Just Singing

Hello there! I am still here. Having a blogger's block recently and suddenly decided to share some videos for a start.

The kids love it when I borrow nursery rhyme books from the library. I will sing to them or they will sing-along and sometimes do a performance for me. The fact that I haven't been recording a video of them of late, I thought I should wake my lazy bones up and record their performance before they're all grown up. Kids really grow up so fast, don't you think?

Do enjoy the videos!

Proud Of My Girl

Yesterday my daughter brought back her results for her Chinese test. I didn't even know it's exam time, yo! Nor does Elizabeth knows it's exam time too. We were very sick one week and she missed school for a few days. So maybe she might have missed the announcement. 

Anyway, I'm so proud that I had to include the event of this proud moment in my blog. She got 100% for her Chinese test. From a girl who speaks English at home, I think she's done a great job. We were worried and she was also worried herself that she would face difficulty in school. But she made it. I'm so happy for her. 

I went through her paper and I can only read some of the Chinese characters. She can read all. Now, she's officially better than me. Haha. I hope it's a smooth journey for her from now in her Chinese subject. :)

Art Lesson

I did not sign up my kids for any formal art lessons. Maybe I don't want to burden my daughter with too many classes since she is already taking up piano and ballet. There's plenty of resources from the internet and I found this Colourwheel Clown Art Project to introduce the colour wheel to my kids.

First, you find a white card paper. I use a paper plate actually and cut it into a circle and then I drew the lines myself.

Then I asked them to paint the primary colours first. Red, yellow and blue on every alternate pizza slices leaving the other slices empty first. 

Next, I get them to mix the colours on a palette. Red + yellow = orange. So we paint the pizza slice in between the red and yellow, orange. Blue + yellow = green. Blue + red = purple. Same goes to the other slices. 

I then get them to paste the colour wheel on a art paper. Right in the middle. The colour wheel will be the body. Then the kids will have to paint out the face, hands and legs according to their imagination.

 Walla! Elizabeth's masterpiece.

Joseph's masterpiece. That naughty boy just wouldn't leave the clown alone. He enjoyed making it messy.

So that's one project you can do with your kids. Teaching art and some bonding time as well. You can introduce patterns as well like polka dots or stripes to the clown's socks if you like. 

Reading Is A Good Habit

Yes, reading is a good habit right? My girl is quite a bookworm and now my boy has more interest in books compared to before. Hopefully he will become a bookworm like his sister also. Maybe he will once he knows how to read more words. 

Two videos here that are precious to me and I post it up for memories since I have a memory of a goldfish. :D

Happy Friday!

Eep, I'm A Year Older

Yesterday was my birthday and although we always convince ourselves that age is just a number, we all wish that we could be 16 all over again right? Never mind, age gracefully as they say. ;)

We did the usual like singing the birthday song, cutting the birthday cake and dinner celebration. It's like any other usual day, I still went to work, my kids still drive me up the wall sometimes although they did some sweet things for me too and hubby helped with more chores. :) I don't intend to post any birthday celebration pictures because they didn't turn out quite nice. But instead here is a birthday note from my sweet daughter and a funny video of Joseph.

The front of the birthday note.

If you have trouble understanding her note because of the spelling and grammar mistakes, let me decipher it for you. "One little mother, the one I know. She loves me and cares me 1 million. I like to the same 1 million. From daughter."

This is the funny video of Joseph acting like a zombie or monster. I don't know where he got the idea from. Maybe the music from the book sounded quite dramatic. LOL. So tell me whether he is acting like a zombie or monster or ???

Bento Workshop

This is an overdue post but I'll just talk about it anyway for memories sake. Last December, I signed up for a Bento workshop since it was the school holidays. Joseph was too young to join so I only brought Elizabeth along. I was searching for information on a preschool and it brought me to this website www.kidsdreamwork.com That's when I found out that the blog owner, Goh Ai Ping was an avid bento maker and she also started conducting some bento workshops. I was interested at once and signed up for one of her Christmas Themed Bento Workshops.

Elizabeth was excited to go to the workshop and actually she was not the only one. I was excited too. Haha. It was a small group of us as it was nearing Christmas and most people are away for holidays. Ai Ping was a very nice and pleasant instructor. She made sure we understand and follow her workshop at a comfortable pace. 

