Yearly Archives

2014

Theo

Baby genie in a mug

December 3, 2014

I just found out that baby mugging is a thing – so late to the party, I know! Babies + Mugs!! Oh internet, this is why I love you.

You know I had to do this, right?

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Once upon a time, there was a genie. But instead of a magic lamp, he was stuck in a mug.

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3000 years in slumber and I wake up to this?? Urgh.

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Okay, you may have 3 wishes, you know the drill. Ready, go.

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Um, hang on, you wish for WHAT??

Other genies get normal wishes like a million dollars or a trip around the world, and I get this weirdo.

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I don’t know man, that’s a pretty crazy wish. I’ve heard of plenty of crazy wishes but this one, this is way deep into crazytown.

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Seriously?!! Look at my seriously face, just look at it.

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All these wishes are so exhausting. *I* wish you’d just go away and let me nap.

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No, really. It’s my nap time. I think I’m just gonna take a short nap first, let me sleep on it for a bit.

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GAH!! You’re still here bothering me. Hang on, I’m thinking, stop rushing me.

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You know what? Ok, fine. Abra-phjdfjeaf. Abra-cagaoefje. Abra…I can’t say it. Just…there, your wish is granted – I’ll let you bite my cheeks. But just once. Now go away and let me nap in peace.

Genie over and out.

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from around here

So much to give thanks for

December 1, 2014

Every thanksgiving, I tell myself that we have to properly celebrate it. Go all out with the turkey and mashed potatoes and casseroles and pies and eat till we have to put on our Joey Thanksgiving Pants and then we’ll all talk about all the beautiful things that happened in the year and just be thankful. But as the day draws near, I’ll think about all the cooking that needs to be done and completely chicken out. This year, I thought about it for a moment and immediately decided that it would be a crazy idea. That I even considered doing it was crazy, what with the baby and the other kids…plus it’s been an insanely busy period for us.

Well, we did get our christmas tree up and all the presents wrapped so that’s something.

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Instead, we had some milk + cookies and snuggled up in bed with the kids for a limited edition 2014 thanksgiving game. We were all supposed to list 3 things we were thankful for and it turned out so well we got up to I don’t know, we lost count somewhere around 27. Granted, some of these things included “I’m thankful for toes” (h/t to Finn!), which is pretty much the whole point of the game, right? I’m glad I can be thankful for things like toes because I love my toes and I wouldn’t want to be without them.

Maybe next year when the baby is less of a baby, we’ll attempt that massive thanksgiving dinner I’ve been dreaming of having. If not, there’s always the year after that.

There ain’t no turkey this year but we’ve got so, so much to be thankful for, so hold on tight, I’m about to do one of those “These are all the things I’m grateful for” type posts. These posts are good for the soul.

\\ I’m one lucky girl. I know this.

I sometimes forget this when things aren’t going the way they’re supposed to in my head, or when bad things sneak up on me, or when I’m in a funk but the moment I stop to look at all the things going for us, I realise how terribly good I’ve got it, and how being grateful is the only way to be.

Especially so this year. I think this year will go down as one of those years we’ll look back on and say “remember 2014? WHAT A YEAR.” This year has been so ridiculously good to us.

I’m grateful for dreams that come true. You know how when you dream of achieving something and you work your butt off to make it happen and suddenly the stars align and it finally starts happening for you, and you’re just sitting there both in awe and filled with so much gratitude it makes you giddy? That’s how we feel about this year. It’s been busy and exhausting and fun and exhilarating and satisfying all at the same time.

I’m grateful for family. Family can sometimes drive you nuts but they’re always there to love you and cheer for you and celebrate with you and offer to help watch the kids!!

I’m grateful for friends who choose to stick around as we go on this journey together. For friends we don’t get to see a lot but whose company we cherish when we do. For friends that we get to see every week, whose kids put a smile on my kids’ faces.

I’m grateful for the chance to explore the world with the people I love. Travel is my biggest weakness and I’d willingly give up jewellery or bags or fancy dinners for a couple of days in Melbourne or Maldives or Tokyo. We have a system where instead of buying me presents, the husband sends me travel credits, yeah, I came up with that.

