~ Bubbly Fun @ City Square Mall ~

Christmas is around the corner and the shopping malls have put up pretty lighting and Christmas deco. We can see Christmas trees, Santa Claus and hear Christmas carols. The holiday season and mood is definitely filling up the air. :)

Last Saturday, I took the kids to City Square Mall for some bubbly fun. From now till 31st Dec, the eco-friendly Santa's Bubbly tree will be 'blowing' bubbles at various timings. Instead of snow, there are lots of little bubbles to fill the children with fun and laughter.

The children are running to wherever the bubbles are, waving their hands and bursting as many bubbles as they could. Even the adults seems to be enjoying themselves. Have a bubbly time if you are in City Square this December. :)

~ Movies - Harry Potter 7 (Part 1) ~

My company had organised a movie event to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows over the weekends. I paid $5 per pax and were given a small popcorn combo set (including a packet of popcorn and a can of coke). Weekend tickets price are generally expensive and with the combo set, it is definitely a great saving deal. ^_^

The movie is about 2 half hours long and the storyline is too difficult for the children to understand. Even I had difficulty following the names and some parts of the plot. There are also many dark and scary scenes that lead Gladys hiding herself under my arms. Denver on the other hand seems to enjoy the show pretty much though. Luckily the children have been well 'trained' after so many movie experiences in the cinemas. The lengthy movie didn't cause us too much problem or disruption except when I had to take Gladys to the washroom once.

Part 1 of HP7 ended with sadness as well as anticipation for it's next sequel.

~ Faber Castell Mulberry Fibre Paint Set ~

I always enjoy art & craft and drawing since young. Gladys seems to have inherited this part of my genes and enjoys it too. I particularly like Faber-Castell's products regardless if it is colour pencils, crayons, pencils or erasers. They are of a better quality and we also enjoy watching the VCD where artist, Einstein Kristiansen will show you how to doodle and draw cartoons.

Yesterday, a good friend of mine gave us a box of Faber-Castell Mulberry fibre paint set. We saw this paint set at various sales exhibition before but never bought one to try. :) Gladys was so happy to see the box and can't wait to open it.

Inside the box set, there are 6 coloured fibre paints, a pair of tweezers and a stick. Gladys uses the tweezers and take the paint while Mommy uses the stick and spread it nicely on the picture. We spent the night completing the art piece and here's how it look before and after. Not bad for a first timer. ^_^

~ List of things to do ~

School holidays have already started since Monday and there are a lot of things that I need to do or prepare.

- Clear the old school books and notes.
- Wash the school shoes and bag.
- Collect 2nd-hand textbooks
- Purchase new school books, stationaries and shoes for Denver
- Go for Dental
- Buy and wrap Christmas presents
- Pack and get ready for Chalet (next week)

I'm also planning to do some pre-spring cleaning in December! Which one should I start first? I am so tired recently that my mind and body just do not wish to think or move. Decemeber is definitely going to be busy but fun with the Christmas holidays around the corner. :)

~ I miss the City ~

I am currently attending a 2 days training at one of our company's office in town and I feel like I'm out of seclusion. That is the problem with working in Tuas for too long. The busy streets, the high rise buildings, the variety of food and even the dress code are so much different.

It's great to be back in the city! Even the view from the top is fantastic!

~ Celebration of Success 2010 ~

Denver received his award ($5 Popular gift voucher) from school on Monday. It is a pity that parents were not invited to attend the award ceremony. It would be really nice to see your child receiving the award on stage. :)

I believe the top 5 position in class will receive the award and this serves as a recognition and encouragement to the students who have put in their hard work.

Denver also got a letter from school that he will be joining the 1st class for his Chinese lesson. Hmmmm.. this is not a subject that he likes particularly and hopefully he will continues to enjoy learning in Primary 2. Well done Denver!

~ Sayonara Batam, Hello Singapore! ~

I am writing this post in Batam. In a couple of hours time, we will be taking the ferry back to Singapore. That marks the end of our 3D2N stay here in Harris Resort.

Gladys is missing Harris already. She loves the Dino club nanny-Rofi, the pool, the fun games and our hotel room (which she calls it her home). She would really loves to extend her stay and already asking us when are we coming here again. Every day and night, she will stand by the balcony to have a look at the pool view. You can imagine how upset she is when we told her it's time to go back to our home in Singapore. (Sniff Sniff). How about Denver? He played all day,  ate a lot and slept soundly.

