Shirt: Goldfish & Vintage
Jeans: Aven Clothing
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Tie: River Island
Monthly Archives
November 2013
Running a household with 3 kids, I’ve come to realize that what everyone says is true, it is the little things that matters the most.
I used to look at all the things I needed to sort out and attack the big things first, thinking that those were the most important. Stuff like the house, renovations, major baby gear. Those were all great but along the way, I would get somewhat swamped and a lot of the little things got overlooked.
When we first had Truett and so new to the whole baby game, we’d budget big for items like a fancy baby monitor and baby spa sessions (both of which eventually wasn’t used much) and whatever else left over was allocated to essential daily items like tissues and wipes.
These days, we understand better and budget accordingly for the important little things – like even the toilet tissues in my bathroom.
It may seem so small and insignificant but trust me, there’s no worse way to spoil your day than to start it off by using itchy, scratchy toilet paper in the morning. In contrast, having your toilet well stocked with pretty, plush, absorbent and super-soft toilet tissues makes your day seem extra bright and happy.
I swapped out our previous toilet tissues for the new Kleenex Aloe Vera toilet tissues last week and Kirsten, my connoisseur of all things soft and fluffy, immediately came running out from the toilet with her seal of approval, like “MOM!! The new paper inside the toilet is very nice ah?”
I was surprised that she even noticed but kids are surprisingly observant when it comes to the really important things. We often think that they’ve got things upside down because they focus on seemingly little things but I think the truth is that they’ve got things the right side up. Which makes it so fascinating to see the world through their eyes.
But back to the toilet tissues.
I love how Kleenex Aloe Vera toilet tissues are so absorbent and so incredibly soft at the same time because I’ve tried some soft ones that required like 6 folds for it to do the job. I mean, I don’t get single-ply toilet tissues. WHY DOES IT EVEN EXIST?? It’s like whoever made single-ply toilet tissues ripped off the other ply from a regular roll and rolled it back up as a prank.
Two-ply ones are functional but three-ply tissues, now we’re talking. And these Kleenex Aloe Vera ones know how to pamper the kids’ delicate skin. The tissues are also enriched with Aloe Vera extract to make it extra soothing and gentle on their bottom.
Taking care of the kids doesn’t just involve looking into the big things, which we do. It’s also in all the little insignificant things like bathroom time. We made it a point to bathe for the kids and clean them after a poop even though we’ve gotten a helper at home. Bathroom time, it’s our thing and the kids know it. We sing songs, play with bubbles and talk about their day in the bathroom. And we keep the bathroom stocked with quality essentials so they know that we take care of them with the best.
Baby Finn’s favourite activity – sorting toilet tissues for momma
So first of all, baby Finn has been entirely stuck to me since we got back from the trip. He’s been like “I can’t believe I let you out of my sight for a minute and you disappeared for three weeks. That’s never happening again, understand?”
He used to adore me before we left but nothing like this. These days, he wants me all the time. No, he needs me all the time. He attaches himself to my person all day like a little siamese twin. I’m like his sunshine, rainbows, oxygen and favourite blankie all rolled into one.
Me? I’m enjoying every moment of it. On the pro-con list of having a baby, being their entire universe definitely makes it to the top of the pro column.
Two, spontaneous weekend outings are the best. We were out for a birthday party on Sunday and right after, we decided to detour to gardens by the bay for a little park time because nobody wanted to go home. And because PARK TIME!!!
They had the best time playing with grass. And each other. But mostly grass. Did you know that grass had so many uses? I didn’t. You can pluck it, pat it, point at it, step on it, use it to tickle your brother, pass it around, toss it in the air and pretend it’s snow, stuff it in your baby’s ear to make him squirm, the possibilities are endless.
Third, this took place right before we chopped off The Hair and looking at these pictures make me realise how much I MISS MY BABY’S HAIR. It’s giving me sudden sharp pangs of regret but I look at his new do and I guess I sort of like it too. It’s just me being resistant to change.
Point #four, the end.
We finally did it. I hereby declare that it’s officially the end of The Hair.
Everyone meet His Royal Hairness version 2.0.
There isn’t a long explanation to this. We were out yesterday and I turned to the husband and said “I think it’s time.” and he was all “time for what?”
“Time for THE HAIRCUT,” I said.
His response was an enthusiastic YES WE SHOULD.
And then baby Finn cheered a little.
It’s like I have a new baby now. I really miss the old hair but this new look is growing on me.
70% rockstar, 30% beng. I think like it.
I’m down to my final post on the epic trip and I’ve saved the very best for last.
If there’s one park that makes my heart skip a beat (or a few), it’s the Magic Kingdom. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been there, every time I cross those turnstiles, or spy the castle shimmering in the distance, or skip down main street (one does not just simply walk down main street; main street requires a bounce and a skip), or round the corner and bump into a character in costume, my heart leaps.
Magic Kingdom, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1. Cinderella’s castle decked in Christmas lights.
