I've been researching for ideas for my girl's first birthday party. As much as we love her and would like to throw her a fun and memorable party, we are also very careful not to be too doting parents. We are unsure if we can raise/ maintain the bar as she grows older. She might expect a holiday, expensive presents when she's older and won't be able to treasure the value of money.
Here are some ideas I've shortlisted:
Venue
1) Condo Function Room
Usage of pool
2) Civil Service Club Bukit Batok Children Party Room
The children indoor playground is just next to the party room, can keep the kids entertained.
3) Hotels
Theme
I've attended a lot of children parties and some were very well planned. As an adult, I enjoy myself very much, I think the kids will love it more.
1) Animal/ Farm
2) Cartoon character
I am considering to do a movie screening using projector.
Food
1) Ronnie Kitchen
2) Neo Garden
3) Meihao
Cakes
1) Cake Avenue
2) Sweetest Moments
3) Pine Garden
4) Bengawan Solo. Didn't know Bengawan has character cakes and price is really reasonable. The cakes are good too.
5) Prima Deli
6) Swenson
7) Jelly cakes by Mr and Mrs James Chan. Hp 97887807/96350758. Healthy and cooling treats for the little ones.
Balloons and Deco
I'll be getting the balloon deco from Taobao, table cloths from Daiso.
Goody bags
Kids love goody bags. We have decided no unhealthy candies, biscuits and chocolates. Instead, we are considering stickers, Disney character plaster/ mosquito patch/ self inking stamps, bubbles, some DIY craft.
I'll share some of my purchases in my next post. Stay tuned.
Love,
Sherlyn
Hi everyone
Sorry for the lack of updates. My baby has just turned 10 months and I've been googling list of books for babies. Here are some recommended titles:
1) The Very Hungry Caterpillar
By Eric Carle
2) My Very First Mother Goose
By Iona Opie
3) Goodnight Moon
By Margaret Wise Brown
4) Guess How Much I Love You
By Sam McBratney
5) Dear Zoo
By Rod Campbell
6) Good Night, Gorilla
By Peggy Rathmann
Youtube video:
7) Are You My Mother?
By P.D. Eastman
8) Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By Bill Martin, Jr.
Youtube song
As usual, I've gotten some of the books at Taobao, please click on the links above. Hope you find this post useful.
p.s. please get board books for your younger ones. My girl has torn a few of the books. :(
Love,
Sherlyn
I am a laggard. Last night was my first virgin Uber ride and I'm totally sold.
It was pouring heavily and we were stranded at my in law's place (even though it's about 10-15 minutes walk to my place). I had called Comfort hotline trying to book a cab, was put on hold for about 10minutes and the operator asked me to hang up and called me back. I waited about 10minutes and still no return call.
Out of desperation, I googled for Uber cab, managed to download the app on iTune and set up the account. It was a breeze. Within 5minutes, a car was around the vicinity. As it was peak period, the fare surge was about 1.7times. The app has a fare estimation and even show where is my cab and estimated arrival time.
My driver was young, friendly, polite and speak very good English. Knowing it's my virgin Uber ride, he explained why Uber is more competitive than cab as there are no peak hours/ midnight surcharge and even airport pickup is a nominal fee. When I arrived at my destination, he told me to ensure that the driver ends the trip on his app and reminded me that no cash payment as it will be charged to my credit card. My fare was about $9.
To read more about Uber, you can visit https://www.uber.com/cities/singapore/?int=a
I hope the standards of our taxi companies will improve with competition.
p.s: Was taking a cab the other day and this taxi uncle was ranting about how Uber drivers steal their rice bowl ie any Tom, Dick or Harry can be a Uber driver. They can choose their customer via the Uber app, for example, the Uber driver can pick up passengers who travel long distance or if they are on the way to their day job, they can pick up passenger and still earn money.
Uncle was also telling me that they need to go for lessons before they can apply for taxi license. To be a cabby also require experience eg you can get lost in certain places like Fusionopolis even with GPS. Uncle warned me that Uber cars are not authorised and not covered under insurance in case of accidents and asked me to think twice before taking Uber cars.
Updates on 17 Mar 2016:
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/grabcar-uber-drivers-may-need-vocational-licence-soon
Love,
Sherlyn
It seem that audio/ sound books is very limited in Singapore. I've searched a few bookstores but the selections are really limited.
I managed to order these 3 titles from Taobao, which I also saw at Babyland Fair selling about $25 after 15% discount:
1)ABC 欢唱绘本, RMB72.25
2) 儿歌欢唱绘本, RMB72.25
3)童谣欢唱绘本, RMB72.25
As Taobao now offers direct shipping, I googled online for reviews. I have always use 4PX, some folks at hardwarezone forum mentioned that the cheapest shipping is from 65Daigou. I googled and true enough, the shipping charges is so much cheaper. This time round, I paid $19.50 for shipping by sea for my taobao loots of about 6.5kg, estimated 8-14days as the audio books are classified custom sensitive and cannot be shipped by air.
