Our Trip to Genting Highland

We went on a 4 days 3 nights trip to Genting Highland (12-15 June) with our neighbours and their extended families. It was Reuben's first trip out of Singapore and Phoebe's second. (She went to Hong Kong when she was 15 months old). The coach ride was seven hours. The trip there was pretty tough. We were allocated the last few seats of the coach. Anyone would know that the last few seats would experience the bumpiest ride of the journey. Poor Phoebe puked four times while going up highland. She couldn't eat at all because whatever went in came out within an hour. She also didn't have much sleep throughout the journey. I guess she was too excited to snooze. What about Reuben? He did have a short nap of about 1.5 hours. Then throughout the ride, he was agitated and frustrated. He wanted to come down from his seat to walk in the coach! How can ? So he wailed and he cried and he screamed... I had to nurse him to calm him down but how much milk could he suckle right ? So he wailed, cried and screamed again... *tsk tsk tsk...*

And when we reached there at about 2.30 p.m., we had to wait for about 2 hours before we were allocated our room. We stayed in First World Hotel. It was the peak season. There were people everywhere. We were exhausted and dirty. Reuben wanted to walk around, but we tried not to let him coz it was 'people mountain people sea'! So again, he wailed, cried, screamed and kicked. In the end, we let him but we watched him like a hawk, just in case he got lost amongst the crowd, or someone kidnap him. Afterall, Reuben is so cute and handsome right ?

Finally,we got our room. We were so so so glad! The room was GREAT! We booked the World Club Room. It was spacious, clean and odourless! I think the room was newly renovated. The toilet was clean and the cement between the tiles were WHITE! :) The children were totally relaxed in their room. Reuben lazed on the bed, and was rubbing his toe jam while watching TV! (Look at the first picture below) The children also loved playing in the bath tub. They refused to get out of the water.

The next two days, we played in the Outdoor and Indoor Theme Parks. Phoebe really enjoyed herself. There were many rides which she could take. Her favourite was the "Rodeo Horse Riding". She must have sat on it for at least five times! She also loved the carousel and the bumper car too. Reuben still didn't know what was going on but he also took some of the rides.

The food was pretty expensive. Imagine my hubby and I ate a medium pot of 'bak kut teh' with only 3 pieces of 'bak kut' and 2 strips of 'chee cheong fun' with no fillings for 25 Singapore Dollars! It's really a tourisy place. If your kid is wearing diapers, you better bring enough because we couldn't find any place that sells diapers! No supermarket and the Watsons doesn't carry diapers too. We brought a mini rice cooker, some rice grains, a pack of mixed vegetables and some fresh threadfin to cook porridge for Reuben everyday. The shopping mall was huge but the prices were not attractive, e.g. their house brand "Pony" was more expensive over there than in Singapore.

The weather was cool but not cold. In fact, it was pretty sunny in the day. However, it can be a little chilly at night when the wind blew but we stayed indoors most of the nights.

We only visited the theme parks and shopping mall. We did not step into the Casino. We don't gamble and we don't like smoky places and children cannot be admitted into the Casino. Anyway, I also do not want to expose them to gambling and second hand smoking. So, no Casino for us!

Coming back was better. The journey was smooth and the children slept for about 2 hours. We went seated in row three of the coach. It was less bumpy and no one puked. Thank God.

Despite the fact that the journey up was rough, we had a good time, Phoebe especially. If you asked me if I would want to go visit Genting again, I'll probably think twice. The Indoor and Outdoor Theme parks were fun. The food was so so in quality and the shopping was not really attractive. Maybe two years later, then I might consider visiting Genting again. By then, Reuben would be 3 and Phoebe would be 6. Everything would be easier then :)

While in Genting, Phoebe asked me, "Mommy, why we never stay in our own home in Seng Kang ? Why we stay here ?"

I replied her, "We're not in Singapore now. We're in Genting. We're here for a holiday. This is a hotel room. We will go back to our Seng Kang house when we go back to Singapore."

When we were back in Singapore, a few days later, Phoebe asked me again, "Mommy, why we very long never go to the hotel room already?"

I answered her, "We're in Singapore now. We're back from holiday. We will not go back to the hotel room again. Why ? You missed Genting? (Phoebe replied yes, she missed the rodeo ride and the horse and the bath tub and the bumper car). Next time, mommy will take you there again, okay?" (Phoebe replied okay).

I think children do not have the concept of country yet. They do not understand that we have travelled long distance from one place to another. :)

And then Phoebe also asked me, "Mommy, why we never go to gong-gong and ma-ma's house ? I very long never see gong-gong already."

I replied, "We went on a trip to Genting, remember ? And gong-gong and ma-ma went to Bangkok after we came back from Genting (My parents went to Bangkok on 16-19 June). So we have not seen them for quite a while (for 8 days). Why ? You miss them?"

Phoebe replied, "Yes, I very long never see gong-gong and ma-ma already."

Me : Yes, I miss them too. Okay, when they're back from Bangkok, we'll go to their house to visit them okay?

Phoebe : Okay!

