June holiday part 3: Masak masak

Last month we visited a place where I don't even recall visiting even as a child, much less an adult. It is the children's season at the National Museum of Singapore. Masak Masak features familiar playgrounds and interactive installations by Singaporean and international artists, including Jerrmy Hiaj, Mafemoiselle Maurice and Crystal Wagner. There were lots of family-oriented activities! Suitable for children aged 3 to 7. Best of all, it's FREE!

The installations were very inspiring and engaging.

Over at the front lawn, you'll find massive inflatable playgrounds found in Singapore's heartland neighborhoods during the 1970 and 80s. These certainly brought back memories!

At the Salon, you'll find intricate origami creations by Mademoiselle Maurice. Be amazed by this spectacular display of origami flowers and animals, Big and small. We also did some craft work over at the Salon for a small donation. There is also puppetry performances over at the Queen of the Forest. K was over the moon with the plethora of activities.

Hop over to the concourse and you'll find Alexandre's Dancing Solar Flowers. This installation inspires children to question our current use of energy and to think about sustainable energy sources for the future. But Big K, is of course a little too young to understand this. 

Just when we thought everything was covered, we ventured up to Level 3 where PLAY @ National Museum of Singapore was. Opened from 10am to 6pm daily, it is the first dedicated area for young children to take their first steps towards museum-going with interactive exhibits and special activities that encourage learning through play. 

K had so much fun exploring, creating and performing, she refused to leave!

After all the excitement, it was time to fill our tummies. It was quite a pleasant surprise that Food for Thought was just by Level 1. Seats (especially high chairs) are relatively limited so do avoid peak hours unless you are willing to queue. The portion of food was pretty large. The two mains we ordered fed 2 adults and a toddler. Nice. 

If you have yet to visit NMS, do go soon! Mask Masak runs from 30 may to 10 august 2015

Open daily from 10am to 6pm

Free admission

Getting to NMS:

By train

Bras Basah or Dhoby Ghaut MRT station (5 min walk)

City Hall MRT station (10 min walk)

By Bus

SBS: 7, 14, 16, 36, 64, 65, 111, 124, 128, 131, 139, 162, 166, 174, 175

SMRT: 77, 106, 167, 171, 190, 700, 857, NR6, NR7

By car

carparks available at NMS (very limited though), YMCA, Park Mall, Singapore Management University & Fort Canning Park

Access and Facilities

Lift access, pram parking facilities and lockers are available.

Imaginarium -- A voyage of big dreams

Museums aren't exactly my cup of tea. Boring. Nerdy. Or so I thought. The last time I visited a museum was erm..hmmm..Never? I've always thought that they were boring stuff and so did my parents. Parents back then weren't very well informed and hence, I was mostly spending my time at playgrounds or playing Barbie dolls at home. Things have changed. 

Over the weekend, we visited The Singapore Art Museum (SAM). It was my first time there. Talk about being Suaku (country pumpkin). I heard of the annual contemporary art exhibition for children being held at SAM8Q. This year, it's new edition, IMAGINARIUM made quite a hype and I decided to make time for it before it ends. In spirit of SG50, this year's exhibition is inspired by the crescent moon on the Singapore flag, a symbol of a young nation on the rise and with it, the capacity to dream big and think large. Indeed, there were several space at the exhibition which inspires creativity.

 Very often, we hear that children these days lack creativity. Creativity is at the core of all problem solving, whether you are solving a math problem, writing an essay or designing a science project. Children need to explore challenging situations, engage in creative play and learn that failure is an option. In recent years, there has been an emphasis on beginning academic training for children at younger and younger ages. The choice of early academic intervention in the form of 'drill and test' activities are very popular with many preschools. While there are no scientific evidence that the push to engage preschool-age children in early academics actually works, there is some evidence that they may turn out to be more stressed and less creative.  I guess schools should take a step back and have more of such activities to encourage creativity. How else can we create the next Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs?

I was pretty impressed with the line-up of activities which inspires all to dream big and think large......

BAND OF DOODLERS

Imagin-a-doodle

Illustrations were sprawling across the walls leading up to the four levels of the building. It was actually a storytelling of Singapore's forklore and inventive vision of the future. However, all I knew was I was captivated by the gorgeous doodles! Great photo opportunity! heh!

Let’s Make! Studio

by IZZIYANA SUHAIMI

This installation invites visitors to create small objects using textiles, which capture their thoughts about the future of the country. Big and Small K were a little too young for that I feel.

