Life Is In The Small Things

Photo-A-Day Challenge: January

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There's a new mini project that has got me hooked.If you're on Instagram, you might have noticed folks posting daily photos on a common theme. I noticed this, and my curiosity piqued, I asked a friend about the photos she was posting. She sent me the list, and I've been hooked ever since.I started off trying to take a photo -- any photo -- that would fulfill the theme. My approach to this, however, has evolved into one where I try to capture a daily photo of my activities for the day which would ... read more

Lego Learning

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In this household, we love our Lego. Or, more accurately, the husband and the kids love their Lego, and I... love not accidentally stepping on any. Because, you know, OUCH. But sometimes, having a lot of Lego can come in quite handy. Here are two bible stories that we were able to bring to life with our Lego blocks and have a lot of fun learning too:1. Joshua & the Walls of JerichoThis story is fairly straight-forward: God commanded the Israelites to march around the walled city of Jericho ... read more

Guilty Pleasure

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Sunday, the 7th day of the Lunar New Year, was 人日. Another day, another opportunity to celebrate.We were over at my MIL's place for our usual dinner, so I asked her how 人日 was celebrated. "With another feast, of course!" she laughed. We Chinese just love our food.And a mini feast we had, topped off with what must be my ultimate guilty pleasure -- my MIL's homemade sharksfin soup with crabmeat.Yes, I know eating sharksfin is really not politically correct these days, with the greater awareness ... read more

Ushering in the Dragon

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I have always had a love-hate relationship with Chinese New Year. I love the food -- steamboat! yu sheng! love letters! bak kwa! kum! -- and hate the obligations and burdens on my time. Maybe it's a sign of age, but as the years go by, I find that I don't mind Chinese New Year quite as much as I used to, once upon a time. The question: "Why meet relatives whom we only see once a year?" has slowly, over the years been answered -- "At least we meet these relatives once year." I guess after year ... read more

除夕夜：团圆饭

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The last day of the year of the Rabbit was marked by the traditional reunion dinner. This year however, instead of our usual dinner at my MIL's place, dinner was shifted to our place.My MIL traditionally hosts -- and cooks -- the 1st Day lunch for the extended family. It is a long and involved affair, as you can imagine, cooking for close to 30 people. Remembering how tired she was last year, I suggested we have reunion dinner out at a restaurant this year. However, I totally underestimated how ... read more

Playing Restaurant

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As always, necessity -- or desperation, in my case -- is the mother of invention.Evening times are usually busy times at home. This will be the point where Noey becomes a bundle of restless energy, and it would unfortunately coincide with my need to supervise dinner prep and feed Nomi her porridge dinner.The other day, when he started bugging me to play after I had just gotten Nomi seated down in her highchair, I had a brain wave. I told him that we were going to play "Restaurant". He was to be ... read more

FFT at the Botanics

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I was super thrilled to find out that the new Food For Thought (FFT) had opened at the Botanic Gardens, taking the place of the now defunct food court near the Tanglin Gate entrance. Hurray, another casual food option available at the park! And when I heard from D that they had a playground, I knew it would go on my must-visit list.I think as parents, we all value child-friendly restaurants and cafes. Better yet if it comes with built-in entertainment in the form of an on-site playground or play ... read more

On Board the Logos Hope

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On Boxing Day last year, we took a trip down to Vivocity for lunch and also to check out the Logos Hope. I had always been intrigued by the vision and mission of the Logos and the Doulos. Growing up as a Christian youth, the idea of doing mission work and carrying out evangelism from port to port with a floating bookshop on deck was undoubtedly appealing. It was never a realistic thing for me to do given my propensity to seasickness, but that never stopped me from dreaming!I had missed the ... read more

She Walks!

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Just as I was talking about Naomi being on the verge of walking, she decided that today was the day!She took a couple of steps towards my helper, who was watching her while Noey and I were having lunch. And when we all rushed over and clapped to cheer her on, little Meips looked as pleased as punch. Emboldened by her success, she repeated the feat a couple of times later, taking 8-10 jerky little straight-legged steps from the book/toy shelf to the safety of Mummy's lap.  Ah, I've forgotten ... read more