Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

If you are a parent, I’m sure you’d lose count on the number of times we’d need to bend down to pick up that toy / pacifier / bottle off the floor.

Well, here’re two little helpers for you.

PaciGrip and SippiGrip!

I’ve written a review on Facebook, click HERE to read it!

Now.

Thanks to LittleDreamer, there are FIVE PaciGrip and FIVE SippiGrip to be given away to you all!

Post-Christmas gifts from us to you!! A very useful one too!

*Happy =)*

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And here’s how to enter the giveaway:

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

2) ‘LIKE’ the LittleDreamer Facebook Page and check out their albums: PaciGrip and SippiGrip

3) Leave a comment here on this blog post and tell us:
a) Which one you’d like to win (PaciGrip or SippiGrip), and why
b) Gender of the child

4) Share this giveaway blog post on your Facebook or Twitter

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A few more info to note:

1) Giveaway contest closes on 1 January 2012, 11.59pm (Singapore Time), and winners will be announced the next day here on this post

2) Open to those with Singapore mailing address

3) Colour of the winning prize is to be determined by the LittleDreamer

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Have fun with this giveaway, and hope your little ones (or your nieces / nephews / friends’ babies) enjoy these PaciGrip and SippiGrip!! (Actually, the parents will appreciate these more, hehe)

All the best!

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[Added : 3 January 2012]

Thank you for participating, everyone! Here are the 10 winners chosen by LittleDreamer!

PaciGrip Winners:
1. Ong SL
2. Yvonne
3. Connie Huang
4. Rei
5. KML

SippiGrip Winners:
1. Honey Javier
2. Cheryl Chin
3. Debbie G
4. Ben Koh
5. Dina

CONGRATS!! =)

Please email me your mailing address within 48 hours (leonny[at]oureverydaythings[dot]com), so LittleDreamer can mail the prizes out to you! =)

Btw, there will be more giveaways! Do join in the fun yeah! It’s always nice to be able to share good stuff with you all! =)

Have a great week ahead, everyone!

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Hi everyone,

We all would like to wish you a blessed Christmas this year.

May the true meaning of CHRISTmas and the greatness of Christ’s love be deeply felt and experienced this year and the many years ahead.

And oh, just thought I share this shot below too =)

As you can see, creating an e-card earlier today was kinda challenging when you have a curious little baby around who wants to munch on your laptop instead.

=)

Have a wonderful time spent with your loved ones, everyone!

xxx

Yes, our little baby Brie is SEVEN months old, ALREADY!

She’s crawling all over the place. She’s pulling herself up and standing while holding onto a furniture (or my legs!). She has started to recognise me and will crawl towards me when I extend my arms towards her. She’s very curious about her world (and puts everything that she manages to hold into her mouth!)

Everything is just happening so fast, I feel.

I mean, I looked at her today and thought, ‘Hey, I still totally remember how it was like when she was still in my tummy!’

Really. It felt like it’s not that really long ago when I was still writing about my pregnancy, about how I lost my appetite for many weeks, how I LOST weight in my last trimester, etc.

[Click HERE to read my week-by-week pregnancy journal]

Right until today, I sometimes still have people asking me about what I ate when I was pregnant with Brie, whether I avoided particular foods or drinks, what happened when I lost my appetite during pregnancy, etc.

I guess when it comes to pregnancy, moms are just naturally concerned about their babies’ health, their own, and whether they’re eating right, and are getting the essential nutrients needed everyday throughout their pregnancy?

Anyway.

I recently came across this info on the web, and I thought I should share it here today for the benefits of many moms-to-be out there.

It’s a little check-list on what we should (at the very least!) be eating during pregnancy!

WHAT A PREGNANT WOMAN SHOULD AT LEAST INCLUDE IN HER DAILY DIET:

– Five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables (including at least one serving of a dark orange vegetable, two servings of dark green leafy vegetables, and one serving of citrus fruit)

– Six servings of enriched, whole-grain breads and cereals.

– Three servings of milk products

– Two to three servings of extra-lean meats, chicken without the skin, fish, or cooked dried beans and peas

– Eight glasses of water

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When I was pregnant with Brie, I did see such a chart and the first thing that came to mind was, ‘Now, how on earth can I ever include ALL those things in my daily diet?’

