Yearly Archives

2012

coolest kids ever

Cooking with Truett and Kirsten

June 12, 2012

For their combined birthday present, we got the kids their first play kitchen. We don’t usually buy a lot of toys but it was their birthday (sort of – Tru’s was on 2nd June and Kirsten will be having hers in July) and this one was going at a very sweet price so the husband decided to give up the PSVita he’s been eyeing, to get this for them.

That move alone puts him in the running for Daddy of the Year award.

My brother was appalled that this costs as much as a PSVita but hey, it is a gorgeous wooden set with a stove, oven, sink, microwave and what I presume is a larder/fridge.

More importantly, it’s been keeping them occupied for extended periods. Whenever we need some time to do work, we make a list of our dinner orders and get them to cook up a storm in the kitchen.

All that chopping, stirring, baking and cooking easily buys us 20 minutes of peace and quiet.

Occasionally, we do get strange concoctions like porridge with chili, Swiss cheese and orange juice or waffles with peas, which is a good thing we don’t actually have to eat them.

Although Kirsten does take her pretend play quite seriously so she’ll stuff the food into our mouths for a more realistic experience. I’ve tasted a fair amount of wood and plastic over the past couple of days but I guess it’s a small price to pay in the name of stimulating creativity.

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not feeling so supermom, side effects of motherhood

Sick Leave.

June 11, 2012

I’ve been careful to not fall ill during this pregnancy but after 6 months keeping germ-free, my body has finally succumbed to a particularly nasty flu bug that one of the kids gave to me. I can’t say for sure because they were both ill over the weekend but I’m pretty sure it’s Kirsten since she’s the one who insisted on holding my face to sleep and then sneezed globs on her germs straight into my mouth.

The poor girl was grouchy and miserable and the only thing that helped her fall asleep was being 2 inches away from my face. It was an unusual request but she seemed to really want it and according to my parenting manual, when your sick kid needs to breathe into your face in order to fall asleep, you just do it.

Now when you’re that close to somebody’s face, you can tell when a sneeze is coming. Her face scrunched up and I was about to take cover but she had like an iron grip on my cheeks so I froze, closed my eyes and took the hit.

I’m typically more dexterous in dodging germy sneezes but these kinds of point blank ones are almost impossible to dodge.

On the bright side, it did help her fall asleep and she woke up feeling much better but on the not so bright side, no amount of mouth-scrubbing and vitamin-popping could undo the damage that one sneeze did to my immune system.

Now my head is throbbing and my throat is on fire and I just want to lie down and make terrible groaning noises.

While I lie down, I’m going to think about whether this was a heroic or incredibly stupid move. Probably both.

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stuff best described as not safe for parents

A new level of crazy

June 7, 2012

“Momma.”

“Momma, wake up…”

I sat up with a start, not sure if I was still dreaming. My room door was ajar and I could tell that all the lights in the living room were turned on. As my eyes struggled to adjust to the light, I noticed that Kirsten was standing at the door, butt-naked and completely soaked from head to toe.

“Are you ok, princess? Are you hurt?” I jumped out of bed, my brain still trying to make sense of what was happening.

I grabbed a towel and wrapped her up nice and snug, then peered at the clock. 5.45am. FML.

Every single light in the living room and kitchen was turned on, including the table lamps. She had meticulously grabbed a chair to access all the light switches. In the kitchen, an entire bottle of detergent had been emptied and the water was left running at the sink. I glanced down and a foamy puddle had already formed on the floor next to her wet jammies. This must have been going on for a while. The bathroom floor was all wet, evidence that someone had just taken a shower.

“Tell momma what happened, baby,” I asked her, still holding her close to warm her up.

“I cannot find kor kor. It’s very dark so I turned on all the lights.”

“And why are you all wet?”

“I played with the water so my clothes are all wet then I take them off. I bathed myself because I’m a big girl now.”

“I won’t even ask why, but did you need to do it at 5 in the morning?”

“You change for me now, I’m tired. I want to go sleep,” she instructed with an air of finality.

I wasn’t quite sure how to handle a situation like this, so I did as she asked. I changed her into fresh PJs, cleaned up the kitchen, made her some milk and brought her back to bed.

The next morning, she acted like nothing had happened and when I brought it up, she just looked at me blankly like I made up the whole thing.

I actually wish it was a dream because I’m pretty sure normal 3-year-olds don’t do this level of crazy. But then I actually have the soaked jammies to prove otherwise.

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giveaways reviews ads

The Ultimate Diaper Challenge

June 5, 2012

Over the past 4 years, I’ve changed some 10,000 diapers for both kids combined. That pretty much makes me a pro.

In fact, I’m so skilled at changing diapers, I can like win awards doing it with my eyes closed and with one hand tied behind my back. Unless it’s the poopy kind, then all bets are off. Those usually get handled by the husband, who’s the resident poop pro.

To keep things um, fresh around here, we like to engage in some friendly competition. So this latest bet we’re having is to find out who’s the faster diaper changer around here.

Winner gets bragging rights and loser gets to change diapers for a week.

Here’s the lowdown on how it went.

 


A decisive victory, if I might say so myself. Looks like I’m off diaper duty for a week. WOOT!

On the topic of diapers, Drypers has just launched a new and improved version of their Drypers Wee Wee DRY Diaper. The kids have been on Drypers (only in the day) since they were born and what we really liked was that it hit the sweet spot between quality and price.

