Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

After facing series after series of challenging and mentally exhausting attitudes from our second and third kiddos in the past weeks, this verse reminds me once again, … that a cheerful heart, joy, comes from within.

It’s not dependent on what happens to us.

It flows out from within.

Because God has firstly given that joy to us.

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The question I now ask myself is, do have I have that joy, ie. despite all the tough situations I’ve been facing at home?

Oh I pray that other than the extra wisdom, strength and patience I need in parenting my kids, … may God shower me that parenting joy too, everyday.

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone.

Is it just Brie, or do your toddlers also love to put on shoes (and sandals), even when they’re at home?

Brie is now 2 years and 3 months old, and as far I can remember, she’s been into trying out shoes and sandals (hers and other people’s).

Since she’s about one year old, I think.

Other than her own, she’d go for my shoes, her dad’s, Anya’s, Vai’s, and even my friends’ and her friends’ shoes. You know, if we happen to have a playdate or something, and there are other shoes around =)

(Oh btw, she could put on her shoes, all on her own, since she’s about 14 months old)

She’d put her tiny feet into them, and walk around.

Sometimes, she pretends she’s going out to work in them.

“Brie pake sepatu, mau pegi kerja”, she’d say to me  (that’s Indo for ‘Brie puts on shoes, goes out for work’)

Other times, she tells me that she’s going out to play tennis (and grab her brother’s shoes and racket).

And she’d say, ‘Brie pake sepatu Koko Vai. Brie mau maen tenis” =)

Out of my three kids, I notice that Brie is the one most ‘interested’ in shoes and all kinds of footwear.

(Okay, our son, Vai, also liked shoes when he was a toddler. The difference is, instead of his feet, he liked to put shoes and sandals into his mouth! Like, seriously! Thank God he survived all the dirt and germs!)

And I can’t help but wonder sometimes, … if it’s just a thing with curious little toddlers.

Or is it more like, a girl thing?

What do you think?

Note:
In this post, Brie is walking around with her cute Pediped shoes in her hands.

Ccomfortable and pretty ballet flats, I thought =)

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Btw, if you’re thinking of getting little shoes for your kids, you may want to check this sale out – up to 70% discount off Pediped Shoes in Singapore!

Here’s a bit more info on it:

From 15 August to 15 September 2013, Pediped footwear Singapore will be hosting a ‘Purchases with Purpose’ Fundraising Sale on www.pediped.com.sg to provide help to the less fortunate kids (including kids with life-threatening medical conditions). 

Pediped Singapore is partnering with Make-a-Wish Foundation in Singapore, the sole beneficiary of this fundraising sale. Which means, half of the sales will be donated directly to the foundation. Shoes are available in EU sizes ranging from 20 to 33.  Selected styles are marked down as much as 70%!

Just check out their website to find out more about it and browse around yeah! =D

Have a great weekend, everyone!

When was the last time you watch your little ones fall asleep?

When was the last time you captured their quiet moments?

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Just like all other moms out there, I face tough moments nearly everyday when parenting my kids.

Moments when the kids’ behaviours are far well.

Times when I feel very drained, from listening to the cries and their often-unreasonable tantrums.

Times when I feel mentally exhausted from trying to keep my cool when tackling the misbehaviours of a child (or two, or three, which do happen from time to time, AT THE SAME TIME)

But.

I must say that however draining one particular day has been, it’s always comforting and soothing, to watch my kids when they’re asleep.

Those peaceful and quiet moments.

Including, those quiet times just before they totally doze off.

Which to me, is also the perfect time to plant soft kisses on their cheeks, run our fingers through their hair, and tell them how much we love them.

And you know what?

I’m not surprised too, if our little ones also feel that those loving, quiet and cuddling moments just before they totally close their eyes, are also their favourite times of the day spent with us.

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Happy parenting, everyone.

May God give us all the joy, wisdom and strength we all need every day.

Here’s my third and final pictorial post on Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, and I’d like to highlight its weekend activities for the family!

Kid Zone.

The tentages are set up near the swimming pool, and the activities are available in the weekends.

They’re free for in-house guests.

But, even if you’re not a hotel guest, you can still enjoy the Kid Zone facilities over the weekend (9am – 5pm)

The fee per child is Rp 50,000 (that’s about SG$6!)

And you’ll have access to activities like :

– Bouncing castle
– Kitchen set and mini dining
– Lego Play
– Sand art
– Face painting
– Tattoo stickers
– Pony ride

Yes, even PONY RIDES, at the hotel’s garden! =D

(Btw, unless you are a hotel guest, you cannot access the swimming pool)

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Here are some photos to share!

[Once the kids are registered, they’ll be given these bracelets. To be worn throughout playtime at Kid Zone]

There’s this ‘Baby Zoo’ corner too.

