract expires.

I know there are, of course, the trustworthy ones. But this one is just beyond logic as she was so close to the family, and had worked for the family for so long!
 
Hi Sophia,

Agree with Aly - relax and don't over-stress yourself with worries. Won't do yourself/bb good this way. You're one real trusting and generous employer! Enjoy your weekend and don't think about anything except eat and sleep well.
 
sharon,
Sabrina looks very pretty. Hope she wins !
I don't have a fb account, cannot vote.

styloBB,
I really hope that vpost can repack the item like comgateway, but they don't have that service
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I like drugstore.com the best, they have very small boxes.

I planned for 2 kids within 2 years, because I want to suffer quickly and then relax
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sophia,
Looks like your maid has a good life, when the twins are at childcare, she should be quite free right ? Hope that she knows how to treasure a good job like this.
 
sophia
My boy is 7 years old, my twin girls are 5 years old. Stimes things happen when we least expect it. Like for me, I never expected to have twins.... hehe

I find my energy level is slowing down too. Now that they are of school going age, at least there is some 'routine' in their days.

Nowadays toddlers are so active, often I see the parents/maid/gramps just chasing after one kid. Some of my friends don't want to have a 2nd kid.

Conceiving at older age - the gynae wl prob. tag you for all sorts of tests. Anyway I find they are v gan jeong these years, they like to test for everything, after all, they tag women above 35 who are preggie as 'high-risk pregnancies'...chey..... but I do understand your concern re DS, etc.

Seems my maid's hb is also not well.
Tkfully my maid does not do the emo thing with me, she takes the money and that's it.

The money is impt but more imptly is getting another reliable maid whom we can trust and feel comfortable with.

aly
I think for the money/maid issues, stimes gotta take the risk that one might not see it (money) and her (maid) again... it is the worst case scenario....sigh....

tam
Kids - at least you planned and you got them, it's not so for everyone....

Just bot some swimming costumes for the gals, they started swimming and I realise their current ones are starting to look drab as they go for lessons twice a week. They each hv another set which is tankini type. I like Lands Ends ones, can only wait till their next big sale....

Hv a nice weekend, everyone.
Seems my weekends are more and more mundane..hehe... the usual stuff, kids' lessons, makan, revise their work, rest.
 
mommies

If any of you intend to spree from landsend.com during sale, please count me in. TIA

I checked spree threads, landsend doesn't seem popular, no one organising lands end spree
 
styloBB

I quit to stay home when dd1 was around 1yo. So I thought might as well try for another baby right away, can 养胎 at home mah. Not working hardly any stress, good for baby & mommy. My 2nd pregnancy much smoother than the 1st. 1st pregnancy I had some spotting. Gynae ordered bed rest
 
styloBB,
My maid does not have a husband :p Her husband left her when she was working in Singapore. She has a daughter studying in university now. Her daughter is having some problems, my maid asked me to let her go back in June this year. I agreed even though she has just gone home last year. She did not ask for any advance or loan from me.

My kids' swimming costumes are also from Land's End. I like them because the quality is so good compared to the ones we get locally. My own swimming costume is also from Land's End, cannot find anything that can fit me locally hehehe

yawn,
I am not buying from landsend.com at the moment.
 
Hi mommies,
Sharing this article from the Straits Times with you.



Apr 3, 2011
How not to raise a bimbo
By Colin Goh

Yakuza Baby turned two this week, and as a dad, I couldn't help feeling pensive. As a Singaporean dad in particular, I couldn't help feeling kan cheong.

'She's growing up and learning so quickly,' I said to the Wife as Yakuza Baby played around with my iPad. 'I'm constantly worried I'll inadvertently impart to her the wrong things.'

'Like what?' the Wife wrinkled her brow.

'You know, the stuff that wrecks your life waaaay down the line. Maybe she'll pick up on one teeny tiny stupid quirk of mine that will have a disproportionately large influence.' I went on to recite the first stanza of the British poet Philip Larkin's poem, 'This Be The Verse':

They (four-letter word that is unprintable in a family newspaper) you up, your mum and dad.

