And We Go Eating

As you know, having meals outside with young kids can be quite a feat. So we parents are constantly on the lookout for decent eating places for the family. As much as I like to be the kind of parent who says, "Oh I can do hawker meals with my kids anytime!", that would be something I'll put off till I don't need to catch the kids from getting out of their seats and worry about the possibility of them crashing into hot dishes (and yes, please save the finger wagging and "What are you doing letting the kids about?" till my toddlers can be trained to sit through a meal, and I mean without the i-whatever. I'm an advocator for confiscating i-gadgets during mealtimes.).
So, my ideal dining place should:
☺ Be affordable! Best if kids get to dine for free! ☺ Have the right type of food that the kids can eat (prepare to close one eye most of the time). The kids get  to eat the most fries during such occasions. ☺ Have a small enclosed space for the kids to get down and move a little so I can eat and watch them from      the corner of my eye.  ☺ Be clean.  ☺ Have tasty food for adults. ☺ Be not too noisy so that I don't have to talk to my friends, hubby and kids at 100 decibels.
Any recommendation for me? Feel free to comment!

Just Homely

So I have moved into my current place for more than a year, but I'm only starting to put little decorative pieces to spruce up the place - mostly DIYs - no expensive ornaments that I would have to give a limb or two to guard from my wandering toddlers. My theme is woody and homely, so if you have a good suggestion or two, drop me a message! I'm constantly on the lookout ☺

My colleague brought this windmill back from Taiwan. It seemed fairly easy to assemble but took me an hour poking through those tiny perforated holes and fixing in the slots to get the fixture up.

This is my messy spot on the refrigerator. I'd like a home to look lived in (but I don't mean messy). Not the spick and span, showroom kind of neat. Just homely, especially when the kids are still small. I'd probably dream of a lifestyle themed home when I can afford another place, and when the kids are bigger.

 

Owl Hoot Hoot

Say hi to Ow the latest addition to the family - a portable night light that I bought for the kids. They are not so in love with it as I imagined they would be, hence I have claimed ownership over it.
As a kid, I used to have an abject fear of the dark, so much so that I would wake up in the night and hold my breath and freeze literally, till my grandma tosses in her sleep and I will quickly change my sleeping position, till her next movement. I thought some evil creatures might be lurking in the pitch dark, ready to pounce on me should I let slip of the slightest movement. Having a fear of the dark was so not fun. If only I knew there was such a thing as night light!
Ow the Owl will now save my day, and be my mighty hero in the night ☻

Two To Push Around

After a year of deliberating and procrastinating, we have finally purchased our double stroller. Jae is now two and Jo one - it is getting too heavy to carry either one when we go out for long errands and they are in one of their "I want carry carry!" mood. We've enough of the brothers bickering (in kidspeak and toddler tantrums of course) over who should go into the stroller.
A parent's weapon? The double stroller. No more finger-pointing. No bargaining. Both kiddos go into the stroller AT THE SAME TIME. It is very useful when one parent has to run errands with two kids in tow. And I am loving the Mini Walker because it is no more than 2 kg heavier than my Peg Perego, or at least it feels about the same, is sturdy enough (some strollers make you feel like you are going on a bumpy road all the time), and is not so bulky that you have trouble navigating into narrow doorways and small lifts.
The day we tested it, we bought it and immediately took it to the airport for a "debut push". So far, both kiddos are still enjoying the novelty of being in the same stroller. We wondered why hadn't we bought it a little sooner.

Snip and Snap Away

Supermom is in the mood (using the time when the world and her babies sleep) for some handcrafting this year. Finally able to put the materials I've amassed into use! I'm not talented in this area but I don't think I suck at it. After 3 hours and having to survive on 3 hours' of sleep the next day, I'm pretty happy with the result - but I don't think I'm up for too much handiwork - can't handle the sleep deprivation. Not so supermom after all. 

Day 1 of Solids

Day 1 of trying out rice cereal with Jae.

The sensation of a spoon on his tongue was funny to Jae. Mommy kept asking him to swallow. Jae made a few weird expressions, and stick out his tongue each time. Attempt number one failed. Try again tomorrow!

Was It A Smooth Or Bumpy Ride?

Whenever a parent tries out a new thing/routine/toy/place (you get the idea right?), we usually start out with this skittery-jittery feeling, mixed with excitement and apprehensiveness, as we don't know how our lil' one will react.

It was time for lil' Jae to try out the car seat we had bought at close to $300. Half of me lamented that I should have started training Jae in his car seat earlier as I heard many incidents of toddlers not adapting well because they started late.

Out of kiasu-ism, we train Jaeden at 8 weeks...

And he was fascinated with the sights and motion, chuckles aloud to himself whenever we put him in.

He survived 1 hour in our first trial before fussing. Good job Jaeden!

<9 Sep 2011>

 And clearly enjoys himself :) Mummy and Papa are relieved!