Another opportunity for a family outing: Only 5 times in a year!

The Istana grounds are open to the public five times a year in celebration of the following occasions:

1. Chinese New Year
2. Deepavali
3. Hari Raya Puasa
4. Labour Day
5. National Day

Check it out ... where to park and outdoor pictures:
A GOOD MORNING Trip to the Istana Singapore :D =>Click here to find out more about the Istana Singapore

How do you know that the kid is bored during a wedding meal?

Majority of the guests invited for a typical wedding dinner will be adults, and kids who tagged along with their parents for such dinners would likely be bored and tend to create something out of the blue to relieve themselves from the boredom. Some would roam or roll around on the carpeted floor (without their shoes), some would play hide-and-seek, and so on.

And I managed to capture this little girl performing this "creative art" piece on the dining table:

WHAT WAS THAT???

Take a close peek below, and I believe you might have just guessed it right!

An Art piece evolved from Boredome ;D

It was a Flower with petals from the crispy prawn tempuras!

So, you can now count the number of the prawns eaten by the little kid.

BTW, this did not happen during Shawn and Eva's wedding ;D

Effective Reminders@WC - Series 1

I had been going in and out of AH recently to visit my dad and I personally found these toilet reminders quite easy to comprehend and put them into practice.

We could probably share these with our kids, make it fun for them to learn and adopt hygienic practices at home or in the public toilets.... but you may have to be careful with the last reminder ;-)

Take a peek:

Thanks AH for such interesting reminders!

Fun facts and "True" story of Santa Claus

Yah! I know X'mas is over, and it's the 14th day from 25 Dec 2009!
Perhaps, you may like to know these fun facts and share these with your kids in the coming X'mas which is just 11 months down the road (time flies ....). If you can't remember them, then please bookmark this blog ;D

Well, guess what answers you might get when you ask kids about Santa Claus? For example,
Why does Santa Claus wear RED?

Some kids' answers:

• Because he is a very HAPPY old man and his whole body turns RED

• Riding in the sky could be quite dangerous, so he need to wear RED for the airplane pilots to spot him easily and give way to his sleigh, then he will always deliver my presents on X'mas!

• Dad, please let me use your computer and I believe I can get the answer from Google .....

And that's what I have done and found these answers:

Why does Santa wear red? 20 fun facts about Christmas

If the above link does not work, try THIS!

Here is where you may learn about the The True Story of Santa Claus!

And finally, if you wish to learn more and how Santa Claus had evolved over the years, read it from Wikipedia ;-p

Have a wonderful year in 2010!

Counting down and Welcoming the New Year 2010!

This was my first time to take a peek at the community countdown to New Year party.

I took a walk with my two kids & Belle to the event, and we arrived in the nick of time for the Countdown!And here are some of the clips:

The event was held in the large open-air courtyard beside Hong Kah Community Club

This clip will show you the countdown over at Hong Kah North celebrations and if you fast forward to the last 10 seconds, you should be able to see me popping a bottle of sparkling fruit juice; it actually popped by itself without me touching the cork at all .... geeeezzzzz ....

Who's the most beautiful teacher?

Out of curiosity, the dad asked the kids whose the most beautiful teacher in their childcare centre:

4 y.o. :"Miss R.... ! "

Dad :"Why? "

4 y.o. :"Because she loves us and I like her the most!"

Then Dad asked the older kid who is now the alumnus to the childcare centre:

9 y.o. :"Miss A.....! "

Dad :"Why? "

9 y.o. :"Because I like her, that's why! "

It is interesting to observe how kids look at Beauty.
Apparently, Beauty to these kids is not based on physical appearance alone.
It is the Relationship that the educators have built with the kids that made them the most beautiful, not just in the kids' eyes, but in their hearts as well.
I salute to these Beautiful Teachers, Well done!

p.s., it might be more appropriate to publish this post in 2010's Teachers' days, but why should I hold back to praise these excellent educators ;D

Making a difference

http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/

Wouldn't it be great if educators would spend the time to understand the children's background and make a difference in their lives .....

Tiredness => Can't Dance well?!

We were travelling back home in th car in the late night, and my wife was so tired after the shopping.

Then she talked to the kids and it went on like this:

Mummy: "It's already past my bedtime and I really need your help to pack your bags so that I could sleep as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will not be able to PERFORM well in my work tomorrow."

Kid: "Mummy, I thought you work as an accountant, so why do you need to DANCE well in your work tomorrow?"

The "LIVE EXPERIENCE" in Hollywood Dinos (Jurong Bird Park)

We bought some tickets from the promoters for the Hollywood Dinos and we took the opportunity to visit the attraction on their first day, 12 Dec 2009.

How to get there (click here to find out)?
Well, the entrance for this attraction is just beside the entrance of Jurong Bird Park. So, if you know how to get to the bird park, I believe you can find Hollywood Dinos (click here for more information).


Some pointers:

• There is no toilet within the attraction, so either you clear your (especially kids) bowel/bladder before you enter or you may need to endure during your adventure for the next 45 to 60 min.
• Don't expect this to be as exciting or the same as those in Disney World or Universal Studios. What do you expect from a "lowly" priced attraction like this as compared to the theme parks?
• You should not stay put too long in any point of the "adventure" as there are groups coming in after you, so please be ambulatory and make way for subsequent groups of tourists.
• Prepare extra money in case you wish to buy some dino-related merchandise after the tour to encourage your kids for doing well in their exams.

 Well, here are some records of our "LIVE Experience" in the Hollywood Dinos!

Children's Bubble & Foam Party!!! Ending on 13 Dec 2009, 9PM!

