Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

It’s nice to go away from the busy city of Jakarta every now and then.

And so the other day, we checked out Pasar Ah Poong (Pasar Apung) again, at Sentul City.

I wrote about this place in January earlier this year (Click HERE)

The last time we came, the Eco Art Park ‘play areas’ were still under construction.

They’re mostly done by now and, I thought they’re quite nice.

Anya and Vai so happily went to check them out!

Note:

We were there on a Saturday afternoon, around 3pm, and unfortunately, some play equipments were ‘locked’, ie. No staff to ensure safety of use, so some equipments were chained up, which really was a pity, because weekends are when more people come to visit the place, and I kind of expected ‘all’ the ready-for-use play equipments to be operational.

But anyway.

The kids were super happy to ride the free ‘river boat’ again!

(Okay, it’s not totally ‘free’, because you’d need to tip the guy with the oar =)

The guy lent his oar to Anya and Vai too, who enthusiastically paddled and made the boat go round and round to nowhere, haha.

New found appreciation towards boat paddlers from that moment on, I guess? =)

And last but not least, here’s how you get to Pasar Apoong, Sentul City, from Jakarta (by car):

> Get on the highway (jalan tol) and exit at Sentul Selatan

> After the highway gate, turn left

> When you’ve found your FIRST roundabout, turn right

And that’s it.

Took us 45mins to an hour to get there.

Note:
Do expect slower traffic condition if you’re there in the weekends, because other than Pasar Apoong, there’s also this theme park called ‘Jungleland’ in the area!

Enjoy the greenery!

And the food =)

Cheers!

Last year, I shared this clip on my online channel, it’s an interview done by Channel NewsAsia for their programme called “Unseen Dollar”.

(It sure was a privilege to share my personal thoughts on the importance of motherhood through this media)

Here’s the video clip again, just in case you’ve missed it :

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The final clip that went on TV was only around 8 minutes, but the actual interview itself was so much longer (naturally =)

And.

I now have some of those extra scenes! *YAY*

Yes, the ones that weren’t featured in the final clip =)

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Somehow, it just felt ‘interesting’ to listen to how my day to day life was like back in Singapore.

(Although there are many things about Singapore that I miss, I’m glad we’re now together as a family, ie. No more ‘weekend hubby/daddy’)

Anyway.

I’ve put the clips together and I’d like to share it with you.

Basically, in the video I answered questions on :

– Why I chose to be a Fulltime Mom
– What my day to day activities are like
– My personal thoughts on why being actively involved in a child’s life is important

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Here’s the video!

And it’s dedicated to all mothers out there!

Enjoy! =)

The bigger kids and I had just finished playing with our UNO cards, when I noticed how Brie also put more and more cards into her tiny little hands.

She then randomly laid out the cards, one by one, on the floor.

It was then when I thought to myself, … since UNO cards come in 4 different colours, why not introduce the simple concept of colours and let her learn how to sort at the same time!

I took out 4 bowls of similar colours, and sat down with her.

As I placed our UNO cards slowly into the bowls, according to their respective colours, I repeated the names of the colours and let Brie repeat the words after me.

So.

Could our soon-to-be 2 year old girl sort the cards according to the colours?

Haha, of course NOT.

Not yet, I mean.

And here’s what I’d do the next time round :

Go with TWO things to sort first, and increase the grouping when the toddler has mastered the ‘sorting into two groups’ skill! =)

Yes, sorting and putting things according to groups is a skill, and it can be introduced to the kiddos in a fun way!

Anyway.

Here are a few other sorting ideas :

– Pasta (sort according to shape, eg. Macaroni and Penne)

– Pieces of straw (sort according to length: Long and short)

– Lego bricks (sort according to colours)

– Coins (sort according to size)

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Have fun! =D

Today is my very first time watching both my kids – 9yo Anya and 6.5yo Vai – perform in our church choir, singing ‘Prayer for Mothers’ as part of our church’s Mother’s Day celebration.

As I carried Brie and listened to the tune, and read the lyrics, I can’t help but feel … moved, emotionally.

The words in the song encouraged me, and at the same time, reminded me of God’s mercy whenever I feel I have failed, incapable and weak at doing my ‘job’ as a Mom.

While my kids may still be too young to understand the weight of a mother’s task and the honour of this special calling, I thank God still, for entrusting me with this role.

For letting me experience what motherhood means.

Yes, it’s often (very) tough.

The lack of sleep. The emotional exhaustion. Even, being misunderstood by the little ones.

But, it truly is rewarding.

And I feel, it’s one of God’s merciful ways of shaping me too,

a journey I need to go through, to learn and be a better person of faith.

Today I created this video.

It’s a little something for our family to remember and treasure in years to come.

And, it’s a little something I’d like to share with fellow Moms too, wherever you are.

I hope the words of this song encouraged you too, as they have encouraged me.

Happy Mother’s Day.

I love late afternoon sun.

You know, that time of the day when it’s about an hour before the sun actually sets!

(which is also known as the ‘golden hour’)

Yes, I love that warm, glowing sunlight =)

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I took this photo of Brie when the sun is sort of behind her.

So yes, I’m actually shooting ‘towards’ the sun.

(That’s right. When taking photos, we don’t always have to have the sun behind us =)

And, what do I like about shots like this?

