Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Anya and I have been wearing these matching sandals by Ipanema a lot lately.

We walked in the rain. On grass. On sand. On the streets. We got them dry and we got them wet.

We like! =)

I shared my review of Ipanema’s latest Fall collection over on my Facebook Review album. Click HERE to check it out!

And now, thanks to the Royal Sporting House Singapore, we have THREE Ipanema Beach Packs to giveaway!

The first giveaway of the year! *excited!*

Each Beach Pack is worth S$49 btw, and it comes with one beach mat, one beach towel and a water bottle! Perrrrfect for a great day out at the beach!!

Here’s how to enter the giveaway ::

1. ‘LIKE’ Our Everyday Things Facebook Page, if you haven’t already =)

2. Leave a comment here on this post, and share your practical tip(s) when going to the beach with the kids!

3. Share this giveaway (the link to this blog post) on your Twitter and Facebook

Note:

– Contest is open to Singapore residents only

– Ends on Saturday, 14 January, 11.59pm.

– Three winners will be randomly selected and their names will be announced the next day.

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Have fun with this giveaway, everyone!!

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[Added: 17 Jan 2012]

We’ve randomly selected 3 winners, and here they are!!

1) Jo
2) Vivien Tan
3) Yenny

Congrats to you three!! =)

Please claim your prize by emailing me your full address, so the sponsor can mail out your Ipanema Beach Packs!

leonny[at]oureverydaythings[dot]com

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More giveaways to come, everyone! Movie tickets, nursing tops, baby and children stuff too! Look out for them yeah! =)

Baby Brie is very mobile these days.

She’s been crawling around since she’s 6 months old, so by now she crawls well and fast.

She likes to pull herself up and stand, often with just one hand holding onto a furniture, AND sometimes this little girl likes to just … let both hands go! (Read: She’d then be standing solo for a split second, before falling onto her diaper-covered buttocks!)

She’s started to slowly cruise along the furniture.

Everything she holds still goes straight into her mouth.

(She’s started to bring her feet into her mouth too lately!)

Two little teeth started to appear last week (bottom gum). Still are very tiny (about 2mm ‘high’). No fever, no increased bowel movements. Sometimes she’s a little more cranky than usual (but then again, not sure if it’s just because she’s sleepy anyway)

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Her big brother and sister LOVE to make her chuckle and laugh out loud. Her spontaneous baby laughter is just so contagious! Love! =)

She still is okay when strangers carry her. She’s started to occasionally cry when she sees me leave the room though (And upon seeing me enter the room again, if she’s on the ground, she’d immediately be crawling towards me)

Still is breastfed (lost count of how many times a day) and is still learning how to drink water from a bottle.

She loves bananas. I mean, she’d really open up her mouth and gulp the mashed bananas! (She’d finish up one whole banana – the Del Monte or Dole brand, or two of those ‘Little Petey’ bananas)

She loves her Gerger Graduates Snacks.

She has her solids three times a day, still rather finely blended.

She’s started to like going ‘Bbbbwwwwrrrttt!’ When done during mealtime, food does fly everywhere, and no, Mommy doesn’t think seeing bits and pieces of food on the floor as cute.

Glad that big brother and sister can help and ‘entertain’ Brie if she’s started to get bored during mealtime. Sometimes she’d chuckle at their silly acts. And sometimes she’s not too amused (like when big bro Vai playfully pokes her head from the back =)

She takes her shower twice a day and no longer uses the bath tub since last month (read: She’d just sit on the bathroom floor)

She wears Drypers, size Large.

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[Taken with iphone, compiled using ‘Photos Wall’ app]

Anyway.

Caring for three kiddos fulltime definitely demands extra energy (and patience) from me.

And *very* often, it’s not easy juggling everything, especially since hubby needs to travel overseas every week too.

I’m thankful to God for our little family though.

I’m thankful that I can see how they grow everyday, and over the years.

I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to be their main influencer and guide.

And, I’m thankful that I can experience and learn a lot from the ups and downs that are part and parcel of being a mother.

Love you Brie.

Love you all three.

One of the things that I personally love about my iphone is its many useful photography apps!

Some photography apps I shared in the past include: Instagram, Hipstamatic, Leme Cam and Photos Wall.

Today, I’d like to point you to Photosynth and PS Express! =)

Photosynth is GREAT for capturing panoramic views!