I mean, I know that we should really be eating a balanced diet, nutritious meals, etc when we’re pregnant. But um, realistically? Can pregnant moms really include all those listed in their daily diet? (read: Amidst their daily busy-ness with work / caring for older children / housework / everything else).

(I know I personally found it tough)

Actually, you know what? I remember some moms did share with me their ‘nutrition situation issues’, and they said something like:

“I can’t quite cook at home, so will eating out at coffee shops and food courts provide enough goodness to me and my baby?”

“I don’t think I eat enough vegetables and fruits everyday. Actually, on some days, I don’t eat them at all!”

“I know I should be having a ‘balanced diet’, but I work and I’m busy caring for my older son too. Often, I have not much time to look after myself, let alone ensure that I eat all the essential nutrients needed for me and my growing baby inside!”

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Have you ever felt that way too?

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I thought one of the things that pregnant mommies should be grateful for these days is that we now have the choice to take nutritional milk powder that is specially designed to meet the needs of pregnant moms and their growing babies inside.

Because really, amidst our daily busy-ness, we should not neglect the fact that we DO need these essential nutrients to stay healthy and well. For babies’ and moms’ sake.

ie. Pregnant mommies NEED Calcium, Iron, DHA, and also Folate (more commonly known as Folic Acid to some).

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Extra info:

Folate, taken before and during early pregnancy, helps in the mental/normal and overall development of foetus.

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Oh btw, I thought I should highlight to you that out of the many different brands we have here in Singapore, I recently found out that ANMUM actually is “Singapore Mums’ Number 1 Choice for 15 years running”!

For 15 years!

AND, Moms prefer to go with ANMUM Materna during their pregnancy because:
– It is High in Calcium, Iron and contains DHA and High Folate!
– It’s been established and trusted by other moms for more than a decade!
– It tastes better and is not too sweet =)

If you haven’t given ANMUM Materna a go, … check it out, I say! Give it a try, and find out for yourself why it’s been so well endorsed by Mommies for 15 years!

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Anyway.

If you’re a mom-to-be, here’s wishing you a healthy pregnancy journey, and a smooth delivery too!

Jia yo! =)

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[Added: 23 Jan 2012]

Thanks to all who have shared their practical tips on ‘What we can do to ensure we stay healthy and get the needed nutrients during pregnancy’!

There are 5 GV movie tickets to be given away, and here are the 5 randomly chosen winners!

– Lisa
– Jen
– Foong Meiyi
– Ria
– Jane

Congrats!! A little Chinese New Year gift to you! =)

Please email your mailing address to me (leonny[at]oureverydaythings[dot]com), so the tickets can be sent to you! Hope you enjoy your little break at the movies! =)

[Busy street of Jakarta]

One of the things about Jakarta that I feel is good for the kids is, they get to see many ‘REAL’ children who are less fortunate than them.

They don’t just hear about them, or see them on TV or on Youtube.

Here in Jakarta, they can actually see many other little ones like them out in the streets.

Children their age who live in cardboard houses.

Toddlers playing by the roadside with no shoes or sandals on.

Babies sleeping in their moms’ ‘small wooden cart shops’ by the roadside.

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Our family has received so much from others. Help, hand-me-downs, toys, gifts, books. And we’re very grateful for them.

But, I strongly feel we really shouldn’t just keep on receiving.

The kids especially, I feel they should also learn the importance of sharing and giving back. And really, there’s no better way than actually doing the act themselves.

And. The more exposure, the more opportunities to give and share, the better.

The other day, as we reached our home, we saw a toddler, a completely naked one, playing with a bucket of water near a motorbike, by the roadside.

And I asked the kids, ‘Hey, why don’t we get some of our boy clothes and share them with him?’

[For this trip, we brought along quite a number of toys, books, and children clothes that are too small for Anya and Vai]

Then we packed a bag of clothes for the little boy, and the three of us went outside to meet him and hopefully his family too.

I chatted with his grandma and his mother (who later told me that her son’s name is Tommy, he’s 2 years old and he doesn’t like to wear any clothes throughout the day =)

Then I let Anya pass the bag of clothes to the boy herself, while Vai gave him one of his toy cars.