I’m grateful that we get to do what we do. I was talking with the husband and we realised that we both have jobs that didn’t exist 30 years ago. It’s like the internet conspired to create these opportunities for us to do what we love. And boy, are we grateful for it. On that note, I’m so humbled by all the kind emails of encouragement I’ve gotten from you guys. I’m lucky to have the best readers on the internet, of that I’m sure. Having a blog can get to your head, with all the exclusive invites and junkets and trips and swag. Every time I get one of these emails, the husband calls me a big important blogger and I punch him on the arm because getting caught up in all of it is just a bit silly. This blog is really just a love letter to my family, like a time capsule I’d like them to open up and read years from now. I’m grateful for everyone who drops by to read it, and all the opportunities it’s created but I realise that I’m just a girl who gets to do something I enjoy.

Most of all, I’m grateful for the 5 people I love more than anything else in the world. I look at them and it almost feels like a dream.

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**Bonus point: Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support for Child Label during our Black Happy Friday sale, the site pretty much exploded on Friday. We’re hard at work making sure all the orders get out as soon as possible, we’ll be up all night for the rest of the week to make sure it happens. ;)

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coolest kids ever

Everything’s sweeter with a little dance

November 26, 2014

tru kirsten

Truett and Kirsten have been practising really hard for this huge dance recital that’s happening on Friday. Too excited. It’s a parent’s prerogative to brag about their kids’ littlest achievements (guilty as charged!) but this is not one of those times, this is one of the big ones. I feel like such a proud momma watching them drop the beat to American Authors. How did these kids get to be so effortlessly cool? They certainly didn’t get it from me. Or the husband. We’re like two of the dorkiest people when it comes to dancing. Back when we were dating (and it was still cool to be seen looking all nonchalant at clubs), we tried it once, you know, hanging out late at a club pretending like we know what we’re doing on the dance floor. It wasn’t pretty, I’ll tell you that much.

Dance has been so good for them, though – they’re making friends, building confidence, learning to express themselves. And they’ve been working so hard too. Extra practice sessions in class the past couple of weeks, and then going through the routines at home in front of the tv. Sometimes, I see them subconsciously rehearsing the steps while walking around the house in the afternoon and it just makes me smile.

I have every intention to be that embarrassing groupie mom in the fourth row on Friday, I’m getting my cheer on and everything. ;)

As a by product, I’ve been spending some alone time with Finn, which is a proper treat all on its own. Last week, he gallantly offered to hang out with me in town while Tru and Kirsten were at dance class. Such a gentleman, this boy.

We held hands and walked down Orchard Road looking at the malls all suited up for christmas. It’s so much more fun soaking up the christmas cheer with an enthusiastic 2-year-old. “WHAT’S THIS???” he asked, pointing at everything. “That’s a nutcracker, that’s a gingerbread house, that’s a christmas tree, that’s um, a pebble…”

“A PEBBLE, YES!! AWESOME!!!”

We shared a bubble tea and he steered me in the direction of a playground – a fair compromise if there ever was one.

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As an extra special treat, we spent a little time queueing up for soft serve at Honey Creme. We were walking past the store and he just stopped and stared at the picture of ice-cream like it was the most delicious thing in the world. “Ice cream, momma?” he asked.

Sigh, he sure knows how to make it hard for a girl to say no.

finn

Look at that face! He was thrilled to his toes, holding his precious cup of ice cream with both hands. The soft serve was ok, not particularly queue-worthy but Finn loved it so I don’t know, we might just be back for more.

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child label

A Thank You Sale from Child Label

November 24, 2014

You guys! We’re a few days away from Thanksgiving and as a THANK YOU for your incredible support of my other baby, Child Label, we’re having a special Black Happy Friday sale in this Friday.

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For 24 hours starting on 28 November midnight, there will be a 40% discount off all products. No promo code necessary as prices will be marked down on the site so just click and checkout, aight?

We’re also super excited to unveil some fab new designs. Kirsten saw them and said “these are so cute I’m going to scream”. And she did.

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BIRDS AND BUNNIES

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ARIGATO MR ROBOTO

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Maybe you’re feeling like you’re not quite sure if you need labels. We’re here to help answer that question – Yes, you do.