But, errr … I personally didn’t quite agree with this idea, though.

(I guess, it’s because I saw a Husky puppy in a too-small-a-cage for it)

Anyway.

Here’s the pony ride!

Once the kid is safely seated on the pony, the staff took the pony for a walk.

I think the ride itself lasted for about 5 to 7 minutes.

On the day when we were at the hotel, it rained heavily.

We couldn’t access the KidZone.

By around 3.45pm, the rained stopped though, and they started inflating the bouncing castle.

Kid Zone closed at 5pm, and so the kids went over to the swimming pool straight after.

Sure was a nice weekend getaway for the family!

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Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta

Kota BNI JL. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 1
Jakarta, 10220, Indonesia
Phone: (62 21) 2922 9999
http://www.shangri-la.com/jakarta

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Check out my other posts on Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta :

[PHOTOS] Checking Out : Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta – ROOMS!
https://www.oureverydaythings.com/2013/08/photos-checking-out-shangri-la-hotel-jakarta-rooms
[PHOTOS] Checking Out : Dining – Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta!
https://www.oureverydaythings.com/2013/08/photos-checking-out-dining-shangri-la-hotel-jakarta

Okay. Get ready for one big pictorial post on Vai’s recent 7th birthday! =)

First, let me start by saying, our son – the middle child – had his birthday last week.

And just like what I’ve been doing for the kids since 3 years ago, I decided to embark on this *mad* project of baking our own birthday cake!

Yeah, despite the lack of ‘time and experience’, I know I am mad like that.

(Note: I am not a baker. A total amateur actually. I only make birthday cakes for the kiddos, since 3 years ago. I don’t even make figurines using play-doh =)

Anyway.

This time round, the theme was a MINION FONDANT CAKE!

(Note: ‘Despicable Me’ the movie has been quite a hit with the kids, and since Vai also likes it, I thought a Minion Cake would be a nice change to the usual ‘car’ theme =)

So, this was what I did when I prepared the cake and the fondant from the start.

(Hope this post is also helpful to those who are thinking of making a Minion Fondant cake too. I’m sure there are many other ways of making the minion fondant and birthday cake, … am just sharing my simple version with you today =)

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I went to a nearby baking shop to make sure I had the following at home :

– Ready-Made Fondant (I bought 2 x 500g fondant, and in the end I had about 20% unused fondant)

– Food colouring (you’d need : blue, yellow, black and brown)

– wooden (aluminium foil covered) cake base

– Box for the cake and candles

– Paper plates and forks

– Ingredients for the ‘Yellow cake’  (see below for the link to the recipe)

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Now, I’ll start with the making of the Minion fondant.

After colouring a chunk of fondant with yellow and blue (smaller chunk), I made an egg shape with  yellow fondant.

Then I ‘put on the blue overalls’.

(Note: Stick the fondant together using a teeny bit of water)

There you see, I couldn’t get it all neat and nice =)

This was how I made the eye.

(I tried to keep things as simple as possible. So I decided to just make a one-eyed minion =)

I created stitching marks using … a plastic fork. Haha. I know, I know. I should’ve used a toothpick.

I couldn’t find any at home. So I snapped off a plastic fork, used the pointy fork part and started poking.

This is the first time I ever created a ‘stitching mark’, and hey … I like!

Then, it’s ‘hair time’!

I rolled a bit of black fondant into a long thin ‘snake’, cut small pieces of it, poked 6 holes on the head, and stuck the ‘hair pieces’ on the holes. Yes, with a teeny bit of water as the ‘glue’.

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Now, it’s CAKE time!

I found this really yummy and relatively easy to make YELLOW CAKE recipe off the internet.

It was used by the pioneer woman, so I guess since it’s been tried and tested (and recommended!), I better go for this recipe and not be too adventurous!

(Btw, I recommend this recipe! The ingredients are pretty much easy and basic, AND the cake turned out nice and yummy!)

(Anya helped and prepared the cake!)

I was thinking of just using a ‘number 7’ candle.

But then, it’s one of those red and white coloured basic candle, and it didn’t seem to go nicely with the overall Minion Theme.

So, I decided to just make a number 7 with the leftover yellow fondant!

And as  you can see, I did enjoy making stitching marks on my fondant, haha.

Note on the cake:

– I made TWO batches of this yellow cake

– Sliced out the ‘uneven’ sides of the cake, as pictured above (well, somehow it was still uneven afterwards, oh well!)

– To keep things simple, I skipped making the icing, and just smeared strawberry jam in between the two layers of cake!

– I smeared more strawberry jam ALL OVER the cake, so it can be the ‘glue’ when I placed the rolled out white fondant on the cake

– Because I used strawberry jam (and NOT icing), the fondant’s surface was uneven *boo* But, since I really am pressed for time (and energy!), I could very well live with the uneven cake surface lah.

