Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

[When the kids had Milo Dinosaur and Milo Bandung, I had my Teh Tarik at the time, and … I couldn’t resist taking sips from their glasses again and again, hehe]

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Just last week I was down with diarrhea and a mild fever. I vomited badly too (read: squatted by the roadside, while carrying Brie!).

My doctor told me that I should stop drinking milk, including Milo. For a week!

Gee. Now THAT would be really tough, I thought.

Because ever since I had Brie, I’ve been drinking MILO e-ve-ry-day!

Like, at least 2 big glasses of it.

I don’t know if it’s all just ‘in my head’, but I feel when I drink it nice and hot (and MILKY!), it … ‘relaxes’ me. Haha. Really!

Ah, how I was so very thankful to God that I was that sick for just one day.

I was MUCH better the next day.

So errr … I made a ‘cup’ of hot Milo, I mean just a cup INSTEAD of my usual ‘two big’ glasses of it.

Hehe, I know, I know, it’s an ‘excuse’, but I really craved for it! (AND, I needed the energy too since I’m breastfeeding Brie? =)

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I know many, MANY, others prefer to drink it cold.

Like the kids and my hubby.

Somehow, I drink Iced Milo Dinosaur only when I’m outside though. Hmm. Perhaps it’s because a cold Milo is more thirst-quenching, and a hot one is more relaxing?

Now, I wonder.

How do YOU usually drink YOUR Milo?

Cold? Hot? Eating it straight from the tin? =)

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Anyway, here’s how I usually make my hot Milo at home!

I’d usually scoop 3 spoonfuls of Milo (the bigger the glass, the bigger the scoop!)

I’d pour ‘boiling hot’ water till the glass is about 3/4 full.

I then pour some fresh milk!

There you go!

My hot Milo with lots of Milk! Yummm!

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On a side note, the other day I came across this ‘MILO video‘ done by a couple of NTU (Nanyang Technological University) students! And I thought, wow … not bad at all! Watching it sort of made me want to make a Milo video of my own, but haha … where got time lah!

After you’re done watching the clip, you may want to check out their Facebook Page as well! (I saw an old photo of THE ‘Milo Van’ – yes, the one that went to schools!! – somewhere in their photo album!)

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Oh btw, don’t forget to leave me a quick note please : How do YOU usually have your Milo?

Every one of us was once a small child.

Every influential person we know today was once a small child too who couldn’t do anything much, who most probably had never imagined doing/becoming the kind of person he/she eventually is.

Every one of us has potentials, waiting to be explored and developed. Including the seemingly helpless / irritating / troublesome / slow / active child we have today.

I’d like to remind myself that I too need to look beyond today.

That I need to be there for my children, to help them discover their potentials,

explore the unknown,

and share what they have with others,

so they too can grow and become blessings to many more.

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[I know I need this reminder again and again as sometimes it’s easier to only see what I have in front of me and not see the possibilities of how things would be in decades to come]

Ah, finally … some photos of the workshop we had on Sunday, 10 July, in Jakarta!

The turnout was great, close to 60 I think, and I thought the restaurant’s second floor (at Bumbu Tjobek Restaurant, Central Park) cosily catered for everyone there.

Indonesian lunch buffet was served just outside and I personally enjoyed chatting with some of the participants too!

Big thanks from the bottom of my heart to the sponsors, and ALL participants (big and small =) who came to the workshop! Some who came were blog readers too, so it was also great to finally meet them face to face! =)

It was nice too to have finally met up with Aji from Baltyra.com and Yeni, my fellow speaker, a mom of two who blogs at yenisuryasusanti.blogspot.com! Wished I had more time to chat and learn more from them!

Anyway, I’m so grateful that I had the chance to share with fellow Indonesians during my trip to Jakarta. And hey, do join us in future workshops yeah! =)

The more, the merrier! =)

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Have a great weekend, everyone!

Before Brie was born, people used to ask how I’ll cope with having 3 kids, and I used to reply, ‘I don’t know … I’ll just do it day by day and we’ll see how it goes.’

I’m amazed that two months have now passed and things have been good for us all.

Of course there have been ups and downs, especially now that hubby needs to travel overseas more frequently.