For all these reasons and more:

1. Christmas presents. Kids will love them and parents will thank you for them.

2. If your child is starting preschool or primary school or any kind of school next year, you need labels.

3. If you’re planning a party, you need labels.

4. If your child is always losing stuff, you need labels.

5. If your child has ever come home in a uniform that does not belong to him, you definitely need labels.

6. If you have a daughter like mine who loves pretty things with her name on it, you need lots and lots of labels.

7. If you’re wondering if you really need labels, you probably do.

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So mark your calendars, y’all, sale’s starting in 4 days time. It’s our way of saying thanks. :)

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Theo

4 months: Mr Personality

November 21, 2014

theo

This little charmer is turning four months! I feel like it’s taken us forever to get here and I’m starting to enjoy the process as we inch our way to that place where everything stops being so incredibly hard. I’d never describe having a baby as easy but from experience, after several months with a newborn, you’ll wake up one day and discover that you’re finally there.

In a sort of baby utopia.

You’re able to go back to functioning (and looking) like a normal human person. Whether it’s conditioning or you end up getting real pockets of sleep, you stop feeling exhausted to the bone every moment of every day. You slowly develop an understanding with the baby: you know why he’s losing it and how to hold him at that exact spot on your chest to calm him down. That helpless desperation you get while holding a hysterical baby is replaced by a strange calmness, like you know it’s going to be ok. For the first time in a long time, you feel like you’ve got a grip on things again.

Finding that place is different with each kid. With Finn, we blitzed there in a little less than 3 months. Theo and I, we’re taking a little bit more time navigating our way there. We’re presently still drifting around in the ocean of baby fatigue but LAND HO! At least there’s land in sight and we’ll find our way there somehow.

I’m still up 4-5 times a night to feed/carry/soothe him and I was pacing the room with the baby in my arms at 2.15 last night when I realised that instead of feeling like “what am I doing wrong and why is this not working??”, I was actually getting good at this. I knew he’d strain and struggle to force that burp out and struggle some more to pass out some gas and I’d just have to hold him and whisper to him till he felt comfy enough to fall asleep again.

In developmental terms, it’s been a terrific month. A month to an infant is like a decade in adult years – they pack so much growing in just 30 days.

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From being a stoner newborn, he’s suddenly plugged in, like he’s come online and aware of everything around him. It’s so much fun watching him trying to make sense of the world. Like “who is that ridiculously handsome baby looking at me in the mirror? I must get to know him” and “look! 3 other tiny humans like me, FUN!” and “oh, there’s my awesome momma, she’s the best!” Haha.

He’s starting to recognise faces and it’s nice to be one of those faces he recognises. He’ll be observing each face until he spots mine and I get to see this goofball grin happen.

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Little guy has discovered how lovely fingers are. He loves batting toys on his play mat with them and he loves holding my pinky with them but most of all, he loves some good old fashioned finger eating om nom nom.

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He’s the talkiest of all the kids, which is saying a lot (ha!) seeing that I have 3 very talky kids. For an infant, he talks a lot, and loudly too. Some might call it shouting but it’s good, he’s learning early that he’s got to find a way to make himself heard in this crazy, noisy house.

Sometimes I think I should feel sad that I won’t be experiencing all this wonderful newborn excitement again but not really. I’ve done it four times and I’m good. I’m more than good, I’m positively thrilled that this chapter is over and I get to enjoy the other parts of having a baby from here on out.

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Kidspeak

Conversations that made me smile

November 19, 2014

Finn: *tries to take a book from Kirsten* Finn Finn READ!!

Kirsten: No, Finn Finn, if you want the book, you have to ask nicely.

Finn: Jie Jie, GIVE FINN FINN BOOK!!

Kirsten: What’s the magic word?

Finn: MEESKA MOOSKA MICKEY MOUSE!!

Truett: Hahahahahhahahah I taught him that.

Kirsten: Oi, not that magic word!! You’re supposed to say please but ok, here you go, you cute little boy.

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Kirsten: Oh man that is so cray-cray.

Me: That is so what??

Kirsten: Cray-cray!

Me: How do you even know that word?

Kirsten: It’s just a cool way to say crazy, everyone knows that.

Me: Hey, don’t be too cool for me ok, I like you just the way you are.

Kirsten: Don’t worry, I’ll teach you so you can be cool too.

I thought of telling her that cray-cray is so 2011 and really cool people don’t have to try so hard to be cool but then what do I know about being cool. Someday these kids will define their own coolness and I’m gonna have to keep up.

Me: Ok, I’d like that.