They may not mean to, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had.

And add some extra, just for you.

'Is this because you just read Gerrie Lim's new book?' the Wife narrowed her eyes.

'Partially,' I admitted. Gerrie's book, Singapore Rebel (2011, Monsoon), is a serious, ruminative piece about Annabel Chong, Singapore's most famous porn star, and her wider cultural significance. (Gerrie is signing copies at 2pm today at Prologue bookstore at Ion Orchard.) All of his erudite analysis, however, couldn't stop me from thinking of Annabel as every Singaporean parent's nightmare.

'I mean, her parents are such fine, upstanding citizens,' I explained, 'yet in some sense, they contributed to her creation. What about the rest of us?''

'Annabel is too much of a statistical outlier for me to be really concerned about that possibility,' said the Wife. 'I'm much more worried Yakuza Baby will become a princess.'

'Is this because you just read Peggy Orenstein's book?'' I rubbed my chin.

'It's horrific!' she nodded. Orenstein's Cinderella Ate My Daughter (2011, HarperCollins) is an incisive look at the corporate conspiracy to turn every girl into a simpering, materialistic guniang (girl) whose grand ambition in life is to be a tai-tai. It catalogues a series of appalling examples of how girls are peddled a narrow stereotype of femininity, usually involving pink, frills, fancy shoes and girly-girl behaviour such as shopping and manicures, which permeates their adulthood.

To prove the insidiousness of this, she took me to a children's clothing store and challenged me to find a single T-shirt in the girls' section that didn't have a frilled neck or cap sleeves. I thought she was overreacting but she wasn't.

'It wasn't like this when I was growing up,' she fumed. 'The problem with princesses is that they send the message that the most important things in life are being pretty, finding romance and snagging the Holy Grail of a husband who'll pay for everything. And even when exhorting you to 'express yourself' or 'challenge society's boundaries', as so much of the crap aimed at girls does, it's really about buying more stuff and looking more glam. So it's not enough for girls to be rocket scientists, you have to be a rocket scientist who looks hot in a thong. It's a slippery slope towards botox and boob jobs.'

'Wow,' I massaged my jaw. 'I can't decide which is worse. Annabel may have done something incredibly ill-advised but at least it was a deliberate act. Becoming a princess is more like becoming a zombie - a zombie with stilettos and a designer handbag.'

Furthermore, according to Gerrie's book, Annabel is now a web developer (no jokes about moving from hardware to software, please), so for all her past mistakes, she deserves more respect than those pinning their future on some prince to ride in on a white horse and sponsor their Jimmy Choos.

'Now I'm even more kan cheong,'' I told the Wife. 'All along, I thought my primary battle was to prevent our kid from becoming a drugged-out porn star. Now I know there's an even bigger front - to make sure she's not a bimbo.''

'Relax,' said the Wife, 'no parent can predetermine how their kids turn out. All we can do is love her as much as possible, and hope that will teach her to love herself enough to always think carefully about what she does.'

'I'm not sure I'm capable of even that,' I gulped. 'I mean, my folks loved me very much, and I can't say I've been particularly judicious about my career path.'

'Well,' the Wife patted me on the back. 'You're still useful as another example of what not to do.'

To paraphrase Willie Nelson: Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be porn stars, princesses - or Papa.
 
Hi mommies with girls,
Do you deliberately try not to let your girls have the idea of becoming a princess/bimbo ?

Actually when I go to local shops to try to buy bags/clothes for my girl, I find that it is not easy to find something without "Disney Princess", Barbie, etc printed on it.
 
Hi Tam,

Don't know about other mommies and hope I don't offend with my frank opinions on clothes. My parents deliberately not buy me any dolls and girly stuff when I was a kid. Strictly books, masak masak (kitchen sets), crayons, rolls of paper, instruments, music and clothes without girly graphics.

