New bento toy additions

Over the past weeks, these stuff had been added to my bento 'toys' collection. It helped that half of them could be found at Daiso. I'm really glad that they have brought in new bento stuff now as I am sick of looking at those which have been there for years, always repeated and boring. I do hope that Daiso picks up on the bento trend and bring in much more nicer things.

The bear cutter which I have wanted for ages. I also love the tulip sausage cutter with the leaf picks. The silicon barans are really pretty and the currently popular hat picks. The top half collection is not from Daiso.

Musical notes picks I have wanted for the longest time. :)

My all-time favourite faces picks. So kawaii!

Pretty angel wings.

Expression punchers from Daiso.

Animal and vehicle picks and sauce bottles from Daiso.

Can you believe they sell these at Daiso now??

Forest Adventure

During the past few holidays, I found that if I stayed at home most of the time, the little one ate non-stop and put on quite a bit of weight as being at home doing nothing, and just watching tv got her feeling bored and made her mouth itch. Thus, I made sure plans for this June involved lots of outdoor or active programmes. Besides the once a week swim class, there was the one week dance camp which worked her out each day with over 3hrs of intensive dancing. I was keen to send her for Forest Adventure but not sure where they were, so I did some homework prior and made plans with cousin and nephew to spend a morning at the park. It is advisable to make a booking in advance as the website warns that if there are no empty slots, you might have to wait up to an hour for your turn.

Having fixed a date with cousin, we waited excitedly for the day to arrive, but meanwhile cousin came across discount coupons on Milo tetrapacks which gave up to 50% off each child ticket. We paid $12 each and although we were told that it took approximately 30-45mins to complete a course, the kids actually spent 2hrs there. A lot of the obstacles allowed only one child each time to cross it. I have to say it takes quite a lot of guts to go across ropes and planks connected from tree to tree. Princess totally lost it at the 3rd last course where she broke down and refused to continue. She was brave throughout the earlier courses but this particular one was scary and she wasn’t the only one who almost gave up. Another little girl cried and even dear nephew refused to go through with it initially, but with help and guidance from the guide, princess eventually overcame it. At the end of the obstacle course, she declared that she would never return. Haha.

On the morning of our outing, the sky was overcast, which was a good sign initially, as it meant not slogging it out in the full heat of the sun. But rain soon came down heavier and poor kids were left to carry on with the climb, as once you get up, it's tough to get down again. The only thing to do was to go forward. We made the long walk from the car park of Bedok Reservoir to Forest Adventure's base camp. As we were running late, due to not being able to flag down an empty taxi, our 10-15min walk seemed even longer than it was. Walking down this pathway gave me a feeling like I was in a park in Australia or Europe as the air was crisp and cool and there was a dampness in the air.

My little tree climber starting the ascent.

Kids undergoing a briefing before they started on their course.

Dear nephew starting on his course.

Princess going in the cage.

High and scary.

The obstacle that many disliked... moving swings.

I don't want to do this, no no no, pleaseeeeee. :~(


Forest Adventure
825 Bedok Reservoir Road, 479244
Website : http://www.forestadventure.com.sg/

Universal Studios Singapore

Shrek's Far far away castle.

We woke up last Sunday not knowing what to do for the day, so on a whim I mentioned Universal Studios. Princess and I got all excited about it but was told by her godma that I needed to book tickets in advance. Now how had I forgotten about that! She said that when she was there a few days earlier, tickets were all sold out for the day and it was only 11am! So I went online and true enough couldn't get hold of any tickets. As expected, princess got really upset after all that initial excitement. What could a mum do?? So, well, we decided on another date and I set about trying to book it.

That same day, we had lunch at Vivo City and decided to try out the shuttle bus to Resorts World Singapore ($2 for 2 ways), as well as to collect our tickets thus not having to waste time on the morning of our visit. We were given tickets to be submitted at the Pass Office (we had gotten the annual funpass) in exchange for the actual funpass which came with a lanyard and some souvenir pins as well as some shopping and meal vouchers. I figured it was more worthwhile getting the pass so we have the flexibility of entering the park as and when we liked. Upon checking with the guest relations office, we were told that we could enter the park that day, so that was a lovely surprise. Princess was all excited but this mummy wasn't really prepared with her big bulky bag which got in the way of the rides. As poor hubby waited for us at Coffee Bean while we 'checked out' the park, I couldn't bear to stay there for hours. Besides, he wasn't feeling too good that day. So, even though Princess only went on 4 rides, and this mummy on 2, I had to call it a day with a promise to return the next day, which we did. :D

The first ride we went for was Shrek 4D of course. We enjoyed it very much.

Upon exiting that ride, we came to Fairy Godmother's Potion shop which had this little ferriswheel.

With the meal voucher that came with the purchase of funpasses, we got this popcorn container. The vouchers were only good for that day so no matter what, we had to get rid of them. Just as well, we didn't have to actually spend them at the restaurants.

This was taken on our second visit, the day after. It was a gloomy, rainy day and we got wet a lot.

She's trying to check out where to go. Haha.

The Accelerator ride, works like the teacups in Disneyland. Doesn't work for this dizzy mummy.

The infamous Battlestar Gallactica ride which broke down in its first week of the park's opening. It is still closed, but that doesn't affect me as NO WAY will I go on that!

Entrance to the Revenge of the Mummy ride... still thinking... doubt I have the guts. ;P

Toby - The dessert asylum

There's a new eatery in Parkway Parade which we have not visited since it opened a few months' ago, so we decided a few Sundays ago was the day. Right after church, we headed there for lunch. The cakes were really enticing in their chiller at the entrance, and I had a quick glance, not wanting to look at the items for too long, in case I got sucked in. Haha.