The two older kids do have their ‘moments’ every single day, where they’d either test my patience, intentionally refuse to listen / obey, or simply be rude and unappreciative towards life and towards whatever that I’ve done for them.

Yes, there have been times when I felt like breaking down too.

BUT.

Despite all the challenges that come and go each day, I must say God has been good, very good, to me. His grace and strength is always sufficient for our little family, and I’m constantly being taught to be thankful, to put our trust in Him and to pray for the little ones whom He has entrusted into our care.

Being a Mom of three so far reminds me that I’m … vulnerable.

I’m reminded again and again that IF I am healthy, and IF I can cope with everything that’s going on, day in and day out, till today, … it’s really not because I am strong or capable, but it’s because I am ‘strengthened’ and ‘made able’ to carry out the tasks that are meant to be done, with the strength from above.

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There will heaps more ‘adventures’ ahead of us, I’m sure.

And I know the rides will be smooth, and bumpy too at times =)

But somehow, I’m not too worried about that.

And I guess, it’s because I know I HAVE these two things : a supportive hubby AND most importantly, a faithful God who will walk with me, through sunny and stormy days.

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Quick updates on baby Brie :

– Still yet to ‘respond with smiles’. Should be anytime this month! =)

– Can turn head (left and right) when on tummy, but can only lift head temporarily each time

– Coos and makes ‘Aaah’ sounds more frequently lately

– Wriggles her arms and legs a lot

– Still asks for feeds at least 3 times from midnight to morning

[First taxi ride in Jakarta =) ]

– Bathes 2x a day. Once before noon, and the other one is at night, as part of the bedtime routine

– Poops everyday (at least 6 dirty nappies altogether each day)

– Can sometimes fall asleep on her own when placed on bed or pram, but lately, half of the time, she’d make ‘noises’ as if she’s calling for us to pick her up. She’d continue to make such noises UNTIL we do pick her up (and sometimes she can fall asleep within 30 secs after she’s in our arms)

– Wears Drypers, size Small

– Went to KK Hospital last Sunday, 17 July and was nebulised due to her wheezing. Was not admitted because her oxygen level was okay *Thank God* She had phlegmy cough and being so small, she naturally had difficulty getting rid of the phlegm (Will write about this on a separate entry)

[Having her feed after the shoot at Mother&Baby Indonesia’s studio]

– Had her many firsts in Jakarta, her first trip overseas on a plane, ie. First trip to ‘Puncak’ (the mountain side, some 2-3 hours drive from Jakarta), first rides on Jakarta taxis, first time meeting SO many relatives in one go, and first media shoot for Mother & Baby Indonesia (on July 13th)

– Weight : 5.530kg

What comes to your mind when you hear or see the word ‘BLEACH’?

Strong smell? Whitens ONLY white clothes? Harsh on the hands?

I remember when I was about about 12yo, I stained my white shirt, and so in my attempt to fix the damage, I grabbed this bottle with the word ‘bleach’ on it, thinking that it’d remove the stains well.

After soaking it for some time, it DID remove the yellow stains and made the white colour whiter. BUT apparently I accidentally DRIPPED some bleach onto my other coloured clothes nearby, and I ended up having white blotches on them! *very NOT happy*

Since then, I have this very strong impression : bleach damages coloured clothes easily.

Over the years, I manage to NOT use any bleach products. I’d remove stains using purely detergents and at times when the stains are too stubborn to be removed completely, I’d just ‘live with it’ (which may mean NOT wearing that particular top anymore if the stains are too obvious)

The thing is, I face even more ‘stain problems’ when I became a mom.

The more kids in the house, the MORE stains.

[Yes, we have stains on school uniforms too!]

Chocolate milk drips on shirt. Pasta sauce on dress. Dirt and stains on pants.

And oh, not to forget, … baby poop stains, when they’re still babies!

[Yes, babies are cute and cuddly, but they can also poop at ‘unexpected times’, like when they’re all nicely wrapped in a towel RIGHT AFTER a nice warm bath =) ]

So, after seeing more and more kids clothes in my drawers with stains on them, I know I need something else to help me remove these stains that does NOT work like the bleach I used years ago (ie. That worked only on whites and damaged my coloured clothes!)

[No, I’m not going to show actual baby poop here, haha … just the partially stained bath towel!]

And that’s when I started to notice Kao Colour Bleach when doing my grocery at the supermarket.

