Parenting in 2016 – JahBella Style

I hadn’t intend for this to be my first post of 2016, in fact I didn’t intend to write such a post at all. But as I was reading my first book of 2016 (I only read 1 book last year, goodness!), I realised that I needed to document this as a reminder to myself for the year (and for always).

I just started reading “Don’t make me count to three” which essentially is a Christian Parenting book. I’ve only gotten through a couple of pages but the first few pages truly spoke to me and reminded me of our purpose in our kids’ lives.

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All very timely since I also just read today on social media about how there are tons of people who regret having kids and apparently people are justifying it and making it seem like it is perfectly fine to ‘regret having your kids’.

 
Don’t get me wrong, there are days where we wonder what our lives would be like at that very moment if we decided to have kids later. But I absolutely do not regret having my kids, not even in the craziest and angriest moments do I regret them.

 

There are moments when frustration takes over and in recent days, we have felt these moments more often than we would like to and then I wonder if I am not doing a good enough job with them but regret? NEVER! We adore them and are truly blessed to have them in our lives.

 
Jah seems to be going through a rough time. We seem to be going through a rough time with his behavior and discipline. We have essentially tried every trick in the book but when we get an outburst or when he gets out of control, we just can’t get through to him like we normally do. It’s tiring, trying and altogether downright discouraging especially when we have to juggle work, kids and everything else in between. So when he misbehaves, we find ourselves misbehaving too. As frustration and irritation escalates, we resort to threats, shouting, giving him the cold shoulder and well spanking. Honestly none of which we are proud of and none of which even helps or changes his behaviour.

 
Then the book reminds me that I need to attend to his heart and not his behaviour. It reminded me that as much as I might want to ‘give up’ each time my kids challenge my patience and my sanity and as much as I might want to scream in defeat. I need to remember what I’m here for.

 
I’ve been given a chance to love, nurture, and mould these little beings. There is a reason why they were placed in our hearts and in our home.

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It reminded me of Jah asking where he had come from and why he wasn’t in some of our earlier photos and why he only ‘appeared’ a few years later. It reminded me of my answer to him.

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That he came from heaven, from God and Jesus.
That it took him and his sister alittle while to get to us because God and Jesus needed time to choose 2 of their most special Angels for us.

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And now that they are finally here, it is our turn to take care of them and teach them how to be good children and good people.

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So when patience run dry and tempers run high, we will need to remind ourselves of how blessed we are indeed to have these angels in our lives and focus on helping them as well as ourselves become better people..

 

Starting our parenting lovingly and patiently in 2016…:)

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JahBella’s Mummy

JahBella’s Moments of 2015

It truly has been quite the year and so I thought what better way to close off their year than with a post on JahBella’s Moments of 2015. Some of our milestones, recaps and well just the awesome fun times we have had this last year. So here goes…..JahBella’s Moments of 2015! 🙂

JahBella’s first family holiday with the village!! Lets do it again next year guys!!!

Our first Kid’s run and I’m sure we will be back next year for more runs!

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New job for JahBella’s mummy after 11 years means Jah and Bella have to get used to a new routine and I have to say they have been awesome!! No photos though but I figured it’s worth a mention :p

Bella turns 2! And discovers her love for food? Oh sorry she discovered that a long time ago…both kids discovered their love for seafood!! Lucky us!! 🙂

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We moved out of our first nest after 7 years!!!

JahBella’s Mummy’s 15 minutes of ‘fame’ on Talking Point :p

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 Our trip to Tokyo…Our longest and furthest trip yet with JahBella and our first time travelling as a family of 4….I still can’t believe I survived it and honestly I wouldn’t mind doing it again.

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SG50 Staycation! Fireworks and flypast galore at the padang!

Jah wins his first online competition and gets Mummy a week with the Beetle..yay!!

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We discovered the islands of Singapore with our family!!!

       

Its Halloween! We love dress up! 
 

Our little Superhero is 4!

 

Mummy I’m 4! And I have discovered my love for animals! 🙂
  
 

USS! Where finally everyone can go on rides together (most rides) and we discovered who the thrill seeker in the family is..yes Bella and her love for rollercoasters..oh my! 

Wedding in the family! 1st time as Page Boy and Flower Girl! 

  
 

School Concert 2015! Bella’s first concert!

  
 

Jah’s first time on a public stage! Milestone indeed…#proudmummy  

 A Star Wars kind of Christmas! Jah has developed a love for Star Wars Lets see how long this last 😉   

 

No photos from Christmas yet, given that its Christmas Eve today. However going by their enthusiasm for Christmas, I think its going to be an awesome one!

  
 Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy New Year in advance and we will see you all next year!