It was interesting and fun to learn how to do a bento and I think anybody can do it. You just need to be creative and have a lot of patience! Haha. I don't think I will have the patience to do it everyday as it can be quite tedious especially when you have pay attention to tiny details like doing the eyes or mouth. Children would enjoy doing it too. It's like playtime for them!

After doing the bento herself, she was quite anxious to try eating it. That's why bento works for some kids right? Hehe. To make it as appealing and appetising as can be right? The best is I made her happy that day. :)

I've bought some stuff for bento making actually before attending the workshop but I haven't gotten around to do it. After attending this bento workshop, I am inspired and I think I know where and how to start and go about it now..:)

Ai Ping and some friends have even started a facebook page and they are venturing into catering for  kids parties. You can check it out at their facebook page at Food Carpenter (Not a sponsored post, just sharing).

The ingredients and stuff needed plus the two cute food containers!

This is Ai Ping, the avid bento maker. Hehe. 

Elizabeth looking excited. We used Japanese rice and make the rice into a ball. Rice was mixed with soya sauce as a natural food colouring.

We managed to do Santa! 

We also learned how to do Rudolf the red nose reindeer and Frosty the snowman. The picture with the wincing snowman and reindeer are actually Ai Ping's. So pro right?

Participants so proud with their masterpiece! Pass ah? Haha.

This is the guru's masterpiece. We also learned to do Santa's stockings.

Ai Ping and the participants for the Christmas Themed Bento Workshop.

Playdough Activities 3

It's been a while since we've done any playdough activity. Then one fine day as Joseph was looking for snacks to munch in the kitchen cabinet, he discovered the playdough I kept in there. And then it's playdough time again. 

Joseph was as usual with his abstract creations and Elizabeth came up with two interesting playdough creation all by herself. 

Elizabeth's pumpkin. 

Her flower. Don't you think it looks like Calla Lily? 

Anyway, off topic here. Some updates on my children progress in school. Elizabeth doesn't cry anymore. Phew! That's my big girl. Everything's fine and dandy for now. Cross my fingers and toes.

Today morning, I went to speak with Joseph's class teacher for a while when I dropped him off at school. I accompanied him into his class and as soon as he saw his classmates, he greeted them, "Hello!" He sounded like a celebrity addressing his fans. LOL. His classmates were a bit stunned. Then I told him that I gotta go and he casually said, "Bye!" So I'm a bit baffled about his crying drama over the last few days. I asked his class teacher about it and she said that he is very ok in class. The headmistress also said that as soon as he entered the class, he would start playing with his friends. They said that it's a normal thing when they see other children cry, they will follow suit or maybe he just wants to be manja with me. Hmph! This boy is just crying in front of me when I drop him off but as soon as he enters the class, he's all good. I feel that he is just a drama king!  Maybe I should sign him up for acting or drama class next time. LOL. So another headache and mystery solved, I hope!

Have a great weekend!

Drawing Circles

My little boy Joseph can draw circles already! You know with two kids in tow, sometimes some minor milestones nearly go unnoticed. Especially with the second child. The first child usually gets more observation from us because back then, we only have one child to look after. 

Anyways, when did he started drawing circles, I'm not sure. But all of a sudden that day he whipped out his doodle toy and started drawing circles. Then he proudly showed it to me saying, "Mummy! Look, circle!" What else, I whipped out my camera lah. The doodle toy comes together with a book. He tried to copy the picture with quite an impressive outcome. Considering he hardly draws at home. From my recollection, I think his sister draws more at his age. 

Doodling for the camera.

Proudly showing to the camera.

Trying to copy Lenny the Binoculars from Toy Story.

Then big sister wants attention and wants to join in too. So she started drawing space like planets and stars. She requested for her picture to be taken also. LOL. Kids, always want attention from their parents huh?

This is her version of Earth, Saturn and Moon. Hehe.

Now with other planets and stars even snowflakes. Look! She even wrote her name in chinese. I'm so proud of her. Thanks to Papa for making her practice during the holidays before school starts. 

On the other hand, Joseph's potty training has shown progress despite me being lazier the second time around. I was not as hard on him as I was with his sister. I haven't been using a diaper during his afternoon nap for already a few months. I didn't keep track of how many months exactly. He can now go to the bathroom to pee and even flush by himself. 

