Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

… who’s turning two-and-a-half in four days time!

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son”
John 1:14

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The Bible tells us how God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to ‘look for’ us (Jesus ‘made his home among us’). It’s never the other way around.

God needs not be ‘found’ by us, because God is never ‘lost’. We need not ‘find’ God and ‘bring HIM back home’.

Just like when a watch has gone missing, the owner will go out and look for it. Not the other way around. The owner will look for the missing one because the owner loves and longs for it to come back.

We are the ones who are lost. We’ve lost our relationship with God. We are lost in sin. We are lost in eternity.

Jesus Christ lived among us and HE knew about our suffering. HE suffered on the cross so that we who believe in Him can have a relationship with God again.

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I don’t know about you, your faith, and your struggles in life. But I know for sure God cares for you, and HE longs to have a relationship with you.

And if you’ve never thought nor prayed about it before, I hope you can find some moments today to give what’s being shared today a thought.

Because I already do have a relationship with my Creator, and it is only right for me to share good news – a message of hope and love – to everyone. To you.

[Taken by Wilson using his iphone]

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is running its ‘2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore’ campaign (from today until 1 March), and this means we have a chance to enjoy FREE admissions to five attractions: Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa, Singapore Flyer, National Museum and Singapore River Cruises!

That is, if you’re one of the first 2009 visitors each weekend who come to the counter to redeem these free tickets! (you can redeem up to FOUR free admission tickets)

What you need to do is : sms ‘2009’ to 79777!

You’ll then get an auto reply from STB, and THAT’s your SMS passport! Flash it at one of those five Singapore attraction counters and if tickets are still available, then you’ll get your free tickets! (Read more about the promotion HERE)

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[The closest we could get to a Singapore Flyer’s capsule]

We went to the Singapore Flyer today at 12.30pm, hoping that there were still some of those free 2009 tickets for us!

But of course by then, EVERYONE else has already gone to redeem their free tickets! (read: We need to come VERY EARLY next Saturday IF we’re still keen on getting free admissions to the Singapore Flyer!)

And so anyway, we decided to check out the Singapore River Cruise (read: bumboat rides along the Singapore River)

Wilson flashed the SMS at the Merlion Park counter, and he got FOUR tickets! YAY!

(note: you can only redeem free tickets from THREE of their counters, read about it HERE)

We boarded the boat at 4pm, and I must say it was VERY glary and hot. We still chose to sit on the boat deck anyway. The view was better from out there! (But of course, we all came home, again, a few shades darker!)

[Vai: Smiling while being under the scorching sun apparently wasn’t that easy]

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We had such a full day today. Nothing ‘Valentine-y’, but we did spend the day with our loved ones.

Which to me is equally great!

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Did you try and redeem free tickets too? If you did, how was it? I’d love to hear about it!

The bugs are in the air these days.

It all started with Anya some four weeks ago. Then Vai picked it up two weeks later.

They’ve seen the doctor, and they’re still taking their medicines. There was once a period too (about ten days) where they both used an Aerochamber (and inhaled Ventolin and Flixotide), so that the medication could effectively go straight to the lungs.

[Click HERE to read more about using the Aerochamber on little children]

By now, both kids are much better, but they’re still not yet 100% healthy. I can still see their slightly wet nostrils and hear their phlegmy cough once in a while.

And I. Well, I got it too.

I had a very mild cough since some three weeks ago, which I kind of ignored because it really was a mild one (read: I prefer letting the body fight the bugs first and not immediately take in medicines).

But last week, I started coughing really badly.

I coughed so frequently, especially at night time. My throat felt all tingly. I felt like there’s a trickle of phlegm in my throat that I just COULD NOT cough out! At times, I could be coughing nonstop till my eyes were all teary. And, I LOST my voice. I mean, there were days when I really sounded like a hoarse-voiced MAN and I couldn’t talk without feeling a painful strain on my throat.

And yes, I went to the doctor earlier this week and was prescribed some medicines (no antibiotics).

The interesting thing is, as I shared my coughing episodes and updates on my Facebook Status, people started sharing with me THEIR ways of tacking coughs and sore throat problems, and the different kinds of ‘methods’ that work for them in the past.

It was great!!

Here are some of them :

– Drink lots of warm water and spray those ‘chinese medicinal powder that’s commonly used to treat mouth ulcers, heatiness, etc’ towards your throat

– Drink Nin Jion Pei Pa Koa

– Drink lime juice mixed with sweet soya sauce

– Drink honey mixed with lemon and water

– Drink Woods’ Peppermint Cough Syrup

– Grind fresh ginger, mix it with hot water and drink it slowly(gurgling every one hour or so helps too)

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And so I thought, how great and useful it would be if MORE tips are shared on my site! From everyone, and for everyone’s benefits!

So now, I hope to hear from MORE from people out there!

What works for you when you have a cough or a sore throat? Any particular drink or medicine that you usually take? Any home remedy? Any special mixture?

Anya’s been refusing to take a nap after school. And that means she has about one to two hours ‘alone’ with me, ie. before Vai wakes up from his nap.

She told me the other day that she wanted to make a little bowl or something so that she can put her knick-knacks in it.

And THAT was what we made together the other day, while Vai was fast asleep.

A fancy little plastic bowl, made by her and just for her!

Relatively simple to create, but needs a bit more time when placing the matchsticks together.

Definitely an excellent way to exercise a preschooler’s hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills!