I had some leftover grey and black fondant.

So I made city buildings =)

For the sake of adding a bit more ‘touch’ to the very ‘simple’ minion cake =)

TA-DAA!

There it is.

Our very own Minion Fondant cake for Vai to cut at school!! =D

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Note on the time taken to prepare the cake and the fondant:

– I spent about 2 hours on the fondant preparation, that’s one day before the actual celebration at school

– The cake was baked the day before too. First later in the late afternoon, the 2nd layer, errr … after midnight.

– I put together the cake in the wee hours (Yes, I didn’t quite sleep that night =)

– I placed the white fondant and the rest of the fondant in the morning, 3 hours before the actual celebration

(All the effort and lack of sleep was worth the while upon seeing the kids and Vai’s smiling faces! =)

…

Now, here’re more photos of what we did at his school!

I made a simple ‘birthday invitation card’, went to a photo printing shop, and print them out.

And oh, I poked a ‘star’ (on a wire), to add a bit more touch to the cake (ie. So, it doesn’t look too ‘flat’)

And here’s Vai’s simple gathering with friends after school!

Vai’s classmates were super excited about the Minion Cake that they literally surrounded Vai and his cake, chanting ‘MINION! MINION! MINION!’

Haha. It was so cute!

(A shot of the kids, getting ready to say a little prayer for Vai, before he blew the candle and cut the cake)

The kids loved the cake! And lots of them even asked for second servings! YAY! SOOO happy! =)

(Read: They’re probably just starving because it’s lunch time, haha. But anyway, it’s an encouraging response to my birthday cake project! =)

Oh btw, they loved the fondant too!

They asked if they could eat the minion, the coloured balls, the number, EVERYTHING! Seriously.

But of course I didn’t let any particular child eat too much extra. Sugar overload is never good for little bodies, remember? =)

(Oh, I did spare our one and only Minion, btw. We brought it home, hehe =)

Ah anyway, what a fulfilling project!

So happy that everyone’s happy too in the end!!

 A note to Vai:

Levi,
I hope you had a blast at school on your birthday. I know you’ve been looking forward to your D-day. Your form teacher shared with me how you’ve been so excited about it that you counted the days and talked about it a lot at school =)

This year, I only managed to prepare the cake the day before. I’ve been very busy with so many things, and although in the end I managed to just make one minion (instead of my earlier plan of making two), I’m really glad that everything was done in time!

Daddy had meetings that morning too, but he ended it earlier, and rushed to your school, just so that he could be with you, and to see you spend your birthday with your friends.

Levi,
When you read this years from today, we want you to know that you’re very much loved. By Mommy and Daddy. By Anya. By Brie. And most importantly, by God.

Don’t you forget about that, ever. No matter what happens.

Love you little guy! *Big hugs*

Happy 7th birthday!

[Our baby caterpillars. Super tiny creatures that produced big poops!]

Believe it or not, we raised a butterfly!

And. It’s just AMAZING to observe the whole process, to see a teeny weeny baby caterpillar change into a beautiful butterfly.

Totally made us amazed at nature and how our God created all amazing things, big and small!
 

[Baby caterpillars eat and eat and EAT. Within a week, they get so many times bigger than when we found them! One of them didn’t make it though. Somehow the lower part of its body broke off and it eventually died]
 

Anyway.

I really recommend this ‘project’ to families!

Because it’s not just letting the kids observe and learn.

It’s more about seeing it all happen in front of your very eyes, experiencing the awesomeness yourself, while at the same time, observe the metamorphosis, step by step.

And of course, experiencing the ‘letting go off the butterfly’ in the end.

(The experience of raising something since it’s so little, seeing it grow and learning to let it go)

It’s a simple experience that you’ll remember for sure!

[Amazing how our caterpillar turned into this! And how it’s hanging by the thread it itself made!]

Okay, let me write down what we did and learned, point by point :

1. A friend of ours found two caterpillars on a lime tree

2. You need to feed the caterpillar with leaves. They’ll only want to eat the leaves taken from the very same tree you found them!

3. Baby caterpillars eat and eat and EAT. Like, seriously, they just kept on eating, and pooping! I threw away the poops once a day.

[Awesome process and result!]

4. We placed the caterpillars in a plastic jar and we made big holes on the lid so air can enter. We placed the jar outside (no direct sunlight though), and sometimes, indoors.

Tips:
– Caterpillars climb, and it’s possible that they climb OUT. Best if the jar is lined with a gauze pad or something, tightened with a rubber band at the top.