There's good news too in the poo project. It's been a few months too that he is brave enough to tell us he wants to poo. Now he sits on his throne with an additional baby toilet seat on the toilet bowl. Poos without fuss now. Previously, he used to be scared of the toilet bowl and wants to quickly come down. He used to suppress his poo from coming out too and waits until we put on his diaper at night, then he'll do his business. Got me so frustrated. Now when I put him up on his throne to poo, he'll say, "Mummy go, don't see me!" And I'll just leave him alone until he calls me to clean up for him. How cute and konon like an adult. As for the night time diapers, I still don't have the confidence to let him be diaper free. Some night he's dry but some nights his diaper is still wet. I hope diaper free nights will be here soon.

Joseph is 3 years and 6 months while Elizabeth is 6 years and 2 months.  

Stepping Into Standard 1

I hope it's not too late to wish my readers a very Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a good start to the new year. I have been 'missing in action'. Maybe it's the holidays or maybe I've been experiencing a 'blogger's block'. LOL. Maybe it's the back-to-school chaos that's been happening. Elizabeth just started Standard 1 and Joseph just started kindy. I can't help thinking Elizabeth's is no longer a small baby anymore. My baby is in Standard 1 now! Boo hoo. So what's up in my life recently? Preparing them for school. From uniforms to bags to water bottle! My husband and I took a few days off from work to be with them.

So how did your children fare on their first day of school? Elizabeth did fine during the 1 day orientation and I thought I could breathe a sigh of relief. We did a trial run on that day. Woke her up, bathed, brush teeth, gave her breakfast, all the works. During orientation, the children went for a visit to their classes and around the school while parents listened to briefings by the headmistress, school chairman and head of the Parent Teachers Association. She did fine on that day.

Just after her bath with the uncombed hair. Hard boiled eggs with light soya sauce, her favourite and milk for breakfast. 

Giving a smile before setting off to school for her orientation. Her new school bag given by Grandma.

Then the real day came. She told me the night before that she doesn't want to go to school. I asked her why. She said that she's scared of the teacher. I said I don't see anything wrong with the teacher and she seemed nice. She said she was a little fierce at one point. But I told her that sometimes the teacher may seemed fierce just because they raise their voice. They have to raise their voice because they otherwise not everybody can hear her. That explanation was not enough apparently because she got teary eyed when she entered the school. Great scott! We even made it into Sin Chew's newspaper! LOL. History repeats itself. Her crying days in kindy are back? And I thought having Aiman, her good friend in kindy who is in the same class as her in Standard 1(what a coincident!) can make her feel better. She cried till day 4 of school and finally on day 5 it stopped. Thank God. I pray that this crying ordeal will be finally over.

We even made it in the newspaper ok. Hari ini dalam sejarah!

Trying hard to control her tears but it soon flowed after.

In a better mood already. Recess time with her meal. I catered food with the canteen first. See how it goes first then decide later once everything's more settled.

She's sitting right in front. An advantage for being one of the shortest in class? LOL. 

On the other hand, Joseph fared well in school. He was all smiles on his first day. Thank God! Phew! He always came home tired. I wonder if school is that stressful or he played too hard. LOL. Poor baby. And as if like taking turns. Suddenly he started crying on the 4th and 5th day. He was doing good so far. So I don't understand why. The teacher said he was ok in school. Maybe reality has set in and he knows this is not playschool. Anyway, I pray hard that he'll get over this soon.

This was on the first day. All smiles. Maybe he thought he was going to playschool. LOL.

Smiling for the camera. 

And you know what? Not only it'll be stressful for kids, it'll be a stressful journey for me now. What a bummer..hehe. With all the rush in the mornings, worry over their progress in school to making sure they get sufficient sleep. It's not easy for us mums huh? Now, I'm looking forward to the next school holidays. When is it? ;)

A Little Bird Told Me

...that Elizabeth misses Singapore. Why? Check out her drawing.

Fresh from our Singapore trip, Elizabeth drew a picture and I was pretty impressed with it. She must be in the mood because she doesn't draw everyday. Usually her drawings are very basic and simple like stickman, people, bird, house or building. She drew birds also but this time a more complex one which took me by surprise.