Here's a table comparison:
|
First 1kg |
Subsequent 500g |
Total charges for
6.5kg |
| Taobao
direct |
RMB39
SGD$8.76 |
RMB11
SGD$2.47 |
$
35.93 |
| 4PX |
RMB43
SGD$9.66 |
RMB12
SGD$2.70 |
$
39.36 |
| 65Daigou |
SGD$3 |
SGD$1.50 |
$
19.50 |
using exchange rate of SGD$1 equiv to RMB4.55
Hope you find this post useful.
Love,
Sherlyn
p.s. I've ordered 2 more sound books from Taobao which I would highly recommend.
1)
圣诞儿歌谣音乐书
2)
ABC欢唱歌谣
As my girl has started to flip and is starting to learn to crawl, I was googling for recommendations of Korean playmat in Singapore.
1) LG
2) Parklon
3) Dwinguler
4) Proby
I've gotten 2 LG playmats for my nephew previously and they are really expensive. It has been 4-5 years and the mats are still in good condition. Parklon and Dwinguler is only slightly cheaper than LG.
I have decided to give Proby a try as it's so much cheaper. I placed order with this Qoo10 seller based on the many good reviews. Seller is very responsive over SMS, has ready stock and is able to deliver the next day which is a public holiday. :) I got Funnimal in Size S (150x200x1.7cm), which cost $69.80+ $7.80 shipping. I didn't get in Size M as I think it might be too big. I would be happy if my girl will use the playmat till 1-2 years old else never fully maximise the value. Hahaha... I didn't get the 2.2cm thick either as reviews state that it is difficult to roll up.
Item came wrapped in clear plastic bag and it was in good condition. It's very lightweight compared to LG (though mat is thinner) but I think it's good enough. The colours are very vibrant and my girl love it. Would highly recommend this playmat to all parents.
Thanks for reading my blog!
Love,
Sherlyn
Have not been updating the blog, was busy with house renovation and moving. :)
I shall share some of the baby symptoms/ illnesses, of which, I manage to clarify some with Pediatrician. Hope you find this post useful. :)
1) Baby has flaking/ peeling skin
It is perfectly normal as they are shedding their old layer of skin. My baby has flaking skin about 2 weeks after she was born. We switched her bathing to Sebamed bubble bath and applied Kodomo lotion after each bath.
2) Baby has rashes/ pimple outbreak
My baby has sudden rashes outbreak 1 week before her baby shower :(. However, it cleared up on its own. As my baby is on mixed feeding, not sure if it because I stopped taking red date tea which is supposed to be heaty after my confinement.
3) Baby has cradle crap
This is normal. You can apply baby oil 1hour before bath so as to soften the scalp so that it is easier to remove using wash cloth during bath time.
4) Baby hiccuping after feed
This is normal unless baby vomit.
5) Baby having spastic movement
This is normal and it's called Moro reflex.
6) Baby's poo is greenish
It will be a concern if poo is red, black or white.
I find this website very useful as it has a visual guide.
7) Baby has cough and flu.
I sent my baby to KKH Children Emergency on one Sunday morning as her breathing is noisy and congested, she vomited her milk and her milk intake reduced drastically. Most of the PDs were not opened on Sundays.
Baby below 6months can't take medicine as their organs are not fully developed. :( The doctor prescribed nasal saline drop (sterile eye drop) and Oxymetazoline HCI 0.01% Nose Drop. We also got the nasal aspirator to help draw out her mucus.
In case you are not sure if you should see doctor, you can call KKH Ask A Nurse. The nurse is really knowledgeable.
8) Bald spot at back of baby head
Noticed there's a bald patch at the back of baby's head. I read that this is due to baby's sleeping position or rubbing against the mattress. It is recommended to alternate baby's sleeping position and tummy time when they are awake.
9) Excessive drooling
I read infants do not often develop full control of swallowing and the muscles of the mouth until they are between 18 and 24 months old. It often occurs when baby is teething.
Love,
Sherlyn
It is important to have a good name selection for baby as it help to balance the 5 elements in the bazi. I find this website quite useful as it calculate the score of the name.
I have engaged Natural Geomancy Consultancy for my baby Chinese name selection. The charges is $128.
Here are the contact details:
Tel: 62999119
7500A Beach Road
#16-303 The Plaza
Singapore 199591
You make the bank transfer and forward the personal data ie DOB, time of birth, place of birth and surname to natgeocy@singnet.com.sg.
They will send you the name details for your selection.
They will schedule you to meet the Master Chiang (waiting time is about 2weeks), the appointment will take approximately 1/2 hour.
It is best that you bring along your own pen and paper to jot down notes as Master Chiang will rattle off. It is also advised that you prepare list of questions to ask Master Chiang eg things to take note of, luck period, education, health, suitable career choices, wealth luck etc.