My dad was violently against lace, butterflies, fairies, polka dots and frills. He would say they make girls look ugly. He would mail back clothes from travelling (stuff like cultural gifts, the London guard, Alisan coat and Canadian drum). My aunt would send me boxes of Annual books (TinTin, Peanuts, animal stories, NEVER girly-girly tuff). In fact, my grandmother also used to say things like "only THAT kind of ladies will wear THAT kind of colours and patterns..." (referring to red, lace, butterflies and make-up-overdose). So the rules were: dress elegantly, simply, decent and relevant.

Guess they all feel that girls should be intellectual, tough, sporty and independent, not fluff and head full of romance. I was hence brought up to focus on life skills, handicraft, art, reading and current affairs. Helps 'cos I was never into fancy Barbie and fairy-tale fantasies. I disagree with feeding kids with delusional fantasies that will do more harm than good. Daydreaming is up to the kid but what we buy for them is 'input' and 'endorsement'. I'd rather encourage love for animals and nature, creativity and independent learning.

For my son, I get wholesome clothes with minimal details. NO Ben Ten, violent transformers and Jap manga/anime sort of characters. Also no pants and shirts with studs, numeous details and pockets. Don't want him to find a sailor-moon wife with big eyes and blue contact lenses! I stick to Mothercare, DPAM, GAP, Uniqlo, Bossini and simple graphics: adventure, animals, cars, trucks, dinosaurs or vintage vehicles.

I know of someone in his mid 20s, so hooked up on anime that he thinks all living girls in Singapore are either cheap or flawed. Only the buxomy, spilling, doe-eyed comic characters are attractive. Alot of teenagers have their whole heads filled with strange definitions of 'beauty' and 'attraction'.... So they'll look for girls that resemble what they fantasise about. The dislocation of reality is very very disturbing.

Tam, Bossini, Uniqlo (sadly no more kids' collection here), Giordano, Target and Gap probably has quite neutral collections that are stylish without the girly-graphics.
 
Tamarind

I distinctly recalled one of my primary school classmates had a pink barbie school bag. All the girls in our class were so envious, everyone crowded around her to admire her bag. She said her mom paid $40 for that bag. At that time my dad was earning around $50 a day. Although I find the bag pretty too, it was shocking to me because I find her so 不懂事 to waste her parents money. Of course at that time, I was too young to realise her parents were way richer than mine lah

I'm guilty of buying barbie tees & skirts for my kids when they were much younger. Just to satify myself. Well, I never had any barbie accessories when I was a child. Since I can easily afford them now, I guess why not? My kids aren't attached to barbie or disney or any particular brand. They're equally happy with some cheap pieces I discovered at Song & Song. Anyway, barbie also too childish for them now.

My SIL is still buying hello kitty. For herself.
I should ask her what's her childhood story the next time I see her, haha!
 
mumusings

I don't get to choose my wardrobe when I was a kid. I think most of my clothes were hand down. At least as far as I can recall, my mom didn't bring me shopping for clothes.
 
Hi Yawn/Tam,

I didn't receive hand-down clothes and toys because there wasn't another grandchild before me. My things were passed around to my sis and later cousins. My mom never brought me shopping too - only for events like close relatives' weddings she'll take me to John Little Specialists' Centre to choose a girly dress.

I was either in my kindergarten uniform or shorts and singlet/tee. My p grandfather bought me a steel car (manual steering and pedals) when I was 3 plus so I was busying parking the car, drawing or playing-pretend with neighbours ('cook', 'teacher', 'doctor' etc). My m grandfather bought me a small briefcase so when I'm at the other side for stayover, I'm a 'stock-broker', 'banker' and 'admin staff'. He had stacks of annual company reports and so I tore out all the proxy forms at the back, kept them in a neat file which went into brief case. Begged him to let me have one receipt book and a piece of carbon paper. So every Friday - Sunday, I'll listen to radio with grandfather ("Heng sheng zhi shu shang yang..." Hang Seng index soars!). Maybe that's why I'm numb to speculative activities. All the time I hear company names F&N, Sime Darby, SIA, Hong Leong Finance... hahaha.

My childhood was very busy as I mentioned before. Happiest because my kindergarten never had homework or tests
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Just play, sing, dance and do colouring/craft.