The little boy smiled and was too shy to say anything =)

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Some people may feel that such an act is ‘useless’, because there are just SO many poor and underprivileged people in Indonesia. To them, we can’t help ‘everyone’ anyway, AND, even IF we do give, share and help, it’s not like their lives will be improved afterwards? They’ll still remain poor, won’t they?

To that, I’d say, it’s true that we can’t help everyone. And, it’s true too that even if we’ve given a few children some clothes and toys, their lives will probably ‘stay the same’ as before. We can’t lift them out of poverty by what we do.

BUT, I believe it IS still better to have given and shared something with a FEW, than NEVER sharing anything with anyone.

And, if what we do can give a little hope, a little joy, or even a feeling of ‘hey, there’s actually someone out there who cares for me?’, … then it makes the whole act of giving and receiving even more worthwhile.

Because, yes … we can’t help everyone, but we CAN help one, two, three, or four, can’t we?

[Sunset over the streets of Jakarta]

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We still have children clothes to share with others. And I hope Anya and Vai will have the chance to share them with more children we meet on the streets.

I hope too that through exercising the act of giving, they gradually experience the joy of giving too, and the joy of seeing others who joyfully receive what they give and share.

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Let’s encourage our little ones to give and share, by letting them do the act themselves.

[Brie: Hmm, everything looks new and unfamiliar. Let’s see what I should play with next …]

Hi everyone!

Here’s a quick update from me =)

Brie and I (yes, just the two of us =) flew to Kuala Lumpur last weekend to attend the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011 held at the Marriott Hotel, Putrajaya.

[The bloggers during reception. There are more than 500 of them that night!]

The event was organised very well, and the hotel stay was very nice.

(I always love super cushy hotel pillows! Hehe)

Anyway.

If you’re wondering about the results of the Best Parenting Blog category winner, no … I didn’t win the Awards this year, Childhood101 from Australia did it again. It’s a great parenting site and yes, you should check it out. Heaps of activity ideas there too for little ones!

As for me, I will keep on blogging and sharing =) Thank you SO much to everyone of you who supported me all these years! Thank you.

Now.

I have SO many photos that I still need to sort and upload, AND stories to share!

Will post them up soon!

Hope you have a great week ahead!

[Brie and I in a matching navy blue dress attending the Awards Night together =)]

If you’re in Jakarta, especially around ‘Pasar Baru’ area, you’ll most likely see quite a few of this.

A ‘push cart’, selling this ‘hat looking’ pancake thingy.

(If anyone knows the ‘real name’ of this, please let me know?)

The seller would park his cart somewhere by the road side, take out his ‘pancake mix’, and start ‘cooking’. Yes, everything was done out in the open, along the street, where hundreds and thousands of cars and motorbikes zoom by every single day =)

Yes yes. Dirt and pollution is everywhere. The frying fan looks dirty and the seller perhaps should’ve bought a new pan years ago too! =)

(Better not see the kitchen and how the food is prepared, they say =)

Anyway, I love these! Since I was little.

I just bought some the other day.

I ate four of it. Anya ate one.

Cost me Rp1000 a piece.

And that’s like … 15 cents each!

Yummm!

Compared to Singapore, things are very much different here in Jakarta!

The people, the traffic, the happenings, and especially the things you get to see around you everyday =)

I’m thinking of sharing with you different kinds of things I find interesting here in Jakarta.

And I’ll start with this one =)

It’s more like a ‘mobile cafe’, I think.

Quite a few choices of coffee available.

Hot water supply was ready.

Two plastic chairs for its patrons.

And, I spotted a white plastic basket underneath too where they keep their glasses and cups!

Precious!

Yes, we are in Jakarta right now.

We love the food and meeting up with families.

But no, we don’t like the traffic jams and mosquitoes =)

I share more daily updates on my Facebook and Twitter. You’re most welcome to add me and follow me, if you haven’t already yeah!

And oh btw, we got ourselves Tiger Airways’ promo tickets, and hey hey hey, our flight was only late by 10 minutes!

To me, that’s just SUPER! (read: Since THIS is Tiger Airways, we’ve kinda lowered our expectations before we left =)

Anyway.

I will share more photos (and pictorial posts!) of our Jakarta trip here.

Stay tuned! =)