We took our seats overlooking the main entrance of Parkway and had a lovely view from our table. I ordered a kids' set meal for the princess which comprised a main course, a drink and a dessert. She opted for the ham & cheese pizza, and gave me the choice of drink and dessert. She wanted ice-cream from Scoops instead.

We shared an appetizer of fried calamari between us but didn't enjoy it that much as we didn't like the batter. It made us all filled up before the main course even arrived.

Here is hubby's choice of roasted chicken sandwich. The bread is really nice and soft.

I had the chicken and mushroom pasta which promised a light creamy sauce, but was far from light. However, the pasta was done just right. I enjoyed it even though I very seldom have cream-based pasta. The al dente pasta made a difference.

Dessert for the princess - Brownie with a scoop of ice-cream. This was very yummy. I'd go back for this alone!

New Appliance

We are getting a new fridge! Happiness! Our last fridge served us well but hubby and I both eyed this one and decided it was time for a change. My old fridge will now be passed down to my mum and I'm sure she'd be happy with it, since she too has been planning to get rid of hers. I'm sorry to bid farewell to my trusty fridge but at least it'll still remain within the family. :) Cant wait for the new addition, arriving tomorrow!!

We didn't experience good service at the outlet where we ordered ours. The sales lady was loud, rude and aggressive. In the end I told her off as she tried to steer me away from the fridge of my choice on to other brands. I stood my ground and even told her to talk softer and not be so aggressive. She came up with some excuse that she was ill and her throat wasn't well. What crap excuse for poor service! In the end, she got a colleague to take over serving us but the damage had already been done.

The mistake we made was in not going around to compare prices but there was a sign that showed the fridge's original cost as $4999 and was marked down to half the price. In the end, after making our purchase, hubby found a much better offer at an electrical place near our house which was selling the same fridge for $300 lesser!!! Arrgghhh!! We must try to get our money back!

Week 2

Can't believe that week 2 has passed by in a flash. Contrary to what I expected, I did have time to myself this week, albeit whiling my time away at Thomson Plaza while Princess was attending classes, but it was better that than nothing. Today, I said goodbye to the mall after spending 5 whole afternoons in a row there. I will have fond memories of you, dear mall. :) I remember the days when Yaohan was there so many donkey years ago, when I was just a child. Places such as Goldhill Plaza, Thomson Plaza - the 'in' places then, where my dad would take us to so very often, are forever edged in my memory. It has indeed been a very long time since I set foot in Thomson Plaza, but I felt transported back in time when I arrived there on Monday this week. It's like time had stood still. I have no visual memory of the place but it seems that everything in it seems to have remained the same. No refurbishments seemed to have been done to it and you could say it emits an old world charm.

My initial impression was that, oh, I hope I'm not going to be bored here, but far from being bored, I discovered some lovely shops. I love the toy shop and the Lego specialty shop, the stall that sells factory overruns, and not forgetting the countryware shop. I spent my time at Popular browsing the shelves of books, visited the NTUC Finest there and went down the aisles discovering the Eco-friendly products, the organic stuff etc. There are many eateries there too, and lots of places where one can have a lovely tea break. I even had the pleasure of the company of two of Princess' friends for lunch, as well as that of my cousin, nephew and baby niece on another occasion. We had lunch at Pizza Hut, and I tried the nasi goreng at Jonkers' Peranakan Food and had ice-cream at Swensen's while waiting for class to end.

We had an interesting weekend prior, followed by a visit to Universal Studios on Monday after classes, which I will try to update with photos soon. We also managed to squeeze in an outing to Forest Adventure with the nephew. Glad we went for that. :)

Next week is free and easy week, which means lots more free time to plan playdates. Bronze swim test will be held in the last week of the holidays and we are looking forward to a birthday party to end off the holidays before the girls return to school.

I hope to have more time to make some bentos next week as I have just received some new toys. I also found some 'toys' in Daiso which I have yet to use. :D

Summer School

We're only into the 3rd day of the holidays and I'm already exhausted. By signing up my girl for ballet camp, I thought I had a few hours to spare for myself. However, teacher requested for help on the 1st day, so I got stuck helping out throughout the 3hrs the girls are there, serving them food during their break times, throughout all 5days. The girls are spoiled rotten with all kinds of snacks, and they requested for Ruffles, Pringles, Twisties, and they got them all. Gosh, these girls are going to pile on a lot of weight after one week haha. But it balances out as their dancing is pretty tiring and it is a great workout for them all. The first day was tough as each one of them complained of tiredness but princess said she was feeling alright yesterday. They are busy preparing for their dance performance this weekend and are excitedly looking forward to it.

Although my girl fell ill on Sunday, she seems to be on the mend, after 3 days of medication and lots of sleep. She doesn't need to wake up early in the morning and I let her sleep in till late, meaning 9am plus, which is her max. I think the rest did her a lot of good. Since she hadn't been well, I'd been preparing her simple bentos to take along for her break. Most girls eat all the junk biscuits and crisps while she has her fruits (lots of Vit C), but I wonder why her tummy is still ballooning hahah.

I didn't take photos of the last two bentos but I managed to snap some pics of today's one at the school while waiting for the girls to come out for their break. She had a whole boxful of dragonfruit and kiwi, plus blueberries as well as this Stitch bento which held a Tigger biscuit, roller coasters and Nutella sandwiches.

Even though I am not dancing, I feel so exhausted at the end of the day. I have put my life on hold and not managed to get stuff done. By the time we get home from class, I don't even want to cook. Sometimes I think I do all these to punish myself haha. After this week is up, next week will be a repetition as I have signed her up for more activities. The problem is that if we stay at home, she is going to be bored anyway. Thankfully my 3rd and 4th weeks are free. Yippee! Time to plan playdates! :D

Aren't these cute? I made them for PTM morning to take to school. :)