Dream House

by LEE JEEYOUNG

Filling a house with candy that visitors are invited to take and ‘plant’ in a garden, Lee Jeeyoung presents these sweet treats as symbols of a child’s wishes and desires. This has got to be the favourite for both my children. Big K exclaimed, "It's the Gingerbread man's house!" Indeed, it looks delicious enough to be eaten! Dream House is a delightful space where our inner wishes for the future can be projected, and be encouraged

to flourish. Small K was also having fun, touching a feeling his way around.

We Built this Estate!

by CHIANG YU XIANG

 

For a child, the world is a giant playground. With housing blocks designed like giant Tetris pieces, visitors are free to create whatever they can imagine, and build a world of tomorrow. Really nostalgic! I should have kept one of the 3 Tetris handheld games I threw away whilst decluttering. 

Greenroom II: Interstellar Overdrive

by VINCENT TWARDZIK CHING

Bicycles, generators, LEDs and stereo equipment.

Activated only through interaction between the artwork and the visitors, this work prompts us to think of how our future cities might be powered, and how this might change our lives. This was a good place for me to teach Big K about how one energy can be converted into other forms. As we rode one of the bikes, it lit up an LED panel in front of us and she was intrigue by it all.

Kiko’s Secrets

by KUMKUM FERNANDO

Kumkum Fernando invites us to broaden our minds by entering the magical worlds hidden within three secret boxes and beyond. In this work inspired by the wonder that children experience as they explore the world around them. For the artist, Kiko’s Secrets seeks to recreate these sensations for both young. One of the exhibits was this wall which had various shapes. You'd have to pick a matching plastic piece to place onto the board. Big K had fun doing this matching activity. 

So that ended our day at the museum. Was very glad we managed to make it and were lucky enough to find parking. SAM has limited free parking lots so you may want to park at Waterloo street or NTUC building which is just adjacent. Else, take an MRT. It is a 2-minute walk from Bras Basah MRT Station. 10-minute walk from Bugis, Dhoby Ghaut or City Hall MRT stations. 

We ended the day at around 630pm and rushed home to cook dinner. Apart from decluttering the house, to get ready for our big move, I've to declutter my fridge too, hence cooking on weekends are now pretty inevitable. Yes, my fridge has tons and I cook lunch on weekdays too just so you know! You would think that with such limited time, dinner would have been sloppy. Well, see for yourself! *Beams in pride. Not too bad eh? *wink

The Imaginarium installation is ending on 19 July 2015, so if you haven't visited the place, Do go check it out with your little ones!

June holidays Part 2: Zouk kids disco

The thing about having kids, especially a daughter, is to have to worry about them when they hit 18 (or in some cases, earlier). At 18 years old, they are legally able to consume alcohol and able to enter a disco. In fact, during my earlier days, faking 18 and using an older friend's IC to join in the fun at Mambo night is quite the norm. However, it is exactly the reason why I'll be worried when Big K grows up! Wonder what other tricks they will have by then. So, I decided. To expose her to disco at a tender young age of 3.5! Now, I can tell the world that I've cheonged (partied) with my daughter! Woo hoo! #foreveryoung 

I heard a rumour

They say you got a broken heart

oh oh oh.....

Last weekend, HoneyKids, in collaboration with Zouk, presented a daytime dance prance Zoukidisco! Exciting much! Sounds a bit like the tea parties we used to have, except that it's clean fun. We boogied with several other kiddos and it was complete with a DJ spinning the latest hits. And I'm not talking about "let it go" or "Twinkle Twinkle little stars". We were partying to the tunes of the Macarena amongst many other pop songs. Some of the little ones really had the groove. There were loads of other kids friendly activities so it was really a family affair. 

FACE PAINTING

No prizes for which character she chose! Strangely, this girl has never watched the movie, but is totally mesmerised by Elsa!

SAND ART

DANCING ON THE PLATFORM

Watched upon by fellow "competitor"? The next dancing queen?

BALLOON SCULPTING

DRINKS & SNACKS

Garett popcorns were going at $6 per pack. Was soft so really not worth the money. We paid $10  per pax for the tickets excluding booking fees. For 2 hours of fun, it was really good value for money. 

Now if you'll excuse me, let me reminisce the good old party days by dancing in the bathroom to the tune of Belinda Carlisle's Heaven is a place on Earth or Gregorian's Once in a lifetime, 

Oooh, baby do you know what that's worth?

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth

They say in heaven, love comes first.

Ooh, heaven is a place on earth.