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I was watching Downton Abbey before bed and Kirsten was snuggled up next to me. The show is relatively safe for kids so I passed her one side of my earphones to share.

Kirsten: Why do they dress up so nicely for dinner in their house everyday?

Me: They’re aristocrats and it’s a thing they used to do back then.

Kirsten: Are they very special?

Me: Not particularly. They were just born into privileged families, I guess. It’s called tradition.

Kirsten: Can we do that at our house?

Me: Seriously?? I can’t imagine anything more insufferable, to spend an hour getting ready for dinner in my own house everyday. There’s a reason why people don’t do this anymore.

Kirsten: It would be so fun and I can wear my pretty dresses.

Me: I think you were born a century too late, sweetheart. You would be a perfect fit as an aristocrat. How about one of these days we dress up and go out for a nice dinner, just us girls?

Kirsten: Deal!

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Disney Magic, travel

Truett and Theo go to Tokyo | Disneysea

November 17, 2014

The award for show-stealer this trip goes to…Tokyo Disneysea.

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I read a ton of reviews before the trip and I expected it to be just ok but after having been there, it is so much more than ok. In fact, I had originally planned to spend 2 out of our 3 Disney days in Disneyland but we loved Disneysea so much that we ended up spending the third day there instead, that’s how good it was.

Magic Kingdom will always have a special place in my heart but Disneysea, wow. I think this park has shot up to a tie for #2 on my list of favourite Disney parks (with #1 being Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and the other #2 being Epcot).

The excellent theming really shines at Disneysea. The park is surrounded by water so all the lands have a nautical theme running through. Pretty doesn’t even begin to describe the landscaping. It’s quite breathtaking, really.

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venice

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There are some amazing rides at Disneysea (we’ll get to that in a bit!) but my favourite was riding the gondola around the venetian canal being serenaded with operatic numbers by a Japanese gondolier; it was quite the experience.

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venice painting

We were halfway in the queue for the gondola ride when Gepetto, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, Honest John and Gideon came sauntering out. Gepetto!! I love Gepetto. So we gave up our spot in the queue and went over to say hi. Priorities! Gondolas are nice but Gepetto trumps gondolas any day.

gepetto

pinocchio

bad guy

As far as rides go, adrenaline junkies will not be disappointed. According to Truett, my little daredevil, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth is the best ride ever, and by that, he means that it’s terrifying. In a good way. Followed by Raging Spirits, and upside down loopy coaster, and Tower of Terror (which he described as “not even a little bit scary, just fun”). Kid has a different scale of terrifying because the one time I rode Tower of Terror, I screamed the whole ride like a little baby.

We both agreed that Toy Story Mania was awesome. It’s a non-scary fun ride that consistently has a 2-hour queue. The fastpasses for this ride get distributed early so my advice is to get to the park at rope drop and RUN. Run like you’ve never run before because even the fastpass distribution queue can be 30-minutes long. If you run fast enough, you can pick up the fastpasses and immediately get in the standby line so you can ride it twice. And trust me, you’ll want to ride it more than twice.

toy story

woody

We really missed Kirsten when we got to Mermaid Lagoon. It’s beautifully themed to Ariel’s Grotto, with the whole undersea vibe. There was even a cave that looks exactly like Ariel’s treasure trove when she sang Part Of Your World, complete with a life-sized Prince Eric statue. Truett ran around the cave saying “we need to bring Kirsten here, she will love it!!”

jellies

ariel's treasures 2

ariel's treasures

eric

The one thing we found really bizarre was Japan’s obsession with Duffy. And popcorn. But mostly Duffy. Everyone was walking around the park with a stuffed Duffy bear in their arms, even grown men. Some girls were completely Duffied out, with a fluffy Duffy bag, Duffy charms and Duffy bears. They’d squeal at Duffy meet and greets and the line for that was insanely long.

We happened to be there for the launch of a limited edition Christmas Duffy bear and the queue to get into McDuck’s (the store selling it) was 4 hours. People were queueing 4 hours to get into a store to buy a bear. No bear is that cute. The bears were sold on on the second day so we managed to get into McDuck’s after a 10-minute wait so of course we had to get a ginormous Shellie May bag for Kirsten.

duffy

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shellie may

Visiting Disneysea was nothing short of a magical experience. It’s always magic when you get to know a Disney park for the first time, especially a park as incredible as this one.

We’re definitely coming back again.

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