Aunts = English, handicraft, calculator, etiquette, newspaper, piano, music
Grandparents = long walks, stationery shopping
Grandmothers = market, long walks, cooking, sewing
Mother = Chinese, reading
Father = English, writing, drawing, reading
Neighbours = running, masakmasak, writing stories, board games, playing in the rain, pulling stamen from ixora to taste nectar

Was brought up not to be vain or fanciful. Important thing as everyone agreed: be a good and useful person when I grow up. No need to be doctor or earn alot of money. Just don't do bad things or expect favours.

PRINCESS:

(1) literally a lady of noble birth and with blood links to monarchy (eg Princess Stephanie, Masako's daughter). Usually well-bred, well-groomed and ought to speak higher accents/language befitting of her rank/nobility.

(2) A girl who yearns to be (1) and will indulge in anything that may make her appear/sound like one. But in Singapore it seems that princessy things = often come in the form of over-dressing in lace/frills/assessories and certain Sanrio/Disney characters?

BIMBO/EMPTY VESSEL:

Someone who doesn't seem to see the imperative to improve her intellectual capacity and views priorities like makeup/hairstyle/fashion/boyfriends as above everything else. Incapable of holding a conversation about current affairs, disintereted in academia and often resort to slanging, using pet-phrases and wannabe accents.

My honest definitions of a bimbo and a princess. Very often, people who want to become princess end up being a bimbo because too much time is spent emphasising on clothes/lookinggood/boys. And most of the time, these people become fashion slaves who will buy branded goods but can't spell/pronounce even the names of what they wear. Leeng-ger-ree, Shar-neow, Goo-chee, Dee-Or. Some of our pageant wannabe-queens and young high-earning housing agents are good examples. Conversations are all about what hb bought, when's the next ski holiday, to buy red BMW or Audi, which city has the cheapest LV bags etc.
 
mumusings,
Thanks for sharing. Your parents brought you up very well.

My opinion is that it is fine for girls to like pink dresses with frills, wearing that does not mean that they fancy being princesses or Barbie. It is just part and parcel of being a girl. What is most important is not to let them read trashy books about princesses/rich girls, etc. I always make it a point to let my girl read classic books about poverty and suffering.

I didn't like the design of Giordano's clothes, Bossini's kids clothes usually have too many graphics, and GAP is expensive in Singapore. I see many cheaper options in Kiddy Palace, pasar malam, etc, and the clothes mostly have Barbie, Disney princess graphics, don't know why. In fact, It is not easy to find plain white tops and plain skirts that are of good quality and reasonable prices in Singapore. So I bought my girl's clothes almost entirely from USA websites like oldnavy.com, landsend.com, etc when they are having discounts, and the prices are usually very reasonable.


yawn,
I still get excited when I see Hello Kitty shops, though I don't dare to carry Hello Kitty stuff around unless I am with my girl.

My mother sewed all my clothes for me when I was young, according to my design hehehe We could not afford to buy clothes then.

I also wonder whether buying clothes/bags with Barbie/Disney Princess drawings, will cause a girl to 爱慕虚荣. I thought it takes much more than that, like watching too many Disney princess cartoons and reading too many trashy books for girls.

As for definition of a princess/bimbo, I agree with what mumusings wrote.

Also from the article :
"The problem with princesses is that they send the message that the most important things in life are being pretty, finding romance and snagging the Holy Grail of a husband who'll pay for everything. And even when exhorting you to 'express yourself' or 'challenge society's boundaries', as so much of the crap aimed at girls does, it's really about buying more stuff and looking more glam. So it's not enough for girls to be rocket scientists, you have to be a rocket scientist who looks hot in a thong. It's a slippery slope towards botox and boob jobs. "
 
mumusing

I'm the eldest child. My mom got the hand-down clothing mostly from her babysitter friend.



Re: princess

I like the korean style of dressing. If you watch korean drama you would know what I meant. Very princessy. I find their dress sense very appealing, look so sweet & demure. Not everyone can carry that kind of look though.