5. One of them didn’t make it though =(

6. After 10 days, our caterpillar (named CATIE by the kids!) turned into a chrysalis. I was amazed at the thin string it made! The ‘string’ kept the chrysalis hanging steadily!

Note:
Btw, do you the difference between a Chrysalis, a Cocoon and a Pupa?

Here’s a helpful definition:

A Pupa is a life stage that some insects go through, between the larva and adult stages.
A Chrysalis is the name of a Moth or Butterfly (Lepidoptera) pupa.
A Cocoon is a protective covering around the Pupae or Chrysalis of some insects.

(Click HERE to find out the difference between CHRYSALIS, COCOON and PUPA!)

7. Within 9 days,we found an empty cocoon! Amazing how it’s become semi-transparent!

8. The new butterfly didn’t quite flap its wings at first. I left it at home (still within the jar, untouched), and when we came back 4 hours later, it’s already flapping its wings quite vigorously from time to time!

9. And so we opened the lid, to allow it to fly out on its own. The kids gently held their arms out, hoping that the butterfly would hop onto their hands.

[Beauuuuutiful creation! And to think that it used to be a teeny weeny baby caterpillar about 1 cm long? Amazing!]

10. Our butterfly apparently was not interested in human hands! =D It flew and landed near the kids’ book shelf, before flying out and away a minute later.

The kids were a little sad that they didn’t get to spend more time with the butterfly before it flew off. They said how they wished they could keep the butterfly inside the jar.

I then explained to them that once it has become a butterfly, it’s meant to fly out in the open. We shouldn’t keep it in a jar “just because we want to”.

They kinda understood. I think.

Ah, so there you go.

That’s our little journey of raising a butterfly at home =)

Our very first time.

And somehow, I have a feeling that it won’t be the last =)

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Do go ahead and try this out yourself yeah!

[Love how it turns out so beautifully!]

 
Did you know that :

– There are more than 25 muscles that control the movements of the wrist, hand and fingers.
– These muscles are not yet fully developed when babies are born.
– Muscles need strengthening, including little children’s small muscles (such exercises will help them develop their fine-motor skills)

(Source : Therapystreetforkids.com)
 

 
So, with that in mind, here’s one simple activity idea that can help toddlers improve their fine motor skills (read: strengthen their little muscles)

It’s called … PINCHING.

Hehe. That’s right.

Simply give a toddler a box of clothes pegs!

(the more colourful, the more interesting it’ll be for them =).

Then, let him use his little fingers to pinch and place the pegs along a string, the edge of a container, along a stick, or something.
 

 
For our case, Brie placed some clothes pegs on a clothes rack.

(Note: Brie is now 2 years and 3 months, and so she’s learning to pinch even harder to get the pegs on the thick rack)
 

 
So there you go!

One activity idea that will help little children make their fingers and hands stronger!

Happy pinching! =D

Ready for another pictorial post to start the week?

Here’s my second pictorial post on Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, to share with you a glimpse of how oh-so-comfy Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta’s rooms are!

(Click HERE to read about my first post on dining at Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta)

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Vai, pictured above, is in his Deluxe Room!

*super happy little man he is! =)*

And here is where our family spends most of our time together – the bedroom Suite King Room!

(We had it connected to the Deluxe Room)

Super spacious living room and bedroom in the suite!

It has two TV sets, one in the living room, another one in the bedroom.

(We actually didn’t spend much time switching on the TV during our stay, but when we did, we chose to watch from the one in the living room together (when the kids are not yet asleep), as this way, everyone stays together, ie. NOT ‘separated’ in different rooms watching different programs and doing their own thing)

And, here’s our way of capturing both of us in the same shot, hehe.

Spacious bathroom and wardrobe!

For a tea drinker like me, the different choice of tea (and how they’re presented so nicely on the counter top) is a great way to wind down and relax.

Look! I spotted a little girl who’s intensely so into her scribbling =)

(Our 2-yo Brie apparently found the hotel room’s notebook and pencil, and started scribbling away all on her own =)

Here’s one last photo to end this post : A view of Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta’s outdoor activity (yes, the white tents!) and the swimming pool!

I’ll share my third and last pictorial blog post on Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta’s children activities, real soon!

Have a wonderful week ahead, everyone!

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Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta

Kota BNI JL. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 1
Jakarta, 10220, Indonesia
Phone: (62 21) 2922 9999
http://www.shangri-la.com/jakarta

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Check out my other posts on Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta :

[PHOTOS] Checking Out : Dining – Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta
https://www.oureverydaythings.com/2013/08/photos-checking-out-dining-shangri-la-hotel-jakarta/

[PHOTOS] Checking Out : Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta – Weekend Activities (Kid Zone)!
https://www.oureverydaythings.com/2013/08/photos-checking-out-shangri-la-hotel-jakarta-weekend-activities-kidzone/