Be still, my beating heart.
We were there just in time to see Christmas decor adorn the park and goodness, IT IS BREATHTAKING. This, this is the definition of too much beauty.
2. Snow on main street
It’s too warm for there to be any real snow in Orlando but what’s Disney without a little sprinkle of magic? It was our last night in Disney World (attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party) when snow started falling all around us on Main Street. I stood there looking up at all of it and cried tears of joy. True story.
3. Snow White eating an apple. Outside Gaston’s Tavern.
You think you’ve seen it all but then you see a tiny Snow White munching on an apple outside Gaston’s Tavern and you will be like *mind blown on so many levels*. I was about to send the apple flying out of her hands with a kungfu kick and shout “NOOOOO DON’T EAT IT!!!” but I realise this could be the alternate universe where Snow White enjoys (unpoisoned) apples and falls in love with Gaston.
Stranger things have happened.
4. Meeting the best Disney characters.
The award for best Disney meet & greet this round goes to Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella.
Ok, back up a little. We’d spent the morning meeting a whole bunch of Disney princesses and Truett was getting increasingly uncomfortable with all the saccharine overdose.
BTW, Ariel’s Grotto is the only place you get to meet Ariel in her fins. :)
By the time we got to Aurora, he had just about reached his limit of girly characters. But then as we walked out of the Princess Fairytale Hall, we saw Lady Tremaine and her two hilarious daughters so I mean, we had to get in line for that.
When it got to our turn, Drizella ran to Truett and shrieked “MY BELOVED PRINCE!! PLEASE SAY YOU’LL MARRY ME!!!” and fell all over my already uncomfortable little man. I’ve never seen my son look so appalled as when she fussed over him and tickled him, trying to make him say yes. Finally, he totally panicked and bolted off into the crowd.
Anastasia started yelling “COME BACK, LITTLE PRINCE!” and then she turned to us and said “he’s like literally lost, you guys” (great use of the word literally there!) before hiking up her dress and running after him.
It was the funniest thing ever; we were all laughing till we couldn’t stand.
5. More Disney Christmas awesomeness.
Farewell, my happy place. I’m going to miss you.
Oh, Epcot!
Not the flashiest of theme parks but one of the most charming for sure. It’s the kind of place that grows on you and it seems like the more time I spend there, the more in love with it I fall.
All the things you need to do at Epcot are as follows:
Test Track
Test Track
Test Track
Eat your way around the World Showcase
Test Track
Test Track
So the only thing better than being at Epcot? Is being at Epcot during the food and wine festival. The food OMG THE FOOD I HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE FOOD.
During the food and wine festival, all the countries in the world showcase section put up little pop up booths with bite-sized snack portions of their signature food, wherein you get to do a little walking food tour around the world in one afternoon.
We started out at Canada (killer filet mignon & rainbow trout from Le Cellier), ate our way through England (fish and chips), France (pastries, croissants, creme brulee), Ireland (lobster pie & cheese platter), America (GRIDDLED LOBSTER TAIL HOW I MISS YOU), Germany (werthers), Japan (sushi) and Brazil (crispy pork belly & seared scallops).
We were too full to even breathe by the time we got to China but my Chinese kids were craving some Chinese food so we stopped for some Chinese noodles. Which turned out to be so weird.
And then we came across a sign that looked mighty familiar. We saw a booth labeled SINGAPORE in the distance and started running towards it hoping to see some Bak Chor Mee or Nasi Lemak. What I would have given for a delicious bowl of Laksa right then.
But alas, the only items on the menu were Seared Mahi Mahi with “Singa” Sauce and Lemongrass Curry Chicken. I’ve never tasted Singa sauce in all my years of being Singaporean so we asked the (clearly non Singaporean) lady behind the counter what went into the special sauce. She was all “it’s like a savoury sauce from Singapore” and we looked at her with our best Singaporean face like “yeah good try, there’s no such thing.”
At this point, I realise that a responsible blogger would be taking all these mouth-watering photos of beautifully-arranged food but we were mostly like FOOOOOD MUST EAT NOW and by the time I remembered to whip out my camera, they were mostly gone.
I will however, make it up with pictures of Kirsten with her precious princesses during our character dinner at Akershus.
Oh and we saw a pretty, pretty rainbow (the only one we saw during the whole trip).
Somehow I feel like something special always happens in Epcot. I can’t really place it but I think Epcot will always have a special place in my heart.
One of the best parts of the trip was watching the kids having fun, not just on their own but with each other. They look like the two best friends in the whole wide world and sometimes I feel like I lucked out big time with these amazing front row tickets to watch them be best friends.
It’s a pretty spectacular view.
We were at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on our last night in Disney World (more on that to come!) and we came upon this dance party with Woody and his pals. Everyone was running in Woody’s direction but these two spontaneously held hands and started twirling each other around to the music.
Somebody hand me a spatula to scrape off my heart from the floorboards. I don’t know if I’ve seen anything sweeter in my life.