Although I quite like the princessy look but I don't have any aspiration to raise my girls to be princesses. If got spare cash to burn, I would rather send them for Maths Olympiad training than to dress them up, haha!



re: bimbo

I am pretty confident my girls won't turn into bimbos. They're far too intelligent, heng arh!
 
tamarind

No lah, won't become 爱慕虚荣 so easily. I think it's a combination of family upbringing，peer pressure, low self esteem that resulted in a person defining possession as self worth

Actually hor, even 爱慕虚荣 needs to put in substantial effort. Need to study the lastest fashion, research on which social circle to hang out with & definitely need to spend money to package herself (investment) to fit into that social circle. Tiring man

I believe in 竹门对竹门， 木门对木门.
 
yawn,
I agree with you
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As for 竹门对竹门， 木门对木门, I will not object if my girl marries into a very rich family, if they don't like me, I disappear lor. But then I think she looks like the type who have to work hard to get everything that she wants, don't think she can find a rich hubby.

I will not go for botox. But I have gone for removal of moles/warts from a my face before, cannot stand any spots on my face. As for wrinkles/smile lines, I don't care so much, at most don't smile or frown hahaha.
 
Hi Yawn/Tam,

Will NEVER go for anything that is invasive. Rather age naturally.

Agree with you that having some girly stuff is part and parcel of girlhood and trashy books are to be avoided at all costs.

竹门对竹门， 木门对木门 Well put, Yawn. Don't ever expect a life where everything is paid for without one having to make sacrifices to the soul/body/conscience. Only happens in K-drama and also because many movies want you to spend money on brands endorsed (like the trashy Sex And The City - I still don't get what's the big deal over those few women). I know Pretty Women inspired many wannabe-Cinderellas in the 1990s. All wanting to be like Julia Roberts' character. Yucks.
 
Wow, haven't had time to read thru all the postings.

tams
The kids' designs here cannot make it... all the designs are super complicated, I wonder why they cannot make clothes that are simple and nice. Prob. the closest I have seen is Cotton On. Still, I hvn't bot anything from there. I also cannot stand all the pink pink Barbie designs..ahaha... tho the gals dun need haversacks, I bot 2 from Old Navy last time. Btw I went to check the same swimming costume from Gap, online was USD16, retailing here at SGD49!!

Waiting for LE to have mega sale so that I can buy sandals for jesse....
 
Hi Stylo/Tam,

Agree with the lack of nice local/Asian-designed kids' clothes in Singapore. I did find some at Bossini during a clearance sale - HK exported, not the same as the ones sold here. They're different in quality/design - not as loud (as Tam rightly pointed out).

Cotton On Kids has pleasant designs but material is thin and you get little white balls pretty fast. There are stores at IMM, Anchorpoint and PSingapura now. I love GAP kids but they're really expensive. Managed to get a few pieces of nice shirts 2 years back when they had a generous discounts. Marks and Spencer very nice but limited designs/sizes
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I'm a total fan of Mothercare boys' clothing. Durable, comfortable and affordable.

I went crazy during 2010 Mothercare 2-hour sale at Harbourfront. Everything was at 50% off one day when I happened to walk pass. Just grab whatever's boys-24mth/36mth. He's got enough clothes for 2 years, thanks to a bargain-hunting mother. There's also a factory outlet near Tampines Library (below the ShopNSave nearby) with kids' clothes at S$5 each. Suitable as home-clothes and casual wear. They happen to have shirts with his favourite vintage planes, trucks, cars and safari animals so I ended up buying whatever that was 3T/4T.

Anyone knows where to get track-pants style pants for boys? So hard to get comfy pants - usually denim, hard material or cargo. Just want single-coloured pants of soft material.
 
mumusings

I know where's that factory outlet. I picked up a landsend cardigan at $3 for my dd2, unbelievable price !!
But their stocks are mainly for younger kids. Been there another couple of times but didn't manage to discover another good find with suitable size for my kids
 
Hi Yawn,

I went to the outlet shop just before CNY and stocks just came in. Lots of 3T - 6T. Happens that they had the colours/graphic/simplicity we all like. My son was so in love with one of the shirts he requested to change into it - he's wearing it almost everyday. Just a simple orange shirt with a heavy vehicle resembling one of his Tonka trucks. Thinking of getting spares the next time I visit. Good material. Some labels are French. Very durable too. I don't mind outlet clothes as long as it's not loud or with spelling errors (it's always funny to see ungrammatical phrases or and mis-spelling like 'elephane'). They have Crocs shirts for girls but not boys
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Lots of pretty frocks for girls - I saw a lady buy one of every design for her daughters.