– Brie didn’t squint. She didn’t get the ‘glare’ from the sun  (although she’s doing her ‘cover my face with both hands’ gesture which has become one of her favourites lately =)

– The warm afternoon sun glow at the top right hand corner of the shot

– The ‘hair light’ – that glowing orangey colour around Brie’s hair that nicely outlines and ‘separates’ her head from the background =)

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Anyway.

I hope you do go ahead, experiment in taking photos outdoors, and create memorable moments with your little ones during the ‘golden hour’ of your day!

Have fun, everyone!

Brie is now two weeks away from turning two!

And I thought today, I’ll share with you one simple activity idea for toddlers, based on what we did together the other day.

What we did :

Brie explored and played with different colours, and saw the ‘effect’ it made on paper.

Using … watercolour paint, cotton swabs and just her own little fingers!

TIPS : 

1. No need to ‘hold’ their hands and tell them HOW to draw

Some parents (or nannies!) automatically hold the child’s hand and draw on the paper for them.

I tend to disagree with this though.

I’d say : Let them draw all on their own. Yes, even though the strokes and the colours are NOT to your liking =)

Because in an activity like this, results should never be the main goal.

Let them enjoy the process, feeling the colours and textures on their fingers, and seeing the strokes they themselves make on paper.

2. Do the activity together with them.

It does make the child feel that you’re interested in what they do, and it’s a nice bonding time as well between the two of you.

Also, when we’re with them, they’re likely to be more engaged in the activity for longer.

3. To be less ‘stressed’ about the potential mess they make during this activity, here’re some ideas on what you can do :

> Avoid doing this activity on your ‘precious’ tiles or parquet flooring (if you’d mind the mess on it)

> Spread newspaper across the floor instead, and let the child sit and paint there

> Let the child paint ‘outside’, eg. At the backyard, or in our case, at the balcony

> Let them wear clothes that you don’t mind if it gets stained / splattered with paint

> Do this activity before their shower time? =)

When Brie started to paint with her fingers, I drew circles on the drawing paper with a crayon.

Then I asked Brie to paint WITHIN the circles.

She did some within the circles, and of course everywhere else too =)

The point is, I’d like her to learn to place colour within a shape as well, a simple prelude to learning how to colour within the lines =)

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Have fun with the kiddos, everyone!

How’s your week so far?

It’s been an exceptionally busy week for me.

Juggling challenging parenthood, piling work, production shoots, and endless housework.

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When all seemed tough, the other day I took this shot of Brie.

She was giggling while on the bed, and I took the shot from above.

Her big, spontaneous smile sort of reminded me, that …

All challenging things will pass.

Children will outgrow their difficult phases.

And as we carry out the responsibilities that are entrusted to us, God’s strength and timely help will always be there.

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However difficult things sometimes get on my ‘normal day’, I am thankful how it’s a privilege to still be with the kids fulltime, while I juggle work and everything else.

It’s not easy.

But it should not be a reason to not be thankful for what we already have?

Let’s keep on going.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Went to check out the Great World Circus.

All five of us.

It was at Summarecon Mall Serpong, West Jakarta, Tangerang (took the highway, and it’s quite a drive)

It was the kids’ first time ever watching a live circus performance.

And they enjoyed it a lot.

Even our 23-month-old Brie was mesmerised by the acts, the lights and the music.

And.

What do WE – the adults – think of the circus itself?

> Considering that we got there 5 minutes late, and we bought the cheapest tickets (Rp100,000 per person) a week in advance, I thought our seating position was still pretty good.

It’s ‘free seating’, and since the kids needed to ‘stand’ to watch the performance (the adults’ heads in front of them blocked their view if they’re to sit down, even on our laps), we sat on the very far left, and the kids stood all the way. They enjoyed a clear view and didn’t block anyone else behind them.

> Out of all their performances, I enjoyed the last act the most (pictured below).

Vai and I went, ‘Aaaghhh! Aghhhh!’  And my heart went all tingly! =)

> The tent was not too huge, but it was nice and cosy, I thought. We went on a Saturday (its 4.30pm session) and it was about 95% full.

> There’s a dog and a few cats doing cute tricks. Yes, they’re adorable, but I did kind of expect more variety of animals from a ‘circus’.

> It’s stated : “Circus Performances from 7 Countries”, which include Indonesia.

But err, in the end, when each country’s performers came out to be applauded, the last group was the ones from Indonesia, and guess what? They are the crews who set up the stage and equipments!

*Oh my*

Should’ve been stated as ‘Circus Performances from 6 countries”, really, no?

Okay.

Other than the above not-so-good thoughts on the Circus, I thought it was generally still pretty good.

(Of course, you cannot compare it to Cirque de Soleil’s level of performance)

And the fact that we didn’t pay a bomb for it made me feel it was worth watching as a family.

Note:

> BCA bank card holders get to enjoy 20% discount off the total bill.

> And, we didn’t ‘ruin’ the kids’ excitement about the circus by sharing our not-so-positive opinion about the circus =)

Finally, here’s more info for you:

PERFORMANCE:

From: Friday 19 April
To: Sunday 19 May
Venue: Summarecon Mal Serpong, West Jakarta, Tangerang

SCHEDULE:

Every Sun, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Tuesday to Friday: 16:30, 19:30
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday: 10:30, 13:30, 16:30, 19:3o

TICKET PRICE:
VVIP: Rp400,000
VIP: Rp300,000
Utama: Rp250,000
Class 1: Rp100,000

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Have fun with the family, everyone! =)