The Chuggington Winter Snow Party – City Square Mall (Meet & Greet Dec 2014)

Posted in Media Invite, Reviews, Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

JahBella’s first encounter with a mall’s Live Show/ Meet & Greet was almost a year ago. My then wide-eyed babies were thrilled at meeting a ‘live’ cartoon character that they recognized from TV however the experience itself was somewhat underwhelming, with the live show being only 10 minutes long. Safe to say, I have been very hesistant since then to bring them for any Live Shows/ Meet & Greet.

After almost a year since their first rather disappointing encounter, we finally mustered enough courage to brave the crowds and take a ‘leap of faith’ :p We were invited to attend City Square Mall’s The Chuggington Winter Snow Party and I have to say it was awesome fun! There was song and dance, playful banter, a light-up and even a snowy finale! Both Jah and Bella were in their own little world and while Jah is still pretty shy when it comes to following the dance moves, he was really transfixed on the show. What I really liked about the show was the fact that the cast came on stage to engage restless kids, 10 minutes before the actual showtime. Consider it a pre-quel but it was very helpful for kids who have been waiting for almost 45 minutes to an hour. A useful tip which I just ‘discovered’ yesterday, is to provide your kid with your own pre-quel. We let Jah watch an episode of Chuggington on Joel’s handphone and he was able to be kept entertained. He only switched it off when Lorie appeared on stage during the pre-show warm up.

Waiting for showtime!

Its showtime!!

Live shows are not just for the big kids! 🙂

This is his focus face, not angry face 😉

Meet & Greet Photo time!

Lots of Chuggington photo ops in the mall

I also have to say that City Square Mall probably has one of the better Christmas experiences this year. Apart from the Live Show/ Meet & Greet that other malls may also do, City Square Mall has a host of fringe activities which is happening outside on the City Green (just outside the mall). The activities include Kiddy Carnival Rides, Christmas Light Show and Snow Playtime and the Choo-Choo City Express. We were fortunate that the rain settled down while we were watching the live show and ended just in time for JahBella to enjoy the Choo-Choo City Express and the Snow Playtime. JahBella really enjoyed their train ride and while I didn’t think much of it at first, I could see why the kids were so taken by it. The train with a real driver and not just a kiddy train ride on little tracks, would take you round the entire City Green (3 times!) and JahBella were happily taking in the sights and people-watching, even I enjoyed it! While I didn’t allow Jah to play in the ‘snow’/foam (sorry mummy is a bit of a control freak with these things) but I saw tons of kids enjoying the ‘snow’ and Jah was equally happy and contented to have me carry him and get ‘snow’ on our hair, face and eyelashes. 🙂

Baby its cold outside!

Lights and Snow Play time

A real driver? Wow!

Say cheese!

Taking in the lovely sights!

Event Details

The Chuggington Winter Snow Party will run from 6 December to 21 December (daily except Monday) at City Square Mall. Fans can also get up close and snap a family photo with their favourite characters by redeeming a Meet & Greet Pass with $50 spent in the mall (terms and conditions apply).

Chugg-ful of Fun At The Park will be on from 14 November to 28 December at the City Green(Park).

Kiddy Carnival Rides

Time: Weekdays from 6pm to 10pm; Weekends from 12pm to 10pm

Christmas Light Show & Snow Playtime

Time: 8pm & 9pm (Daily)

Ride The Choo-Choo City Express

Time: 12pm to 10pm (Daily)

Interested to cuddle up with a Koko, Wilson or Brewster cushion? You can redeem an exclusive

Chuggington cushion with $200* ($250* if inclusive of NTUC FairPrice receipts) spent!

Insisting on hugging his Koko cushion and even for bedtime…zzzz

JahBella’s Mummy

24Nov2014

Hungry Heroes -Review (Dinner with Superheroes)

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Reviews by jahbella

I was super excited when I found out about Hungry Heroes – a restaurant that serves tons of meat dishes (perfect for Joel and I) and it is also superhero themed (perfect for Jah).

When I say superhero themed, I’m not just talking about the marvel or justice league posters on the wall. I’m talking about the full works! Yes posters on the wall, mini superhero figurines in display cases mounted on the wall, life sized superhero statues as well as customized lamps with superheros figurines. Jah’s reaction when we stepped in? “Oh my goodness!” said in a totally in awe tone. Nuff said! Mission accomplished for me :p

But I still have to tell you about the food. We ordered a sausage trio with fries and corn, a portion of beef stew, a pulled pork sandwich, a 300gm tenderloin steak, truffle mash and their craft beer. A lot for 3 adults and 2 kid I have to say and if I had to summarize my review, I would say good hearty food/ meat at a very decent price point.

I liked that we could top up Jah’s order on a per piece basis because he loved the cheese sausage and wanted more. Though I wished I could have had more time to review their beer list which was pretty interesting but eating with kids always means quick decisive orders for me

Definitely a nice place to hang out with meat lover friends who will share a platter with you or your other half over some steak and beers.
Kids or anyone who is superhero crazy will love the ambience too..a lot to take in. 🙂

Just something to note, they currently do not have any high chairs yet so just make sure that your kid is ok on an adult chair (Jah was ok on their ‘sofa’ seats) or bring your own portable booster (which is what we used for Bella thus the ability to put her feet on the table tsk!)