Well, I have heard of the adults/teens going for the wild foam parties at the beach .... but this is my first time witnessing The Kids' Bubble & Foam Party!!

There's a stage for games and performaces.

The kids could literally swim within the foam!

Take a look at these clips:

Wana hava FOAM FIGHT here??

Try making FOAM BALLS if you could ;D

Plus having fun with all the BUBBLES!

The kid's not gona eat that Chicken feet!

The dad was trying to get his kid to have a taste of the chicken feet......

Dad: "This soup is yummy! How about you have a go on this CHICKEN FEET?"

4 y.o. Kid: "NO WAY!"

Dad: "Why not, it's like jelly, you will like it."

4 y.o. Kid: "I'm NOT eating the CHICKEN FEET, because I DON'T WANT to GROW another LEG!"

What do you call the Yellow and Black stripes on the road?

A kid walked past the yellow and black stripes on the road and asked his dad:

Kid: "Dad, what do you call these yellow and black stripes on the road?"

Dad: "Wow! Good question there, I know that they are meant to warn drivers of the hump/hazard but never thought of its name. So, what do you think it's called?"

Kid: "Hmmmm ....The black and white striped path is known as the Zebra crossing, so the yellow and black striped path is known as the grrrrrraaaaooooo .... TIGER Crossing!"

Well, is it really called the Tiger Crossing?
I can't really find the answer in the LTA and One.Motoring websites ... but Tiger Crossing really exists in the U.K., take a look at this site: http://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/71/article12.html

The DINOS want you....for a jolly warm meal ;-p~~~

Hi Parents,
Are you  still cracking your brains to plan for the Dec'09 holidays?

And GUESS WHAT, you do not need to travel all the way to Universal Studios and Disney theme parks like I did to experience the Jurassic adventures, try this in SINGAPORE:
The Hollywood Dinos!!!


Here is where you can find out more about the attraction:
http://www.hollywooddinos.com/

Well, I had my family vacation over the last two weeks in the "land of dreams" and I will post more about it when I have the time; there is simply so much to do with so little time and I am still planning to go for more fun with my family ;D

p.s. Please plan & enjoy a great family time while you are younger as you might regret it when you are too old/sick to do so or your kids might be "mature" enough to roam around on their own instead of sticking on to old folks by then ....

Where's the glass?

The waitress was about to refill the "Sprite" (soft drink) for the table when she discovered something amissed........

Waitress: "Excuse me, I realised that one glass is missing from the table .... "

When everyone was trying to find the cause of the lost glass, then one of the kids slowly brought up the glass to the table.

Kid: "I was just trying to try my luck to see if I could get the F&N Orange if this Sprite is gone."

Waitress: "You could simply request for another glass and I will be glad to serve you."

Lesson learnt: Ask and you'll be given ;D

The Cheating Kid vs Mummy!

The MUM has done a great favour for the kid ... Good job Mum!

kid describing a hot-tempered mum

The mum gave the daughter a hell lot of scolding for not studying hard enough for her exam and continued with all kinds of criticism and sarcasm till the girl hid under the table for a long while ..... Then the mum felt bad for discouraging the little girl ....

Mum: "I am sorry. You know me ... I can explode like a VOLCANO some times .... "

Kid: "I know ... the VOLCANO EXPLODED like FART from the TOP (she was refering to mum's mouth) .... LOUD and STINKY .... phewwwww!"

Geeezzzz .... sharp criticism returned home to the one who criticised

Sushi in the hands of the kids

What do you think will happen to these Egg Hosomaki
in the hands of the kids?

BEFORE

This is what gona happen:

Kid: "Tada!! Then you see the eggie and NOW you don't!"

AFTER

Toddlers Can Blame with "REASON"

The dad was ushering the kids to the swimming pool and while he was opening the glass door for his youngest daughter, she pushed her way through very quickly with her lengthy toy "water cannon".

The next thing they saw was the toy "water cannon" broke into two. Then ....

4 y.o. gal: "Dad! It is all your fault!"

Dad: "Why? Aren't you the one who broke it?"

4 y.o. gal: "Dad! It is your fault because you never open the glass door wide enough for me to go through!"

Well, this showed me that kids at such a young age could already figure out "some reasons" to blame on others to get away with their own fault. Thus, being a parent myself has to be aware of such development in kid's attitude and help them to learn to be responsible for their own act in the early years .... Otherwise .... good luck to those around her when she's in trouble in the future.

What's the Opposite of MONSTER?

I asked the kids this question,

"What is the Opposite of MONSTER?"

I gave some hints to the kids by telling them to think of something that is the opposite of HUGE and SCARY ...

9 y.o. kid: "The opposite of HUGE & SCARY would be something mini & nice ...."




7 y.o. kid: "I KNOW I KNOW .... the opposite of MONSTER is MINI-STER! "

If you are still figuring it out, you may check this website out for the opposites of MONSTER:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080414163950AAXY6zV

I think the Mini-sters in the government/churches would be glad to hear that ;D

QQ Rice - Anyone tasted or interested?

Anyone of you out there tasted this QQ Rice (传香饭糰) before?
We had this fellow here:



Click HERE to check out the details of the QQ Rice we ate.

To me, it tasted quite fine and it did not cause any flatulence.
My kids liked it too.
I ate it around 5:30pm and I could still eat my dinner quite well.

This kind of rice dumpling originated from Taiwan, if you wish to find/eat these stuff in Singapore, click HERE to check it out.

Click HERE to watch a video how they "prepare/package" the QQ Rice

For business-minded readers, you may like to be another franchisee ... but it's gona be hard work ... check it out.