As for myself, I found some Abercrombie tops at S$1. Dusty greyish blue. Of course I also grabbed a few pieces to wear at home. Cooking/washing quite a bit and need more cheap, comfortable home clothes! Also found an Old Navy aubergine long sleeved shirt (Size 14) going at S$3. I love seeing nice plain shirts at such prices 'cos I'd never pay for similar ones at GAP at full-price. My sis found a pair of Liz Claireborne coduroy 3/4 for S$8.
 
Some of the shirts that are not worn yet:
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Left: Bossini HK
Right: Tampines outlet shop

My son's everyday orange shirt (wears this at home when playing with his many vehicles):
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All S$5 each. Won't put up his favourite Mothercare apparel in case some of you go, "OHHHH... THAT naughty boy at ToysRUs (or somewhere else you might have suffered noise pollution before)" Quite embarrassing 'cos we were at the Hi-5 show a couple of times and a few strangers in the queue asked: "Noticed your family - you were here yesterday and seated at the front right?" and "Were you here last week? Recognised your boy."
 
one statement today - NO BARBIE clothes for my gal... (so u can imagine how much difficulty i have in buying clothes for my DD)...

mummusings..ahaha.those strangers must have attended hi5 everyday too :p
 
I usually buy dd's clothes from Australia during their summer sales. Can find tshirts, shorts n sundresses for less than $10 if u know where to look. Locally, I buy t-shirts n skorts from OP when they have 50% sales. Their normal price items r still expensive. dd2 wears dd1's hand-me-downs.

No offence to Barbie fans, I always feel that Barbie promotes vanity and unrealistic lifestyle.

Mumusings, yawn,
Can share where is this factory reject shop in Tampines? TIA.
 
Hello Mummies,

Long time din come here. Just came back from holiday in HK. So many postings to catch up. Nice, cool weather there. We did lotsa walking and the kids behaved quite well for this trip. Gotta thank the nice weather there.

Hi Sophia,

Congrats! I had my 1st child at 35 and 2nd child at 37. Both kids were born healthy
happy.gif
You can do a NT scan first to determine if you need to do the Anmio test. I did not do the Anmio test for both kids at all as the NT scan showed favourable results.

Hi Sharon,

Very pretty snow white Sabrina
happy.gif
 
aly nat

It's near Tampines regional library. Shop is a corner unit, next to S11 food court. I didn't take note of the block number though

Chance upon that shop on my way to library. I usually park at multi-storey carpark, from carpark to library, will pass by that shop

If I go to that library again, I will look out for block number for you
 
Hi Yawn,

Yes, we went Disneyland on the last 2 days. We split the visit into 2 days as my kids cannot take the fullday trip to the Park, too tiring for them. We paid HK398(HK298 for Child) for a 2-day tix. My gals enjoyed Disneyland thoroughly as most rides there are meant for young kids. This is also considered their lull season and we booked the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel at very good rate at less than $300 per night (comes with b/f).

We also went to Tung Chung - Citygate Outlets....many factory outlets there with good prices. I bought a Swatch watch at 30% discounts and their Crocs sandals are cheaper than those sold here.
 
Hi Alynat,

Think it's block 502. Can't miss it. There's a bus stop in front of Tampines Library and beyond is a large courtyard with shops all around. You'll see a large Shop N Save sign if you look just ahead.

Hi Snowball,

Good to hear you enjoyed yourselves at HK.

Hi Yawn,

What's BULB?

Hi Bloom,

Good for you! I really cannot tahan the Barbie clothes. And definitely the horrible Barbie song by Aqua.