PS Express is … well, basically it’s photoshop.

It helps you brighten up photos, crop, rotate, sharpen, etc. A great app to have!

Photosynth allows you to take shots like the above!

Cool, yes??

(It was taken during our church service on Christmas Eve in Jakarta where thousands of us lit up candles together)

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This is what you do:

– Take shots of your surrounding using photosynth (it’ll automatically stitch the shots you take in seconds! Amazing app!)

– Open your PS Express app, choose that panoramic shot you took earlier from your ‘Camera Roll’, then choose ‘crop’ (see image above. I took it when we’re at Jurong Bird Park’s Birdz of Play, water playground area)

That’s it!

And your shot will immediately look like this!

Panoramic shot taken with your iphone and processed in no time!

Have fun capturing moments, … wider, bigger and better!

“Time is Money”, some people say.

And so many things in life are measured by their monetary value.

The question is, is money the centre of everything in life? The main thing that we all should pursue and spend most of our life chasing?

Some two weeks ago we attended a Christmas service and I was really blessed by the messages shared that morning by Rev. Stephen Tong.

I was reminded, rebuked, and encouraged.

I’d like to share some of the points here today.

And I hope it’ll be food for thought for us all.

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In life, we should COUNT.

NOT what we’ve actually done FOR other people.

NOT our profits and losses.

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In life, we should count God’s blessings.

Those who don’t count God’s blessings and mercy will always feel that they’ve received ‘nothing’. That their life is not blessed.

But, when we start counting the many blessings we’ve received, we’ll start to realise how unworthy we are to have received so much in life.

When we start counting God’s blessings, we’ll realise how they’re all ‘given’ to us, and that we should live a life that’s full of thankfulness to God, everyday.

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In life, we should count our sins and our weaknesses.

Because when we do so, we’ll realise how we’re all sinners, and are in need of God’s mercy and grace.

We may be a respected leader in a community, the director of a company, and a successful businessman. But, when we look within ourselves, we essentially are … a sinner.

When we count and acknowledge our sins and weaknesses, we’ll also be reminded of the need to change the many aspects of our life, towards the better.

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In life, we should count what good things other people have done FOR us.

We tend to remember the good things we do for others, instead of the good things that we’ve received from other people.

When someone is not nice/fair to us, we realise it immediately, and we most likely are not happy about it.

But, we usually are slow to realise and acknowledge the times when we’re the one who’s not fair towards others, and when we’re the one who’re wrong.

In life, we should focus more on the good things that others have done for us, so that we can live a life that’s full of thankfulness and appreciation towards others.

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Time will keep on ticking away.

And if we’re still given the chance to enter the year 2012, if we’re still given life and time, here’s a question: how have we been using our time? How will we use our time?

Time is not all about money. It’s about opportunity, it’s about life. And to many people, life, time and opportunity may be gone, and may have come to a stop before they’ve done what’s most important in life.

Let’s start the year 2012 right.

Let’s spend time doing and counting things that really count in life.

I’ve always believed in the importance of a Daddy’s role in a child’s lives.

Because Daddies – their presence, their active involvements in the family and in raising the children – DO make a difference in their children’s lives – daughters and sons.

Just recently, I came across this list of ‘rules for Dads’ written by Michael Mitchell.

It’s a list of ‘wise words’ specially written for Daddies of Daughters. I personally feel that they generally apply to relationships between Daddies and Sons too though (with some adjustments here and there).

The article lists out 50 ‘rules’ altogether. You can check out the complete list HERE, but here in this post, I’ll share with you my personal top 20!

Please do share this with other Daddies you know?

Really worth reading (and putting into action!)

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1. Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.

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2. Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.

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3. Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.

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4.  When she learns to give kisses, she will want to plant them all over your face. Encourage this practice.

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5. Letting her ride on your shoulders is pure magic. Do it now while you have a strong back and she’s still tiny.

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6. She will eagerly await your return home from work in the evenings. Don’t be late.

7. Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.

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8. If her mom enrolls her in swim lessons, make sure you get in the pool too. Don’t be intimidated if there are no other dads there. It’s their loss.

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9. Learn to say no. She may pitch a fit today, but someday you’ll both be glad you stuck to your guns.

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10.  She’ll probably want to crawl in bed with you after a nightmare. This is a good thing.

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11. Few things in life are more comforting to a crying little girl than her father’s hand. Never forget this.