Elizabeth proudly showing her drawing.

Before and after. So eager to use the new set of magic pens I got for her. The upper colourful bird is a parrot she said.

Very colourful drawing. Bird inspired from Singapore Zoo I think. Can you spot her 'Singapore train' (MRT)? She calls it 'Singapore train'. Haha. What a colourful train.

Can't wait to see what other drawings she'll come up with next time.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Elizabeth is 6 years old today! I went to her kindy this morning to celebrate her birthday with her classmates. Remember last year's celebration where I got her two princess cakes that turned out to be so hilarious? Well, this year I got her ice-cream cakes I got it from Living Social. It was a good deal but turns out that 1kg is probably not enough for a class of 21 children. LOL. You know how children will react when they hear the words "ice-cream"!

This year, I haven't got much time to handmade the goody bag. I only managed to do it for her 4 years old birthday celebration. So again this year, the goody bag was store bought and Elizabeth specifically told me that she wants princess goody bags. The contents this year had an additional something special. I did chocolate truffles for the first time. Taste turns out ok but the look is something I think I need to work on. Anyway, I hope the kids will like it.

Here's what you need for the chocolate truffles:
250g chocolate chips (I used a packet of VanHouten chocolate chips)
6 tbsp whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
30g butter
Cocoa powder
Sprinkles

1. Pour the chocolate chips into a bowl. Add the whipping cream, vanilla and butter. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water to melt the chocolate. Don't forget to stir. It will look like this.

2. Then let the chocolate mixture cool. After that, put it in the freezer. Stir every 5 minutes until the mixture is thick.

3. For each truffle, roll a teaspoon of the mixture into a ball in your hands. You have to be quick as it melts easily. A trick I discovered is to wipe your hands off the excess mixture sticking on your hands every time after you make it into a ball. Then it will be easier to make the next ball.

4. Then roll it in cocoa powder or sprinkles.

You can lay the truffles on baking parchment and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Cute plastic bags from Daiso to put the chocolate truffles.

This year's goody bag.

A class picture with Teacher Susan before singing the birthday song.

Do I look like a teacher? Haha.

Blowing the candles!

Don't you think that my girl looked extra happy today? But of course, it's her birthday!

Elizabeth with her classmates.

Elizabeth and her 'boyfriend' Aiman. Why does Aiman always look tired huh? Must tell her to change bf already. Muahaha.

In the end, it's all about our child's happiness right? The twinkle in her eye and her face lights up when I arrived today. It made me feel happy that I've done my part as a mother. In a blink of an eye, she's 6 years old today. I still can't believe that she's entering another important phase in her life next year..starting primary school! Just thinking about it makes me anxious.

At night after work, we'll usually have our tradition of singing the birthday song and cutting the cake. The birthday girl was very excited and happy. It should be a good day for her and hopefully many many more happy returns of the day for her!

While waiting for me to bring out the birthday cake, this is what they did!

That 'Alex' is a birthday present from Papa all the way from Universal Studios Singapore!

Like always, there must be a family photo.

Eating their piece of cake and enjoying it too!

Happy Birthday lil' dahling! You're a gem and mummy will try to be there for you in every step of your way ok? Love you, love you, love you!

Final Concert In Kindy

Elizabeth had her annual concert recently. This time it's her final year in kindy. She was pretty excited and reminded us a few times. As usual I was her make-up artist again and I was quite satisfied with the outcome. Haha. During the concert, they have a graduation ceremony for the 6 year olds. I'm still waiting anxiously to purchase the concert dvd. It's still not ready. Here are some pictures and videos to share.

A quick shot before she leaves for her concert.

Elizabeth receiving her graduation certificate from her principal, Mrs. Lee.

A photo with Papa after the concert.

A video of her graduation ceremony. She looked so nervous and serious. Haha.

The performance - part 1. My girl looked so grown up compared to the first year she had her concert at 4 years old!

The performance - part 2. Her partner aka 'boyfriend' is Aiman. Changes every year. Tsk tsk tsk. The teacher even knows to partner her with Aiman since they're close to each other.

Parents are the proudest during their child's concert, don't you think? And that's why I make it a point to put up in my blog for memories sake. Just in case, my pc screwed up on me too! :D