(Funny how you don’t quite notice some things on the supermarket shelf UNTIL you have a ‘need’ and start ‘looking out’ for them!)

They are supposed to be SAFE on all COLOURED and white clothes, which is exactly what I need.

But then I thought, isn’t bleach supposed to work ONLY on whites?

So, I decided to test it out first … on Vai’s pyjama pants (pictured below)

This was what happened.

Wilson was out of town that week, so I sent Anya to school in the morning, bringing baby Brie (in a sling) and Vai along.

As usual, we took the public bus and walked to Anya’s school. As we walked along, Vai – who was still wearing his pyjama pants – suddenly called out to me, pointed towards the bottom of his pants and said, ‘Mommy! Look!’

The pants were still a little too long for him and it was apparently dragged and stepped on all over the dirty and damp roadside!

Gee. Great. There goes my hand-sewn pyjama pants, I thought.

So when we got home, this was what I did:

– Filled up slightly less than half of a pail with water

– Poured some Kao Colour Bleach Liquid (used only half a capful) and a bit of my usual detergent

– Soaked the pyjama pants for about 2 hours

And.

When I lifted the pants up from the pail, I was like, WHOAAA … the dirt on the pants was all GONE, the colours are all nice and bright too! Everything else was good! (And, my bathroom smelled nice, ie. Didn’t smell like it’s been splashed with chlorine!)

I was impressed.

I’m definitely happy too because although it has the word ‘bleach’ on the bottle, it does NOT work like the kind of bleach I used to know! Kao Colour Bleach does NOT damage coloured clothes! It is a chlorine-free, oxygen bleach that also protects colours while removing stains!

This is good news for me, because it means I can do a few ‘jobs’ in one go with Kao Colour Bleach, ie. Brighten my coloured clothes, whiten my white ones, kill germs, and remove stains and dirt!

(And moms like me definitely appreciate ‘reduced laundry work’ time!)

Now I simply need to throw ALL those dirty and stained clothes (white and coloured ones TOGETHER!) into the washing machine. And, when I don’t have enough dirty laundry to go into the washing machine, I simply throw the dirty towel / pants / tops into a pail filled with water + detergent + Kao Colour Bleach!

[Whenever I let the kids help out, I always closely supervise them. They know that they’re never to touch these things around the house without my supervision]

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GET A FREE SAMPLE

For Singapore residents, you can get free samples of Kao Colour Bleach Powder 30g!

All you need to do is :

– Go to www.kaolaundry.com.sg
– Please quote ‘Our Everyday things’ towards the end, if you hear about the promo from my blog entry! =)

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‘Review and Win’ Promotion

Try out the Kao Colour Bleach Powder and write about what you think of it (ie. a review!) and you’ll stand to win 1 year supply of Kao Laundry products!

What you’ll need to do:
– Request for a sample
– Test it out and write a review online (The info and the URL for you to submit your review will be given to you together with the sample)
– Check out www.kaolaundry.com.sg as winners will be announced on the site weekly (every Tuesday) from 26th July to 16th August!

(Review period is open from now till 12th August)

Quick, grab your sample! =)

This trip to Jakarta was baby Brie’s first ever trip on an aeroplane (come to think of it, it’s her first trip anywhere outside of Singapore! =)

So I thought, since it’s also our first time traveling as a family of five, I should share what we did and what we learned through the experience. We never know, .. perhaps the info will be useful to others who’re in similar situations to ours.

Here goes.

1. Bring along a pram / stroller, but having a sling (or a carrier) will definitely help in free-in up Mom’s hands

We left our pram to the airport staff just before we boarded the plane, I then carried Brie in a sling.

Having her in a sling allowed me to handhold my other kids’ hands, and take photos too, hehe.

2. Older kids sit with Daddy

The trip to Jakarta from Singapore lasted for about 1.5 hours. Fortunately it’s not THAT long a trip, which made it ‘better’ for me and hubby as we had 2 older kids and a baby flying with us.

We went on a budget airline, Lion Air, and because there’s one aisle and three seats on the left and three on the right, Anya and Vai sat together with Daddy, while I sat in front them, near the window. This arrangement, to me, worked well as Daddy kept the older kids entertained while I handled Brie without much ‘interruptions’.