Oh yes and do make a reservation if you intend to come right smack at lunch or dinner time. We had to make do with a 530pm dinner slot as we booked only a day ahead but I have to say the service is prompt and fantastic! 🙂

Address: 33 Tessensohn Road
Website: http://www.hungryheroes.sg

Happy eating!

JahBella’s mummy

19Nov2014

Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm – Perth (March 2014)

Posted in Holidays, Perth, Reviews, Travel with Kids, Videos of JahBella by jahbella

After exposing the kids to the Swan Valley Caversham Wildlife Park on Day 1 and the Lansdale Farm school two days ago, I was starting to wonder if another day spent with animals would be wise at all. Wouldn’t the kids be extremely bored of animals by now? Was it going to be worth the drive? I’m pretty sure a lot of people would probably have decided to give it a pass if they were in our position but we decided to go ahead with it.

It was a really really hot day and I was getting alittle irritable with the weather and the potential of it being a disappointing day for the kids. But I can’t tell you how wrong I was.

The Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm may not look as polished as some of the other parks. In fact I have heard people describing it as run-down and dirty and therefore discouraging others to visit it on their trip. But honestly, it’s a farm! I don’t expect the farm to be in tip-top spanky clean condition, after all animals live there!

What I liked and enjoyed about the place was really the fact that it stayed ‘true to its roots’ as a farm while still managing to accommodate the little children and make things a little fun and interactive for them. What amazed me about the place was the young girls who were working there and dealing with the animals! It was pure hard back-breaking work but these teenagers didn’t seem to mind it one bit. They took their work very seriously and were not concerned about how hot it was or how dirty/ smelly things were. Definitely something a lot of teenagers could learn from.

The entry cost to the farm included interaction with animals, free tractor rides around the farm, free food to feed the animals and free bottle feeding to name a few.

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6Nov2014

Juice Cleanse Day 2 – Review

Posted in Reviews by jahbella

The second day of my Juice Cleanse was honestly rather uneventful J I suppose it is true, what they say about it getting easier with each day. Although honestly I don’t know if I could have dealt with a 3^rd day without having cravings drive me nuts.

My bottle 1 was supposed to be Pear, lemon, Superfood Cayenne pepper but I learnt from Day 1’s experience that the Cayenne Pepper was a ‘killer’ when it comes to toilet visit. Given that I had a morning filled with meetings, I figured it wasn’t a good idea and decided to change the sequence alittle so I started with Bottle 2. So yes, a note to working mums – you can change up the sequence according to what works for your schedule, the numbering is just a recommendation. 🙂

Bottle 2 – Cacao & Maca Nutmylk (Dairy-free, Almond & Cashew, cinnamon, medjool dates with Superfood Cacao and Maca

So I started my day with a nut milk and I think it tasted better than Day 1’s Black Sesame nut milk so yes perhaps I just don’t really like Black Sesame. I took this bottle at 930am and I managed to last a lot longer than Day 1. Maybe it was because I was distracted with work or maybe my stomach had shrunk but I didn’t really get any hunger pangs that day. My advice when going on a Juice Cleanse is really to keep to your usual activities and ‘distractions’, taking it too easy might make you think about food a lot more and make it a lot tougher.

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4Nov2014

Juice Cleanse Day 1 – Review

Posted in Reviews by jahbella

So yes as some of you might have already heard, Joel and I decided to go on a 2 day juice cleanse! I know a lot of people have been rather curious about this new ‘fad’ including us so we decided to give it a go. I was initially concerned about how I was going to survive through the hunger pangs during work hours but let me assure it, this is very do-able even for a full-time working mum. In fact the tough part was probably figuring out how many bottles I would be needing at work and then lugging the heavy glass bottle filled juices to work and ensuring that I keep them cold on the way to work.

For those wondering how I transported my juices, I used my Fridge-to-Go bag (with ice pack) which could hold 3 bottles as well as one of those cheap/ free little cooler bags to hold another 2. I would leave both bags in the pantry fridge when I got to work. Joel on the other hand used one of the larger cooler bags provided by the juice company to transport them to the office and then putting them in the office fridge thereafter.

So how did we fare on Day 1 and what’s on the menu? J

For info – There was a 7^th bottle which contained Coconut water for hydration. I consumed this bottle is small quantities throughout the day and was done with it by the time 6pm came around.

Bottle 1 – Pear, Lemon, Superfood Cayenne Pepper

We started off with our first bottle at about 930am and it wasn’t quite the start we expected but probably the start we needed. Oh the Cayenne Pepper burned my insides for sure! Apparently this will help to jumpstart your system and get you running to the toilet a couple of times for some of that ‘cleansing’. I felt ok after the first bottle, given that my body wasn’t expecting any food in my system till about 1pm.