The resort staff has been extremely friendly and we had a good, relaxing time at Harris. Holidays are always too short and it's always sad to bid farewell. More photos and updates on our travel blog. Good Bye HARRIS!

~ Away to Batam ~

A few days ago, Hubby and I booked a short getaway trip to Batam. Denver and Gladys are very happy learning that we will be going on a 'vacation'. The moment Gladys saw Mommy pulls out the luggage, she thought we are leaving for the trip already. Hahaha. Our little girl simply can't wait!

The only concern we have is the rainy weather that we might be facing for the next few days according to the weather forecast. Nevertheless, we hope to enjoy this trip as much as possible and praying hard for Sunny days and better luck!

~ Let's Build A Green Future - BCA ~

We met Greco and Beco at Compass Point today. Who are they? They are the green building mascots who will be at the BCA - Let's Build A Green Future exhibition. Learn how professionals are greening our world and how we can do our part to make a greener home.

There are also games and attractive prizes to be won. Who can stack the tallest building blocks will win the main prize. A little art corner is also set up where children can sit down and draw a picture. Gladys drew and colour a picture of Beco and Greco. So nice! :)

For more greening tips and information, do visit : http://www.greenmark.sg/

~ A Pleasant Surprise - 1st in class! ~

I couldn't believe my ears when Denver called me this afternoon that he got 1st in class! Just yesterday, he told me he didn't get any awards and now he is telling me otherwise. I finally got the confirmation through Denver's form teacher and seeing the letter is so encouraging and unbelievable. Denver went through his oral examinations alone as we were suffering from Conjunctivitis. Then, he was suffering from a stiff neck the day before his Maths examinations and had to go through the final paper with a tilted, strained neck. Credits goes to him for his hard work.

The only problem now is whether we can rush him to receive his award on Monday because we have to catch the ferry to Batam! The timing is very tight and we hope everything will goes on smoothly. It is definitely a great achievement for Denver and we are so PROUD of him!

~ Denver's P1 Results ~

Exams are over we are one week away from school holidays! Denver got his report book back earlier this week and he showed improvements compared to his mid-year results. :) Surprisingly, he got his best overall mark in Chinese (which is a subject that he don't like the most). English examinations on the other hand are getting tougher where students are also being tested on Composition at Primary 1 level.

Apart from the good grades, I'm glad to see his teacher's encouraging comments on his conduct as well. Hence, there is no parent-teacher meeting session for Denver. This is how the school works, not all parents are required to meet the teachers if their child behavioural and academic results are satisfactory.

On the other hand, I must admit Hubby and I were a little sad that Denver didn't manage to get any award for the prizing ceremony which will be held next friday. We were hoping if there is a chance to see him go on stage and take some photos. :p Nevertheless, I am proud of the results and I believe the better 'reward' for Denver is to enjoy our upcoming short getaway to Batam next week! :) Counting down to HOLIDAYS!

~ Clean and Green Carnival ~

The Clean & Green Singapore (CGS) Carnival was held at Sengkang Square over the last weekend. The CGS movement aims to promote a clean & green lifestyle to Singaporeans through games, activities, exhibition, peformances etc.

We were at the carnival yesterday morning and there was already a crowd. The tentage was quite big and it took us awhile to go through some of the exhibits.

The children are attracted by the Play section and had some fun with the boardgames. Gladys also got a little bottle of spinach back after a little explanation on the hydroponics culture :) Hubby and I are pretty interested in the current and up-coming park projects. Lower Seletar Reservoir is one of them. :)

We also brought along some drink cans for recycling and there was a super long queue! One of the machine was not functioning and it took Hubby 1 hour to queue for recycling at the Reverse Vending Machine. Hopefully next time the committee can put up more machines so that it will encourage more people to recycle the plastic bottles or drink cans.

While waiting, the children queued at the game stations instead. Through fun and games, CGS hopes the public will inject some knowledge on how to live a greener and cleaner lifestyle. (E.g. switching the air-condition to 25 degrees, the 3 Rs - Reuse, Reduce, Recycle etc)

There are also art sculptures made of plastic, drink cans, paper etc. displayed at the carnival.