June holidays Part 1: Gardens by the bay

It's already the middle of June and whilst many have spoken about how they've spent their June holidays, I've only started. Not coz I haven't done a thing, but I've done too much over the last two weeks. So I've decided to put them up in bite size. First up, Gardens by the Bay.

With the sweltering heat which is oh-so-unforgiving, the only way to get the hubs out of the house, from the comfort of his air conditioned room, is to find an air conditioned place. From now till 19 July 2015, engage yourself in some flowery fun times at the flower dome over at Gardens by the Bay. This is especially interesting for preschoolers who love nursery rhymes!! Who doesn't? One will step into a world filled with familiar characters like the old lady in her shoe (who's that you ask?), Mary and her little lamb, Humpty Dumpty and even Chinese nursery song's characters like " 客人来". The floral display was very impressive. "Flowery Fun Times" is the third of six chapters in Gardens by the Bay's storytelling journey in 2015. This enchanting series of floral displays for the year will draw visitors into the magical world of folklore, legends, fairy tales and nursery rhymes as told through the language of plants. You can tell that a lot of effort was put into creating this wonderful display.

嗡嗡嗡。。。小蜜蜂

Big K was extremely excited and kept wanting to look for her friend, Humpty. Thankfully he hasn't fallen! :P

I thought this creation was so clever! Can you guess which nursery rhyme is this?

Can you see Mary's lamb?

Ahhh the famous Mother Goose

Psst, this June hols, there is an attractive package for local families! check out their Family Package details here. Offer lasts from Saturday, 30 May to Sunday, 28 June 2015. Don't say I didn't warn you, time is running out! Go get your respite at the Gardens today!

So she says I don't eat well enough

I've been feeling awful lately. Awfully emo that is. The two young ones at home have taken ill. It has been so rough that we've (or rather, I've) been waking up almost every hour to pacify either of them. I could be patting Small K to sleep after a fierce struggle of over 2 hours, or calming an angsty Big K who got up in the middle of the night for milk because she was uncomfortable. It's not just once, but four times in a night! I tried to stand firm by telling her that she shouldn't be drinking in the middle of the night, but her screams were intense and I was so afraid she would wake her little brother up. I certainly wouldn't want to do a mambo with two crying babies. this has been ongoing for almost a week now and I'm truly knackered. The husband did his part by putting Small K to sleep every night and I'm thankful that he's around during this period. However, after midnight, he would retire his duties. No matter how loud Small K's cries were, he wouldn't get up from under the sheets. His reason: he doesn't have boobs! Then, there's Big K who has major insecurity issues. Every night after putting them to sleep, I'll be doing stuff in the living room. Once she sensed that I wasn't by her side, she'll walk out to look for me. For the entire week, she does that at least twice on the average. That forced me to sleep with her, but work and chores are piling up. They are on the road to recovery, but their clinginess still remains. It is particularly bad with Big K whom I've honestly been ignoring. She used to receive so much attention from me on the home learning front. These days, she's just roaming around. Small K has also learnt the art of attention seeking and is constantly wanting to be carried. 

It's tough enough to be juggling work and two sick little ones but it's even tougher for someone in the family to say that I'm not doing that great a job in giving myself sufficient nutrients. True that I do not take my dinners regularly due to work commitments. I knock off very late hence by the time i can sit down to have a proper meal, it'd be 11pm. However, i do grab a bun or a biscuit in between. Unfortunately, that particular person doesn't see it that way. She deemed that this is affecting the quality of my breastmilk. She has been urging me to start on formula given that Small K has turned one recently. She feels that with formula, Small K will sleep better and he'll grow fatter. Small K is indeed on the small side. 3rd to 10th percentile to be precise, however, i reckon it's in our genes as Big K, well, isn't very big either. In anycase, it was about the same time when Big K turned one that such a topic was touched on as well. I explained that formula and sleeping well doesn't correlate. I mean, look at Big K. She was on formula and didn't sleep through the night till she was 2.5years old! So then, the argument came -- I don't eat well enough. If only she had the heart to save me some herbal soup when she boils some for her daughter. Or perhaps pack food for the hubs to bring back for me like how it was done when I was pregnant with Big K. Currently, food is packed even for her son-in-law! I don't think there are any undercurrents. And we certainly get along amiably. So what's the problem? I'm perfectly fine that I'm not pampered. It would be nice but since I'm not, I do my best on my own. So don't be saying that I do not eat nutritiously or that it's because of my diet that the boy is on the low end of the chart. I am probably doing a much better job that anyone in the family with the soups I boil regularly or the supplements I take erm irregularly. 