The only thing was that the fastening tape used to be a little annoying, especially when we had to struggle to yank it off or reposition because it would lose its adhesiveness. We also couldn’t use it as a night diaper as it wasn’t absorbent enough to last through the night.

All that has now changed because the new Drypers Wee Wee DRY comes with a Zip Dry Core TM that contains more absorbent particles, keeping baby’s skin drier and more comfortable; as well as 4 botanical extracts for skin moisturizing. It also has a 100% breathable cloth-like cover, pretty new designs and a new Flexi-Tape TM that allows multiple fastening. The best part is that even with all these new features, the price remains compelling.

The kids have been trying out this new version (even at night) and I’m glad to say that it’s been leak-free so far.

One last thing, I’ve got 10 priority passes to Drypers Little Day Out, a family event that’s happening at Playground @ Big Splash on Saturday 23 June. These passes allow access to the VIP area and a priority queue. There will be lots of fun rides and games from the kids, as well as an outdoor movie screening of Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked in the evening. If you’d like to get a priority pass, just leave a comment telling us your name and the number of people attending (maximum 4 per pass) by 11 June 2012. Winners will be announced on 13 June 2012.

*Open to Singapore citizens and PRs only.

This is part 2 of a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Drypers Singapore. All opinions and text are my own.

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to Truett with love

Four

June 4, 2012

It was Truett’s birthday on Saturday and like with all of my kids’ birthday, I feel a little sentimental.

4 years ago, he popped out all shiny and suave, with his slicked-back, Armani-styled hair and soulful eyes. Even covered with the layer of gooey tau huay bits, we could tell that this one was a looker. And then he let out the most heart-wrenching yell we’ve ever heard.

We were equal parts terrified and in love.

Since then, I’ve been crazy about this boy. He’s nothing like what I expected but everything we could possible want.

He’s affectionate, not in the overly kissy-huggy manner, but in the depth of his expression. When he hugs me, he looks at me like I mean the entire world to him.

He loves french fries and Transformers and scary roller-coasters.

He’s big-hearted and compassionate, giving in when he doesn’t have to and always trying to rescue his sister when she’s in trouble.

His favorite word is BALU. Don’t ask me what that means because apparently, it can mean a variety of things, ranging from smart to funny to boring. It can be a verb, a noun, an adjective. It’s basically like a wild card for when you need a word to describe something you don’t have a word for.

He hates vegetables. Except potatoes. That are fried crispy and golden brown.

His secret talent is in building airplanes. He can do it with any sort of building blocks and in any size.

He’s unbelievably awesome and he’s all mine.

It still feels like a dream knowing that we’ve been able to love him for 4 years and we intend to love him for a gazillion more.

Happy Birthday, my boy!

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Kidspeak

Stinking Beauty and Other Tales

June 1, 2012

During bedtime yesterday…

Kirsten: Mommy shall we read a great-time story?

Me: What’s that?

Kirsten: A GREAT-time story.

Me: You mean a bedtime story, because it’s bed time now?

Kirsten: No, not bed time. I want a great-time story.

Me: I guess that works, I’m sure we’ll be having a great time with the story. Alright, go pick a book.

Kirsten: Shall we read Stinking Beauty?

Tru: Huh, not Stinking Beauty, mei mei. It’s Sleeping Beauty.

*Tru runs out to get the book*

Tru: See, the princess is sleeping right, she’s Sleeping Beauty.

*Kirsten takes the book and peers at it closely for a while*

Kirsten: It’s Stinking Beauty. She is very smelly because got smoke coming out from her head.

Me: OMG. So that’s why the prince looks constipated. I bet anyone would be smelly if they didn’t fell asleep and didn’t shower for a hundred years.

In other news, I’m seriously going to send this girl for a Mensa test.

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pregnancy

Second Trimester Wrap Up

May 31, 2012

If I have to sum it up, my first trimester was pretty much like having to survive a brutal kungfu endurance training, but with less of the awesome kungfu moves and more of the part where I end up vomiting all over myself multiple times a day.

In comparison, the second trimester was like a leisurely stroll in the park. Nay, make it a dance in the park to a chorus of pretty little birdies. No, wait, make it a full on party in the park with a Glee-level rendition of Party Rock Anthem.

It is the only time where you get to bask in that elusive pregnancy glow that people talk about. It’s 3 precious months of repite without any nasty side effects before everything goes downhill again.

Now that I’m officially in third trimester territory and stricken with a different (but no less annoying) set of pregnancy discomforts, it’s only right that I look back at the awesomeness that is the second trimester.

1. Hello, Appetite.

Some people eat because they have to and others eat because they enjoy it. I happen to fall in the category of people who consider good food an art form. I need to make my calories count so every meal must be worth its weight in taste and satisfaction.

During the first trimester, I would spend hours surfing food blogs looking at pictures just to find something that would trigger my appetite. Laksa, chicken rice, Bak Kut Teh, Wagyu beef steak… nothing worked.

Thankfully, the appetite’s back and I’m at least enjoying my meals again. All’s right with the world.

2. Sporadic Bursts of Energy

I still tire more easily than when I’m not pregnant but comparatively, my energy levels during the second trimester is a marked difference from the other two trimesters. I go to bed at 11pm instead of right after dinner at 7.30 and some days, I can even make do without my afternoon naps.

3. Boom-Chica-Wow-Wow

I shan’t bore you with the details of my sexytime but let’s just say that it’s 50 Shades of Awesome. Ok, I haven’t actually read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy despite the frenzy it’s caused among the mommy blogging circles but *ahem* at this point, there hasn’t been a need to.

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