If only we could stay longer to go through each and every station, but we have to make our move first for lunch at my mom's place already. This year's CGS movement seems to be very successful and hoping it will attracts a bigger crowd and public attention next time. :)

~ Kovan Hougang Market & Food Centre is OPEN for business! ~

After going through a couple of months of renovation since April, one of our frequently patronise Food Centre at Kovan is finally open for business again. The food centre now looks brighter with more seatings available. All the food stalls have been shifted and consolidated at the lower level separated from the wet market and shops located on top.

Most of the old food stalls remains while there are a couple of new ones opening. The seatings at the middle section of the food centre is not very well ventilated and can be quite stuffy and hot. On the higher floor, there are more mini shops selling clothing, shoes, cloths, flowers etc and the wet market is also open to the public since the beginning of the week.

With the reopening of the market & the food centre, the crowd has come back and we are back to the times where it is harder to find a carpark lot. :)

~ Family Day Out on Deepavali ~

Happy Diwali and HELLO to long weekend! Yeah! Gladys seems to enjoy posing in front of the camera and never fails to show and remind me her cuteness and girlish nature hidden beneath her rough and boyish front. :)

Earlier this morning, we drove down to Suntec City and watched Legend Of The Guardians - an adventure about owls. The story is about how Soren, a young owl and his brother, Kludd got kidnapped by the Metalbeak owls (Pure Ones) when they fell from their treetop home. Probably due to jealousy, Kludd joins the evil owls while Soren managed to escape in search for The Guardians to restore peace once again. The only thing I feel uncomfortable about this movie is the betrayal of Kludd not only to his younger brother but also to his sister. Parental guidance shouls be adviced and checked on.

After the movie, we went to the Food Safari and Electronics fair held at the Suntec Convention Centre (Level 6) for our lunch. Denver & Gladysmanaged to take some photos with the mascots. :)

Next, it is heading down to Leng Kee Road - SIS Building to check what are the items on sale at the Bossini's Warehouse Sale. Promotion items starts from $3 onwards and the sale will be on from 3rd till 28th November. We managed to grab some polo tees for Hubby and Denver. :)
Then, we window-shop in Great World City, had dinner at Bendemeer market, played PS games at Brother Owen's home and finally stopping by Kovan to buy some groceries before making our way back home! Phew!!

It has been a very long time since we went out for the entire day without going home for a nap. Naturally all of us are very tired and we K.O within minutes. Good Night!

~ Happy 3rd Birthday, Kaiser! ~

Today is Kaiser's (my nephew) 3rd birthday! Earlier we had a little mini celebration at lbil's place. The children loves the presents and had fun playing together. Birthday is never complete without a birthday cake. Lbil got Kaiser an ice-cream cake from Swensens. Pretty and delicious. Yummy!

Kaiser is very co-operative and is smilely in front of the camera. :) He looks really happy. Happy Birthday to You, Kaiser!

~ Our New Toy - Playstation Move ~

While some prefer Wii, we are Playstation fans. :) Apart from Playstation Portable (PSP), Playstation 3, Hubby just bought Playstation Move (bundle set plus an extra controller) last Sunday. Similar concept to Wii, PS Move uses the PS Eye camera to track the controller's position as you are in the game. The ball on the controller will change colour and the children loves the graphics and physical interaction.

We borrowed the starter disc from my brother who also bought the PS Move and had fun with some of the demo games. See how the kids took a snapshot of themselves and had their voice recorded. :) Then, it is action time! "Start the Party" game seems fun! They smack the bugs, bounce the ball, paint some drawings and you get to see yourself holding a racket or a paintbrush inside the game.

With new and advanced technology, it really changes the fun stuff and type of games children are playing nowadays.

~ Late for work ~

It's already very challenging to travel long hours and distance just to get to work. This morning, my journey was further delayed making it even more tiring to start my day.

Waking up early and leaving home at 6 plus in the morning, I transferred from train to train and waited for the company bus to take me to my work place. Barely 10 mins after leaving the pick-up point,. I smell a burning scent on the bus. Soon after, smoke was coming out from the back of the bus and we quickly alerted the driver! The traffic was heavy but the driver managed to park the vehicle along the road and we all got down from the bus. Seems like one of the rubber piece is the cause of the smell and smoke.

It was drizzling and a long distance away from office. A couple of us are temporary 'stranded' until the next bus comes along to pick us up. Unfortunately, the other bus was also late and we ended standing along the pavement for more than half an hour!

By the time I finally reached the office, it was already 9:05am. I can't believe it took me more than 2 half hours just to get to work today!