In the meantime, follow us on Facebook and Instagram to find out what we will be up to for the last couple of days of 2015! 🙂

SpongeBob SquarePants Krabby Patty Celebration ‘Live’ On Stage (City Square Mall- Christmas 2015) – Media Invite

Every year the kids will need to do at least 1 of their Annual Christmas Live Show/ Meet & Greet Sessions at a mall (yes I know they don’t just do it during Christmas ;P) But somehow the ambience is always little merrier and more special during the festive season.

This year they chose to attend the SpongeBob SquarePants Krabby Patty Celebration ‘Live’ On Stage at City Square Mall. Honestly they aren’t really fans of SpongeBob or at the very least have not been exposed to the cartoon series yet. However SpongeBob and his best friend Patrick in their larger than life costumes were so infectiously funny that the kids were drawn to them really quickly.
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The thing I love about the shows at City Square Mall is that you don’t find yourself ‘queuing’ or waiting for 1-2 hours, only to find that the show is 10 minutes long or that the characters appear for 2 dance numbers and then leave abruptly.

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SpongeBob’s little party was approximately 20-30 minutes long if you include the prelude/ skit we enjoyed before the main characters came on stage. Yes there was a prelude! Which was also Jah’s first time on stage in front of a live audience at a mall! I think I was more nervous than him but he was all game to go onstage and help out the nice friendly pirate :p

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If you or your kids are fans of SpongeBob and his friends then you shouldn’t miss this Live Show which is ending its run this weekend. And even if you aren’t fans of the yellow spongy fella, there are enough crazy fun, catchy tunes and a storyline for a bit of weekend entertainment.IMG_6794

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Need more fun? You can proceed outside to first-ever outdoor SpongeBob Playland where there are several activity stations for the kids to test their reflexes and bounce away their endless energy.

 

More details on the Live Show and SpongeBob Playland can be found below.

 SpongeBob SquarePants Krabby Patty Celebration ‘Live’ On Stage

Date: 5 – 20 December 2015 (Except Mondays)

Time: 2pm & 7pm (Tues – Fri); 1pm, 4pm & 7pm (Sat & Sun)

Venue: Level 1 Atrium

Tips: Redeem a Meet & Greet pass one hour prior to each show and snap a photo with SpongeBob and Patrick, limited to 50 passes per show.

First ever Outdoor SpongeBob Playland

Date: 20 November 2015 – 3 January 2016

Time: 12pm – 10pm daily (last admission at 9.30pm)

Venue: Level 1 City Green park

Tips: With a minimum spend of $30*, shoppers can redeem a SpongeBob Playland activity pass at the L2 Customer Service Counter. Activities are suitable for age 3 and above.

 Snowy Playtime

Date: 20 November 2015 – 3 January 2016

Time: 8pm & 9pm daily

Venue: Level 1 City Green

SpongeBob SquarePants Episodes Free Screenings

Date: 5 – 27 December 2015 (Saturdays and Sundays only)

Time: 8.30pm

Venue: B1 Fountain Square

JahBella’s Mummy

Quayside Isle – & Made Burger and Gin Khao Review [Media Invite + Giveaway]

We have always enjoyed visiting Quayside Isle at Sentosa Cove with the family. After all what is there not to like when you get to enjoy good food with an awesome view of the yachts parked along the marina. Most importantly there is ample space for the kids to run around and enjoy some fresh air while they wait for lunch or dinner to be served.

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Given that Quayside Isle has an extensive selection of restaurants, the only tricky part would be settling on which restaurant to have your meal at. Check out their Dining Guide for a complete list of restaurants at Quayside Isle.

Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to try out two restaurants at Quayside Isle, namely &Made Burger Bistro L’Entrecôte Express as well as Gin Khao.

&Made Burger Bistro L’Entrecôte Express would have been a typical choice for our family on any given day. Burgers, fries and milkshakes make for perfect lunch options for the kids. But &Made made it even better for families by offering 2 low tables and chairs for the little ones to indulge in some colouring. This allows us parents to settle in and order our food peacefully.  Mind you that these tables are not located in some obscure corner of the restaurant which some restaurants sometimes do, almost making it seem like an afterthought. Rather the tables are located in a generous space, in the middle of the restaurant. This means I can be seated at either the high tables at the alfresco area or the regular tables within the restaurant and still have my kids pretty much right next to me.

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As the name suggest, burgers are their forte and you will be spoilt for choice on which burger to try. Trust me! We tried their Blue Moon burger, B&C burger, 3 Little Pig burger and new Lamb burger to name a few. The burgers are a very good size, with quality patties that are super tasty and juicy. The adult burgers range between $16 to $28 and the reason I say adult burger is because they also offer a kids menu at $10 and it comes with a mini burger and dessert. Jah is normally super picky when it comes to his food especially burgers but he polished off his plate of burger and truffle fries (ala-carte).  The kids burger came in a very manageable size which meant that I could concentrate on my own burger while he handled his own.