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12.  Take it easy on the presents for her birthday and Christmas. Instead, give her the gift of experiences you can share together.

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13. Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.

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14. Learn to trust her. Gradually give her more freedom as she gets older. She will rise to the expectations you set for her.

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15. Today she’s walking down the driveway to get on the school bus. Tomorrow she’s going off to college. Don’t blink.

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16. Remember, just like a butterfly, she too will spread her wings and fly some day. Enjoy her caterpillar years.

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17. She will fight with her mother. Choose sides wisely.

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18. Take her camping. Immerse her in the great outdoors. Watch her eyes fill with wonder the first time she sees the beauty of wide open spaces. Leave the iPod at home.

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19. She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.

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20. Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.

Took too many photos during my recent Kuala Lumpur trip with Brie to attend the Blog Awards last December =)

Managed to *finally* post some more on my Facebook the other day though, and I’d like to share the link here with you.

Click HERE to view the pictures yeah! =)

[Photos were taken using ‘Leme Cam’ app and compiled to a montage using ‘Photos Wall’ app on iphone!]

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PS: Special thanks to the Nuffnang Team who worked real hard in making sure we had a great stay at Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya. They picked us up from the airport, sent us to the hotel, and sent us back to the airport the next day. All expenses paid, and everything was well arranged. Thanks Nuffnang!

And special thanks to Lion Air too for flying Brie and I there!! (Click HERE to book your flights and checkout the many countries and cities Lion Air flies to!)

Here’s a little something I did during our recent trip to Jakarta.

I painted on canvas =)

This was what happened.

I was checking out a book store when I saw HEAPS of canvasses on the shelves! And all of the sudden, I was inspired to try on painting on one and giving it as a gift to my brother-in-law who just got married.

(I saw the paintings done by a friend, and I was inspired by what she did!)

I know I know. Some thought I was mad. Because I only had 2 days to do it, and I’ve never done any painting before. And to think that it’s going to be a GIFT?

As usual, I told myself, if it completely failed, then I simply didn’t have to give it as a gift. But I wouldn’t know if I could do it if I hadn’t given it a try, yes?

So I chose to give it a try =)

(I’m SO thankful to God for a husband who doesn’t give discouraging comments whenever he sees me wanting to attempt to do something new! He simply smiles when I tell him my idea, and lets me try what I want to experiment. And THAT, to me, helps a lot!)

Oh btw, I thought I should also share with you that I am totally NOT an artist! =)

I can’t draw a straight line without a ruler. When asked to draw a cat’s face, it usually can look like a bear too. And, I can’t imagine something and draw it.

Simply put, I can only … copy what I see =)

So after browsing through the internet, I found Natasha Wescoat’s artworks and I liked them a lot!

Then I started my attempt in drawing her ‘wedding tree’ using acrylic paint on canvas!

It’s a picture of two trees that have become one. And I picked this one because it’s our hope and pray too that the two newly-weds who’ve been united as one will also continue to ‘bear fruits’, ie. Share many blessings to others.

I love the meaning behind the picture =)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!

I don’t know about you, but to us, the year 2012 will be one of those years where we’d need to make HEAPS of choices. Big ones too.

And just a little earlier, I was reminded of a post I wrote 3 years back, which I’d like to share it here with you today, the first day of the year.

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In life there are things that we can and cannot choose.

We CAN’T choose when we’d want to be born.

We CAN’T choose our race.

We CAN’T choose our parents.

There are many things in our lives that are simply be ‘beyond’ our control. And we simply can’t make a choice.

However.

There are countless other things in our lives that we CAN choose.

We CAN choose to forgive and not hate.

We CAN choose to be more of a giver and not just a receiver.

We CAN choose to be more grateful and not complain.

We CAN choose to be more loving in our words and actions towards our family and everyone else.

We CAN choose to see life in a more positive light and not be pessimistic.

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There will definitely be HEAPS of choices that we all need to make this year.

Choices that are personal.

Choices that will involve our loved ones too.

For our little family, I pray that the choices we’ll make this year are in sync with God’s master plans for us.

Through the years, we’ve witnessed how God had been so merciful and graceful to our family. And I really, truly, believe that HE will again show HIS faithfulness, mercy and grace this year.

Not just to us, but also to you and your loved ones.

May the year 2012 be another blessed journey for us all.

Happy New Year!