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Showing posts from January, 2013

Reaching The Big Two

So today is the last day of January… I thought before the year gets any older, I should write a special post on Nathan reaching big two-year milestone. That’s right, my little man turned two years old on Christmas Day. We celebrated it with the whole family back in my hometown. He absolutely revelled being in the spotlight and being the centre of attention that day. ~~~ If there was one phrase that would sum his character up, I would call him… “The Boy With No Fear” And it’s true. I’d be hard-pressed to think of something he’s afraid of… whether it’s big dogs, swirly water whirlpools, giant slides, grown-ups... or even mummy’s and daddy’s stern voice. All he does is smile his big goofy grin and plunge right into to whatever is before him. It’s rather scary for ME sometimes… and his daredevil streak has resulted in many a cut, bump, and bruise. But he takes it all in stride without batting an eyelash, all in the name of exploration. So, in honour of his Big Two milestone, I de

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Play idea with old cardboard boxes

There’s really no end to the imaginative fun in the ordinary objects and junk around the house. Here’s a commonly found object… OLD CARDBOARD BOXES! They make a terrific cave or tunnel A simple car racing track And even a makeshift slide So why not toss an old cardboard box to your little one and see what else they come up with. It might surprise you. To a child, life really can be this simple. ~~~ Linking up to

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Personal planner giveaway : winner

So as promised, here is the winning number for the personal planner giveaway … And the lucky winner is Shu ! (winning number generated by random.org ) However as a BONUS, the Personal Planner team will be offering a special DISCOUNT CODE for everyone to get their very own customised personal planner… so stay tuned! Thanks for your comments everyone.

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Looking ahead for the week

So how’s your Monday going folks? For us folks over here in Australia, it’s a holiday today (replacement holiday for Australia Day). Right now I’m having fun playing around with the personal-planner.com.au ’s Blog Planner . It’s a simple online tool to create a visual layout of your schedule for the coming week. Here’s a recap of my schedule last week… And my schedule for the coming week… You can check it out on the personal-planner.com.au website. Oh, and it’s absolutely free! In the meantime, don’t forget to stop by my Personal Planner Giveaway which closes by midnight today. ~~~ Have a great week ahead everyone!

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A fun and yummy day

It’s Saturday and Australia Day today! Instead of lazing around at home, we decided to head out to Fremantle Markets for some yummy eats and fun family time. We kicked things off at the Baby Animal Farm where Nathan fed a little hamster a carroty snack. Then we stopped by the Market Fairies’ stall for Nathan to get a yellow star painted on his hand. For lunch we enjoyed some Japanese ramen at Dosukoi’s noodle stall . Nathan went bonkers over the Takoyaki balls – especially with the chewy octopus bits inside. And after lunch we cooled off with some cold creamy frozen yoghurt . Nathan charmed the lady at the stall so well that she gave him a freebie specially-made with bonus marshmallow sprinkles. That was definitely the big highlight of the day for him. Yumz! ~~~ Have a beautiful weekend peeps! Linking up to

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Makeshift water gun play

Fridays are one of my at home days with Nathan. Besides taking Nathan along for the usual run of errands to the shops, it can sometimes be challenging to come up with ways to keep him occupied (apart from resorting to the big black screen… which I try to turn to only as a last resort). Here’s one clever little idea I came up with recently… A makeshift plastic syringe water gun play I have a number of these spare plastic syringes lying around from previous medicine purchases. I simply handed one to my toddler with a bucket of water and turned him loose in the garden. It’s really very similar to playing with a water gun. But the novelty of using this unusual object to shoot water jets is enough to keep my little one intrigued for a good while. Hope you’re having a nice Friday.

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5 reasons classic planners rock! {giveaway}

[This giveaway is sponsored by personal-planner.com.au and is open internationally to anyone in the world] I generally look upon January as a sort of ‘buffer month’ for easing into the new year . But now that the end of the month is approaching, I think it’s about time I get off my holiday mode and get back into my usual productive mode. And this year I expect my schedule to get even busier with a myriad of play ideas , play dates , antenatal appointments , shopping lists , and new sewing projects to juggle around. ~~~ So what’s the best thing to pull everything together? A New Planner! Then again many people are moving away from traditional pen and paper planners and turning instead to phones, tablets and computers to store their calendars keep track of appointments. Granted, electronic based organisers are snazzier and more compact to carry around. And they offer benefits like being able to set reminders, sync them online, email or forward them to other people, and ap

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Six reasons why the 1st trimester is the toughest

The little helper giving mummy a hand so she can put her feet up So I am now approaching Week 17 of my pregnancy , and I think I might be just beginning to feel normal again . It’s been a rollercoaster ride these past couple of months. Although this is my second time round of baby-baking, it’s been quite a different experience from my first one. But I have SURVIVED! And I am glad to say that I am now one-third of the way there! Things can only get better from this point on. Hubs and I started throwing out baby name ideas and thinking when and how to explain the pregnancy to Nathan and get him ready for the arrival of a sibling. To sort of explain my lack of activity lately, here are the top six reasons why this first trimester has been the most challenging part of this journey so far… #1. Not having as much support from folks around me ~ not that it’s anyone’s fault, as generally there is no big announcement until after the first trimester so people will have no idea how much I’

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Wordless Wed: Sand play with grandparents

So when we were back in my hometown, Kota Kinabalu, for Christmas hols, one of the places we took Nathan to was one of my favourite childhood places… Tanjung Aru Beach. Nathan had the privilege of enjoying the company of the same playmates I had when I was his age… my parents! Finishing off the play session with a dip in the ocean… ~~~ Linking up with

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Stories of Long Ago: Mixed Blood

Hello! Hope you had a great time over the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Time to step into the new year. I wonder what 2013 will bring? I’ll be resuming my ongoing series on Stories of Long Ago sharing a story from my dad’s side of the family touching on our family’s mixed ethnic background… ~~~ Every now and then I receive questions from strangers and new friends or acquaintances along the lines of… “ What are you? Are you Chinese? ”. People sometimes remark that I look somewhat more Malay or Indonesian or Thai or even Vietnamese. So what’s the story there? Well the truth is, there is actually a line of non-Chinese blood running through my dad’s side of the family. It’s not uncommon these days I suppose, especially in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. My father’s maternal grandfather was one of the first generation Hakka migrants in Sabah from China who came to Sabah. I think he generally worked as a sort of labourer-coolie-plantation worker. Life must have been tough,

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And then there were two

If you haven’t guessed, here’s the reason why I’ve been so MIA lately… My pregnancy journey this time around has been quite different from my first one … with the full on cocktail of morning sickness, nausea, food aversions, smell aversions, bloating, tiredness. But thankfully things are starting to get a little better as I emerge from the first trimester. Hope to get into the full swing of things once I feel more like myself again. Hope you all had a great start to the new year!