So here's a run down on what I usually eat. I'm sure there is room for improvement but for a ftwm I think this would do.

So, what do you think?

On turning one and recipe for Eggless milo tiramisu, almost

I'm no Nigella Lawson but i was mighty proud of what I've made for Small K on his first birthday which was just over last weekend. For those of you who don't know, I can't bake for nuts; I don't own any fancy baking kitchen aids; i don't know the difference between folding and mixing; i use a hand whisk and I'm secretly fantasizing that I'm a whizz and can bake pretty sweets. However, truth be told, ever since my younger days, I've never been successful at baking. They mostly turn out rock rock hard or burnt.

So it never really occurred to me that i should and would bake for da boy. However, the boy has a mild allergy towards eggs and eggless cakes cost an arm and a leg! Hence i was determined to unleash this "talent" of mine. And i succeeded!!

Here's sharing my recipe for Milo Tiramisu:

Ingredients (Makes a 9 inch cake)

• 400ml of whipping cream
• 500g Mascarpone cheese, bring to room temp
• 3 to 4 tbsp of condensed milk (you can reduce or increase depending on the level of sweetness which you'd like)
• ladyfinger biscuits (i lost count but i must have used at least 50 to 60 pieces?)
• 1 cup of milo. I did not add any sugar to it
• 2-3 tbsp Milo powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whip the whipping cream until stiff, adding the condensed milk halfway. 

Do not over whip. Approximately 5 minutes will do. Once you achieved a soft peak, Stop.

Put the mascarpone cheese into another mixing bowl and slowly fold in the whipped cream.

Dip the ladyfinger biscuits into the cup of milo and arrange them neatly. Don't oversoak as they will turn soggy easily. Also, need not worry about the little gaps in between. It will be filled up with the cream.

Smoothen on a layer of the cheese mixture and dust on some sieved milo powder. Repeat this for the next 2 layers. I did 3 layers in total but you can always adjust accordingly.

Put it into the fridge for approximately 1 to 2 hours and take it out to place the biscuits round the circumference and pop it back into the fridge again. This is to allow the whole cake to set. It needs to be refrigerated for approximately 6 to 8 hours but due to the lack of time, i only managed to have it in for 4hours. Luckily it didn't turn out too bad.

Tie a ribbon round the cake as a form of decoration. If you are looking for a totally eggless one, you might need to bake the sponge cake yourself. 

Tadah!!! my end product! Mighty proud of myself! The in-laws and those who ate were kind enough to say that it was nice. Not too sweet. Yay! N you know what? I gave Small K a few bites and he didn't break out in rash!!! guess the eggs in the ladyfingers weren't that potent! Yippee! 

It's really quite insane how time flies..cliche i know. But with two, everyday seems to be a rush. This is especially so when I'm mostly a one man (or woman) show. We have no helper and though the mother-in-law helps, she generally takes over in the afternoons after 2pm. Am thankful for that arrangement as it allows me to head out to bring some bacon back but then again, it means no quality time with each of my children. The guilt has been gnawing me for a while. I used to do so much with Big K. By 1yo she was rattling off so many words. But with Small K, i can see a significant difference. The difference is so startling that recently my hubby has asked me why haven't i done any homeschooling with the kid. By this age, I've already brought Big K for playgroups but with Small K, the only playgroup is probably with the neighbour which happens only once a month perhaps. Apart from time, to be honest, money is a factor. Education for young children is so damn expensive! And the burden lies on me because the dear husband doesn't believe in paying money for such stuff. He feels that kids will naturally learn by going to the playground or by playing marbles with the neighbors. What he doesn't realise is, he doesn't bring them to the playground all that often! And even if he does, he'll be leaving them to their own devices while he engages in a battle on mobile. Yes, his addiction to mobile games is getting to me. Recently, my father-in-law also asked if I've been teaching the boy! Gosh! These men don't used to be so anxious! In fact, they think that is natural progression and the kid will automatically know their ABCs by the time they reach Primary 1! So yes, i really should get my act together. These days whenever I've pockets of time, and we are only talking about 10mins here or 20mins there, I would either be pumping and catching up on half an episode of my drama or surfing the net. Social media and the Internet can really be evil but yet again, it's necessary to keep in touch with the world. To me at least. 

So dear son, please give me some time, I'm sure I'll get something done for you. Slowly but surely. Meanwhile, turning one is really awesome and I'm so blessed and happy to have you in my life. You are my miracle child and my happy pill. I pray for your good health and may life be filled with lots of blessings!