3. Feed baby when taking off and landing

Brie (who was 6 weeks when we left for Jakarta) was mostly asleep during the flight. She was very quiet throughout both trips (to and from Jakarta). I breastfed her during take-off and landing to avoid unnecessary pressure in her ears.

And btw, I was given the ‘window seat’ on both plane trips. I assume it’s so that I could breastfeed the baby discreetly, facing the window? Anyway, I had people sitting next to me and I could still breastfeed discreetly as usual (See my previous post on breastfeeding on the go)

4. Bring along a luggage that the older kids can help and push on their own

We brought along a medium-sized luggage with wheels that Anya and Vai could easily push. They didn’t even need to pull or use much energy to get the luggage moving!

So, after we collected all our luggage, Anya handled this particular luggage, while the others fit into just one trolley. Wilson then pushed that trolley with Vai sitting on top of the luggage, while I pushed the pram.

5. Count the total no. of luggage and bags (including the pram)

This is a habit that I picked up from my parents, ie. Counting the total no. of luggage / bags that we bring along whenever we travel, to ensure that ALL necessary items are with us.

As Anya and Vai are older now, I get them involved too. I teach them how we need to check that we haven’t left anything behind by counting the total items that we’ve brought along, eg. When unloading the bags from a taxi, when collecting the luggage upon arrival, etc.

6. A ‘fit to travel’ letter from your baby’s doctor, if baby is still below 2 months old

Now, this is a little ‘unclear’ though.

A friend who traveled with a less than 2 month old baby was asked for the letter at the airport, and since she didn’t have one, she was asked to see the ‘airport doctor’ to get that ‘fit to travel letter’. The ‘service’ cost a LOT obviously, not to mention the inconvenience of needing to walk to the clinic and back again to board the plane.

I had that letter (given by our usual GP) before leaving Singapore, btw. You know, just in case. No airport staff asked for it though. We simply were asked to fill out this Lion Air form to indicate that we’re traveling with a little baby. Basically we wrote baby’s name, our name, and we signed on it.

[If you’ve had some kind of an airport experience on this, please do share yeah!]

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[View from the window as we’re near the Singapore airport. It was about 7pm at the time and btw, I think that’s the second link bridge that connects Singapore and Johor Baru!]

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And here are more tips that I’d like to share with you!

> Packing checklist for your baby, by babycentre.co.uk

> Packing checklist for traveling with a baby, by babycenter.com

> What supplies should I take on the plane, by babycenter.com

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Happy traveling with your little kiddos! =)

We saw this at Puri Mall the other day!

They had a few ‘outbound activities for kids’ right in the middle of the shopping centre’s atrium.

And as usual, we simply could not NOT give it a go! =)

[Happy to see how Vai climbed the tall ladder with no hesitation]

After having the necessary safety gears put on by the staff, Anya and Vai went and had their little adventure!

They climbed the tall ladder, flew on a flying fox and walked across a beam (a bamboo!) while holding onto a rope.

[The flying fox was at least 5m high above the ground]

The kids were especially ‘challenged’ during the ‘bamboo walk’, because they really had to concentrate when walking across, watching their steps carefully and grabbing the next dangling rope as they walked forward.

Vai hesitated at first, but managed to walk across all by himself *YAY*

As for Anya, she told me afterwards how it was quite scary because it was pretty high, so she simply looked to the front and NOT look down, hehe.

[Walking across the bamboo beam. I think it’s about 3m above the ground]

The whole session lasted for about … 10-15 minutes per child. Not too long a session, but I think it was a nice experience and adventure for the kids!

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[Info]

– There are other activities besides the ‘high ropes adventure’. You’d need to pay an additional fee for those.

– The activity that Anya and Vai went for cost Rp50,000 per child (about S$7)

– This outbound activity at Puri Mall will end this weekend (17 July), I think, ie. The end of the school holiday for most schools in Jakarta.

Jakarta is well known for its many MANY street food stalls.

And I often like to look out the car window to see the kinds of food they sell.

Interesting stuff at times.

Like, the other day, we were all in a car just outside Grand Indonesia when I spotted this!

Dim Sum Corner!

Never saw anything like it!

I was so amused that I just had to whip out my camera in one second, hehe.

Dim Sum, on a cart, by the road side.

Cool! =)