SG50 Family Picnic at the Istana – Families for Life

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

We had our first family picnic of 2015 over the weekend and we had it with tons of other families during the SG50 Family Picnic at the Istana organized by Families for Life.

Family pic before entering the Istana

Families for Life is organizing a series of family bonding activities and monthly family picnics in conjunction with the SG50 celebrations this year. In fact the monthly family picnics started last year and is held at a different location/neighborhood park each month.

The one we attended over the weekend was held at the Istana and was one of the largest one to be held, with families from all over Singapore gathering on the Istana grounds.

There were games, music, free milo, ice cream, coffee and popcorn. Bouncy castles and play equipments were set up all over the lawn to enter the little kids. Balloons and stickers were given out to kids and families. Each family that pre-registered for the event was also entitled to a complimentary cooler bag with some useful items like first aid kit, rain coats and a small umbrella to name a few. The cooler bag came in very handy for us to store our bag of ice because we were too lazy to lug a cooler box with us. :p

Milo truck

Items in our free cooler bag

SG50 Stickers and Calendar

Playground on the lawn

Families could also purchase up to 2 picnic baskets ($10 each) with proceeds going to the President’s Charity. I loved the little red picnic basket and it had some nice little treats inside. Especially nice for families who may have decided to travel light for their picnic. We, on the other hand braved the load and probably looked alittle silly carrying bags of bottle drinks and sandwiches and pies with us while queuing to get in but we were absolutely happy with the extra ice cold drinks and food. :p

Picnic basket goodies and more!

While the weather threatened to dampen our moods with passing showers (literally passing with 5 minutes of rain each time) and the occasional drizzle, the event was pretty cool. The kids went absolutely crazy with the space they had around them. The sprawling park and lawn where they could run freely without having us adults shouting at them to be careful. Something we really are not quite able to do or not do anymore. The live music that they could dance and groove to and the whole family just being able to relax and bask in the sunlight or huddle under one brolly together.

Perfect blue skies!

I’m singing in the rain!

The process of getting into this event was I assume slightly more tedious than the other park events but this is to be expected, given that we had to clear security etc to get through. Perhaps we will attend one of their other monthly picnics again soon to check out the difference. That being said, there is really nothing stopping us all from organizing our own little picnic with our families is there? 🙂

This is truly an awesome initiative and I hope more families will look to spend more time with each other. I’m fortunate that JahBella has the ‘village’ to spend weekends with, their ever sporty and fun uncles and aunties! #familytimeprecioustime 🙂

One more family pic before we leave!

JahBella’s Mummy

31Dec2014

JahBella’s Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Holidays, Kids health, Online Shopping, Perth, Photoshoot, Plays/ Theatre, Reviews, Tips with Kids, Travel Planning, Travel with Kids, Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

2014 marks the beginning of our blogging adventure – a decision to document our special family moments and vacation experiences as well as to give a little insight into the everyday lives of two full-time working parents, with two childcare going children. Although we have only been blogging for the last 5 months of 2014, the attempts to note down our experiences and thoughts have truly enrich our lives in more ways than we could imagine.

So to round off and recap our year, here are our Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014.

1) Why a C-Section Doesn’t Make You Less of A Woman/ Mother

A reminder to all c-section mummies that regardless of birth method, we are all precious in the eyes of our little ones and a c-section does not make you any less a mummy.

2) Little Nyonya – Peranakan Outfits for Little Girls

Want to know where to pick out food quality Peranakan outfits for yourself and the little one? Little Nyonya has really authentic and beautiful pieces!

3) The Playhouse @ Rochester – Review

An Outdoor AND Indoor playground for the kids, with yummy brunch food for the whole family

4) Update on Jah’s Head Injury

A life-changing and scary moment for our family this year in fact the entire family + uncles and aunties are still pretty shaken by this event. We thank God that Jah is well and healthy today.

5) 3 Must-Have Items When Flying With Kids

Our family’s must haves when flying with kids and looks like we will be trying these items on Bella in 2015.

6) My Top 4 Kiddy Products of the Moment – (Sep 2014)

While we are no longer using our Double Stroller, the other 3 items still continue to be my favourite parent-life saver of the moment..

7) How to Survive an Eye Test with a 3 year old

We will be attempting our 2nd eye test with Jah in Jan 2015. Perhaps another post soon on how we survived the same test, this time at a private practitioner. In the meantime, this should lend some insight on what goes on during an eye test at a government hospital.

8) Trigg Beach Family Photo Shoot (March 2014)

Our first of many more family photo shoots in Australia (i’m sure). Its really hard to get the whole family to look at the camera together pix especially when attemping wefies so I’m totally for photo shoots during our vacations..at least it guarantees some nice pics to take home with us 😉

9) Hop and Honk (I Theater) – Review

Jah’s introduction to his first full on theater play + an intermission and we survived! In fact keep a look out for more reviews on upcoming I Theatre productions in 2015! Can’t wait!