In case some mommies haven't noticed the totally crass and cheap lyrics of the Barbie song that was immensely popular in the 1990s:

"- Hiya, Barbie!
- Hi, Ken!
- You wanna go for a ride?
- Sure, Ken!
- Jump in!

(CHORUS)
I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie world; life in plastic, it's fantastic / You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere / Imagination, life is your creation

Come on Barbie, let's go party!

I'm a blond bimbo girl in a fantasy world / Dress me up, make it tight, I'm your dollie / You're my doll, rock'n'roll, feel the glamour and pain / Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky / You can touch, you can play if you say I'm always yours, oohoh

Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please / I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees / Come jump in, be my friend, let us do it again / Hit the town, fool around, let's go party
You can touch, you can play /if you can say, I'm always yours

- Oh, I'm having so much fun!
- Well Barbie, we're just gettin' started
- Oh, I love you Ken!"

I totally detest this sort of perverse songs. Don't know about you ladies but it really cheapens women and it simply affirms my conviction that we should never feed such dolls (especially Barbie/Ken) to our kids. Words that have connotations "ride", "doll", "pain", "do it"... Totally beyond me how so many people love this song - you still get to hear this alot at This Fashion and some of those shops that blast techno-music. And it's also one of the pre-programmed music in lanterns for kids
sad.gif


The other song that tops the Gross-charts is Tata Young's 'Sexy Naughty Bitchy Me'. These people glamourise promiscuity and make such behaviour seems "in" - being late for school, sleeping around and walking around with an attitude.
 
HI Snowball- I like HK Disneyland! Cos its so compact and easy to walk around....did you do the Tungchung Cable Car too? My kids were fascinated by the height and long ride...

Barbie for gals:
My 2 gals are very different- the elder have absolutely zero interest in all things pink and girly, but my younger loves it a lot! All her stuff must be in pink and she also loves pink clothes, accessories, shoes etc etc...so I think it boils down to parental guidance e.g. teaching correct values rather than focused on the superficial aspects of things...
 
Hi Yawn,

Hee....most of us are of similar age group here, I guess :p

Hi Fairy,

IMO, HK Disney is good for kids up to 8 - 10 yrs old. The rides are too kiddy for older children. We took most of the rides and repeated some of them on our visit on the 2nd day. The fireworks was awesome
happy.gif


We also celebrated my DD2's BD at Disneyland & she really enjoyed that.

We did not go take the Cable car this time round. We took 2 rounds of Cable Car during our last visit 2 yrs ago - one at Ocean Park and one at the TungChung Cable Car.

We did a day trip to Lama Island on the 2nd day of our trip. My kids enjoyed the Ferry ride and they love playing with the icy cold sand at the beach there & enjoying the sea breeze. The seafood at Lama Island was nice
happy.gif


We also visited Kowloon Park (quite a nice park in the midst of busy Tsim Sha Tsui area) before going for shopping at Harbour City. This trip was quite leisurely for us (no rush) tho' we did quite abit of walking.

Barbie - So far, my gals did not show any interest in Barbie dolls, except for some stationery items which my DD1 brought & a trolley bag with the Barbie doll print which we bought during a sale.
 
Hi Sophia,

My kids are exactly 18 mths apart in age. Like what Tam and StyloBB said, get as much help as possible. My MIL helped to look after my kids & I got a maid to help her out. Sent my DD1 to 3-hr PG class when she turned 20 mths and changed to fullday CC when she was ard 2.5 yo. My MIL stayed with us on weekdays and she went back to her own home on weekends then. She shifted home when I sent my DD2 to CC too. This arrangement worked fine for us.

The 1st year may be challenging with 3 young kids, but, things will get better when the kids are older.

You may want to discuss with your hb and parents on the best arrangement to work out. In the meantime, do enjoy your pregnancy.

Maid - So far, I have not given my maid any loans and she has not asked for it. If she really do request, I will give only max. 2 mths loan/ salary advancement. If the maid already has no interest in her work, no amount of $$$ can make her work wholeheartedly again.

Moreover, you still have your parents to help out and your twins are in CC. Hence, it is not too bad.

Do enjoy your pregnancy.
 

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