What we used :

– Plastic bottle (Used an empty ‘Ribena’ bottle)

– Coloured matchsticks

– Coloured paper

– Scissors and glue (I used a common liquid glue)

What we did:

– Cut out the bottom part of the plastic bottle (this will be the ‘bowl’ part)

– Cut out the coloured paper, approx. 5cm wide, lengthwise

– Stick the strip of coloured paper all around the top of the ‘bowl’ (see image above)

– Smear liquid glue on the coloured paper and stick the coloured matchsticks one by one, until they cover all of the coloured paper’s surface.

And that’s it! You then leave it to dry!

Note:

– Smear a generous amount of liquid glue so that the matchsticks stick real well

– Parents may need to help and keep the matchsticks straight as the kid sticks more and more matchsticks around the container

– I purposely placed the matchsticks a little ‘over’ the plastic bottle’s edge, by about 3mm. This way, our kids’ little hands won’t touch the actual plastic bottle’s edges (preventing possible ‘cuts’ from uneven cutting)

– I smeared extra liquid glue all over the matchsticks surface when they’re all laid out (and even it out with my index finger). Just to be sure they really do stick together well!

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Anya managed to cover 70% of the surface with matchsticks. Not too bad at all. And I continued her work from then on.

And hey, it turned out well. We love it!

The last time I went to Science Centre with the kids was two years ago. Anya was close to turning 3, and Vai was only 5.5months old.

It was a weekday and the place was quiet, which was in a way a good thing because I still remember how I occasionally stopped, sat on a bench and breastfed baby Vai!

Now, two years on, we were there again, on a Saturday. And Daddy came along this time round! Yay!

But first, we went to the Omni Theatre, and watched ‘Wild Ocean‘ on the giant screen! Our very first ‘movie-going’ trip as a family, btw!

[FYI, they only have two movies right now: ‘Wild Ocean’ and ‘The Alps‘. We reckon for our kids’ age, watching a 40-minute movie about the ocean full of fishes is a much more interesting option than watching people climbing snow mountains in ‘The Alps’! I find ‘Wild Ocean’ informative and educational btw. Lots of amazing shots!]

Anyway.

It took a while for the kids to get used to the idea of watching HUGE fishes seemingly coming towards them on the big screen.

Vai chose to sit on Wilson’s lap. Anya chose to cuddle up in a ‘baby’ position during the first half of the movie! Haha. It was quite interesting to see how both kids react so differently to new experiences.

Anya was like a ‘girly girl’ who quickly closed her eyes with both hands and leaned real close towards me whenever she felt ‘scared’ (I can somehow imagine how she’ll react when watching scary movies with her boyfriend 15 years down the road!!)

And Vai. Haha. He was like a typical ‘brave boy’ who didn’t show much ‘reactions’ throughout. I mean, he was all serious and didn’t take his eyes off the screen. Not even when he felt a little surprised or taken aback by certain scenes (eg. sharks swimming real fast and close towards the camera). Wilson said Vai – whose hands were on Wilson’s arms – occasionally did squeeze his arms real tight. But that was all.

[Left : Anya and Vai found out what greenhouse effect was like; Right : All comfortable on the push-cars]

After the Omni Theatre, we went to Science Centre.

And check this out.

They now have little ‘push & ride cars’ for hire (free of charge!). And to borrow them during our Science Centre visit, we just needed to leave our particulars at the main reception counter. They even allowed a few prams to be parked there. I’m impressed.

[When we’re there, there were only two cars. Not too sure how many they actually have available. I saw one wheelchair available for hire too]

The kids checked out many of the exhibits (read: saw the effects of what they pressed and touched).

[Checking out the strength of magnetic powers]

And though I was often rather ‘overwhelmed’ by the scientific jargons written next to the displays, I explained some of them in (my own) simple terms to the kids.

But at times, curious little Anya would ask about things we didn’t know, and we’d usually say to her, ‘We don’t know. But one day you’ll learn about it from school, or from exploring it yourself, and when you do know, let us know and teach us what it is all about ya …”

And she’d be like thinking, ‘Hmm, I like that’.

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For ticket prices, packages and opening hours :  Click HERE for Omni Theatre and HERE for Science Centre

The Cheeky Little Soles Giveaway Contest‘s results are OUT!

FOUR cute pairs of leather baby shoes will soon make their way to four lucky new owners!!!

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Now, to find out who the winners are :

1. Click HERE to see the list of people who are in the draw

2. Click HERE to watch the video clip of how the draw was done! (with a little introduction by Anya!)

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*drums rolling*

The two pairs of BOY baby shoes will go to :
No. 17 and No. 6

While the two pairs of GIRL baby shoes will go to :
No. 7 and No. 4

*YAY*

CONGRATULATIONS to Chris, Meina, Xiaofu and Natalia!!! (You guys will be contacted real soon!)

And BIG THANKS to everyone who participated too!

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Now here’s another GOOD NEWS for everyone:

If you’ve missed the Cheeky Little Soles Giveaway Contest, you can still get them from littletoez.com for your little ones AND enjoy S$3 OFF their retail price.

Here’re more details:

1. Browse through the available designs on littletoez.com

2. Order the ones you like using their ONLINE FORM (click HERE)
(If you use the shopping cart and pay via credit card, you won’t be able to enjoy your discounts)

3. Quote the promotional code “OED2009” in the ‘Special Instructions’ box

4. Promotion ends 15 March 09

And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out littletoez.com’s other cute products!

Happy shopping!

Spacious. Sparkling. Clean. Neat. Orderly. Futuristic.

One can find such a place only in Singapore.

I think.