10) Getting Spectacles for Jah – The Ups and Downs

Finding a place that offers spectacles for kids below primary school going age, is really a tough feat in Singapore.

We are glad we found a place to go to for good quality spectacles that are ‘child resistant’ – a 3 year old is not going to treat his specs with the same care as a 13 year old.

So here are our Top 10 Blog posts from 2014!!

Thank you everyone for your support and we hope to share more of our adventures, tips and activities with you in the new year.

Happy 2015!

JahBella’s Mummy

22Dec2014

Fire Station Open House – JahBella’s first visit

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

I have always wanted to bring Jah for a fire station visit but figured we will wait till he is a little older to ‘get it’. So when we were looking for a ‘quick morning outing’ this Saturday, we thought why not the fire station. A quick morning outing for us = one that will allow us to be home by 12 noon for a nap and is usually required when we have an early evening commitment planned.

We found out that most fire stations in Singapore conduct Open House tours every Saturday from 9am to 11am. We weren’t sure if this meant that we could go in at 10am? 1030am? So we headed out bright and early and arrived on the dot at 9am. We later noticed that tours were being held as visitors came in, some tours fuller than others and I suppose it also depends on the manpower at the station at that point.

We were given a tour of the station, well more so of the vehicles and equipments which the Firemen use. The highlight for the kids was of course when they were allowed to use the equipment to fight the ‘fire’/orange cones. As always Jah took a while to warm up to new activities and was abit hesistant to fight the fire or to sit in the vehicles for photos. He decided post tour that he would ‘do more’ the next visit.

Bella on the other hand was super eager to get her hands dirty. We really didn’t think to offer her a chance at fighting fire, I mean she is only 19 months old but she actually ‘asked’ to do it. She is well and truly our little no fear fighter.

We didn’t quite know what to expect from the fire station visit but I would say it was a rather educational tour especially for the adults and it was good fun for the kids. Every kid was given a little SCDF plastic fireman helmet which Jah and Bella loved and yes this is definitely an activity that we would do again.

JahBella’s Mummy

18Dec2014

Hokey Pokey – Seletar Mall

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

JahBella have been to several indoor playgrounds before but they have never visited Hokey Pokey. So when we found out that they had open an outlet near to us and even nearer to our upcoming new place, we were keen to find out if it could become one of our regular spots.

We arrived at the newly opened Seletar Mall at 10am and there was no lack of parking space (although I heard from my sister that the parking gets very full towards the evening). Hokey Pokey is an indoor playground for babies from 6 months old to young kids up to 6 years old. None of the tedious climbing and crawling through tunnels for us old bones but I was worried that the activity level would be too mild for my active 3 year old.

The entry fee on weekends are $26 for 2 hours of play and upon a quick survey of their environment and facilities, we decided to ‘invest’ in a member’s package. The annual package cost $58 and it consists of 2 free sessions (day of purchase and during birthday month). It also included 1 free soft drink per visit (perfect for the thirsty parent) and discounted rates of $16 on weekends for 2 hours of play. We were also given a sibling discount for our 2^nd package at $38! As we signed up during their Christmas promo, we bagged an additional session + a free Christmas goodie bag and a nice box of cupcake and Christmas cookie. It was a really really nice gesture!

JahBella were the first kids there and they were blown away by the variety of toys there! There was a section with huge trucks, cars and Starwars characters which Jah could not tear himself away from. He alternated between that corner and another section with cars and ramps. Bella, on the other hand was all over the place, from the ball pit to the princess corner, from Thomas the train ride on a ramp to the kitchen corner. She played with everything!

Not a huge space but the variety was huge and the toys were so new!

Jah’s favourite area – he picked an orange Porsche from there and it never left his sight until we left

A wonderland of car ramps

His own Star Wars Battle

Boys can play with doll houses too 🙂

Whee!!

Where’s the baby?

Spoilt for choice

There were so many rides available – personally I find this Crayola ride super cute!

For the hungry parent or kids, there is a small café with a few tables and bar counter that overlooked the play area so you are never too far off from your child.

The two hours past really quickly and while the kids were not totally exhausted and thank goodness neither we were, they really enjoyed themselves. The ‘mild’ activity level was not a concerned because they were kept so occupied. The only problem would be prying them away from their newfound favourite toy or finding a way to say no to their request to buy a certain toy.

Jah declared that he would like to come back soon and yes I am pretty sure we will be.

JahBella’s Mummy

12Dec2014

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).