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Kids Mini Burger

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Kids Dessert

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Free Cotton Candy!

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Cotton Candy Moustache!

Gin Khao (Thai restaurant), on the other hand would probably not be my first choice when dining with Jah and Bella but I was surprised at how family friendly Gin Khao is. Spacious indoor seating allowed the kids to be very comfortable and the food was mildly spicy. For those who really can’t take anything remotely spicy or if ordering for kids, feel free to inform the kitchen that you would like a non-spicy version and they would gladly accommodate. We ate a whole lot that day even though we were half full from burgers, we still couldn’t resist!

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Enjoying the space and comfy seating

Some of our personal favourites include the Watermelon Rice (a spin on the typical Pineapple Rice), Prawn spring roll, Tom yam soup, Crayfish Class Noodle and Chicken Wings (the kids had the non-spicy version which was equally tasty).

The restaurant also served very interesting desserts as well as some yummy drinks like Iced Rose Thai Milk Tea and Coconut Mojito (no alcohol) Utterly refreshing!!

Definitely a perfect place to have a meal with the family even if there are little kids! When do you ever get to have Thai food with kids around? :p

The ambience at Quayside Isle is so serene that it almost feels like you have been transported outside of Singapore. Contrary to belief, Quayside Isle is not hard to get to and ample parking is available at Sentosa Cove Village Carpark which is a 3 minute walk away from all the restaurants while underground parking is also available at Quayside Isle. More details on how to get there, can also be found in the Dining Guide.

Now for the good stuff!

Quayside Isle has kindly offered to sponsor a S$100 Quayside Isle Voucher to one lucky reader of Jahbella.net .

To join the giveaway, just complete all the steps below.

The giveaway will end on 8 December 2015 2359hrs.

Congratulations to Khor Lee Ling!!!

You have won yourself a S$100 Quayside Isle voucher! We will be contacting you via PM shortly. Please remember to reply within 24 hours! 🙂 

Thanks for everyone’s support and do stay tuned for more giveaways! 

Terms and Conditions: The winner shall arrange to collect the prize directly from the sponsor. The winner will provide their details to Jahbella.net and the sponsor for this purpose.  We reserve the right to select another winner if the selected winner does not reply to our email within 24 hours.

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclosure: JahBella was invited to a Media Food Tasting at Quayside Isle. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and photos are my own.

Letter to Jah (4 years old)

Dear Jah,

You have just turned 4 years old a couple of days ago and it somehow feels like our little baby is now a little boy. A big boy you might correct me if you heard this now. Your Papa is still in disbelief because it has suddenly hit him/ us that you will be entering Kindergarten in a month’s time. We long to rewind to the days where you were a little colicky baby or when you were just learning to take your first steps. Ok maybe not so far back..:)

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Jah at 4 months old

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First unassisted step at 9 months 3 weeks

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But we know you are excited to grow up..you talk about entering Primary school and you talk about being 18 or 21. You talk about what you want to be when you grow up. Right now your dream profession is to be a clown. Yes I kid you not! You have gone from a ‘parachute pilot’ to an army soldier to finally a clown. Although you did mention last night that you wanted to be a teacher, just like me but your reason was so that we could go to school together. 🙂

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You have become quite a book worm and a Star wars fan

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Being 4 years old is proving to be a trying age for both you and your Papa and I. We absolutely love the conversations we have with you and your hilarious antics but sometimes things get a little out of hand. We love that you are so opinionated because it helps us to learn more about who you are but you are also starting to test the boundaries, push our buttons and well really really assert yourself. The past couple of weeks have been a nightmare to say the least because well apparently everything has to be Jah’s way or the highway. Oh wait a minute, Jah hasn’t come home for a few weeks now because he is climbing the beanstalk with Jack. Yes, you have assumed the identity of a little dog called Goldie and you have renamed my stuff dog ‘An’ (he used to be called Goldie). Yes you have become quite the drama king (in a rather cute and amusing way).

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We love your tender heart and your need to make sure that everyone is taken care of. We love the compassion that you have and the way you seem to understand the world’s big issues in your own little innocent, compassionate 4 year old way.You are mature beyond your years. You have a level of maturity and magnitude for forgiveness that even some adults may not have. We lost your iPad this last week and instead of breaking down and throwing a tantrum like we would expect any 4 year old or even an adult to for that matter. You said these words in the sweetest kindest voice ever, “Its ok Papa, I think the birthday robber came and took my iPad. Its not your fault Papa, its ok.” Ironically we would probably have felt much better if you had just thrown a tantrum but in that moment it felt like our hearts weighed 1,000 tonnes. Perhaps because it was filled with guilt but bursting with pride all at the same time.

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You have just turned 4 years old a couple of days ago and it somehow feels like our little baby is now a little boy. A big boy you might correct me if you heard this now.

But you will always be our little baby.

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JahBella’s Mummy