Such a cute baby! :)

National Museum

Together with another blogger-mommy cum ex-JC classmate, we brought our kids to the National Museum. Every year during the school holidays, the National Museum will have some activities for children. We didn't join the workshops that the museum organised because they are meant for older kids and they charge a fee. Instead, we let the children explore with the children exhibits and free-play manipulatives. The manipulatives are simple but yet creative, e.g. magnets are stuck to toilet pipes and thin hoses. The children can create hoops using the hoses and throw them onto the pipes, which are stuck onto a large metallic board on the wall. They can also join the thin hoses and form hula hoops and twirl them around their waists and hands. It was quite fun. The children enjoyed themselves. :)

Blogger-Mommies Outing 1

Pardon me for the backdated report. The blogger-mommies had our first outing on 8 June, Monday. We had a nice lunch at 'The Manhattan Fish Market' in Bishan Junction 8. The food was just okay (we prefer Fish & Co.) but the portion was generous! We ate a lot. Thereafter, we proceed to the Bishan Community Library. I read some books to Phoebe. Reuben chose his spot to poo and then he went around pulling out the books from the shelves and he talked loudly to himself. And then, he accidentally bumped his head and cried loudly. Hence, he was asked to leave the library. Poor boy. The children were on the whole, well-behaved but there was this librarian who kept hushing every other kid. I thought the library was relatively very quiet already. She should have came over to Compass Point library to work. She'll probably quit her job on the spot. Haha. :)

Silly me, forgot to bring my digicam. So have to rely on my lousy hp for pictures. Even then, I was engross in eating that I forgot to take pictures of the kids! :p These 2 were the only ones I've taken...

Dora @ Airport T3

For those who have not caught the Dora & Friends performance in Changi Airport Terminal 3, I would highly recommend you to go catch it! It was more than a Meet and Greet session. The whole performance was about 25 minutes. There were dancing and singing. Phoebe enjoyed it very much. Even Reuben would sway and bounce to the lively music. And the best part of all, it's FREE! Haha :) Well, if you spend a minimum of $70 by VISA or $100 by other means in Changi Airport Public Area in a maximum 3 same day receipts, you can redeem exclusive Dora collectibles and choose to take part in the Dora’s Best Friend’s Day Live Show or the free tour around Changi Airport and you get to sit right in front, at the feet of Dora and strain your neck to watch the giant mascot. But for cheapskates like me, you don't need to spend any amount and you can still watch the show in a good distance. In fact, before the show starts, they would actually remove the yellow barricade and invite the non-spenders to move to the privilege area. Actually, I thought it was quite gracious of them, though it may seem a little unfair for the spenders. What the heck! For the sake of my 2 babes, I'll just bury my face in my children's hair, grab them by their torso and dash them to the nearest possible spot to watch the performers' feet! :)

Next Trip For Blogger Mommies

Monday July 6 2009, Youth Day

9.30 a.m. (Meet at Zoo entrance)

Gamers :

1) GKK + Joshua

2) Jess + XC + BB Y'er

3) Tiredmommy + Auntie + Phoebe + Reuben + My hubby

4) Dadaluff + Sophie

Anymore gamers ?

Spelling

Phoebe has learnt to write some of her letters. Initially, I wanted her to learn how to write all 26 of them this holiday but we have only one week and three days more to the reopening of school. She has only learnt to write A, B, C, D, E, F, H, I, L, M, O, P, Q, R, T, U and W. Last night, I gave her a speling. I said the letters and she was supposed to write. I only tested her the first 6 letters. She got all of them correct! :) I'm proud of my little girl :)

School Holidays To Spend Money

For me, I tend to spend more money during the school holidays than usual school term. That's because I would bring the children out, visit places, have lunch outside and buy them things. Even if we didn't go overseas, hanging around in Singapore can be rather expensive too. It makes things worse when the tired mommy is also a spendthrift mommy. This holiday, beside getting Phoebe her new bike, we also got her some apparel, such as her new Laura Ashley's dress, a Minnie Mouse cap , a pair of running shoes (which was really cheap $9 from BATA), a new T-shirt from Osh Kosh, 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of long grey pants, a pair of new hairclips, a pink pencil, a wooden necklace + bracelet and till today, a Sesame Street Big Bird T-shirt.

What about my little boy ? All he has gotten was a a story book, a Mickey Mouse cap and an identical Sesame Street Big Bird T-shirt. It's not that we're favouring Phoebe over Reuben. It's just that boys basically have lesser things to buy and lesser variety too.

Don't be mistaken and think that this tired mommy is a boastful mommy. I'm not rich, in fact, I'm pretty poor and I think it's precisely coz of all these buying for my kids that I'm poor. But, it's alright! I'm not sad about the low figures in my bank account. Whenever I see the smile on my children's face, I think it's all worth it. I guess it's the same with all mommies :) Well, that doesn't mean that we can afford to be extravagant. I guess it'll be difficult for me to be a home-maker because I like financial independence. Yet, I sometimes I also wish to be with my children all the time. Actually, I'm glad that teaching allows me to spend time with my children (during the holidays) and also pays me my bread and butter. I can also preserve my sanity when I have a break, away from my children for a while each day. So, teaching is not so bad after all... haha :)

Phoebe's New Bike

So fast, Phoebe has outgrown her tricycle. I think we've hardly let her sat on it, and I think we only brought her out cycling in her tricycle once or twice before. Reuben went outdoor with it once. The tricycle was really new. It's good that we have Reuben to inherit the tricycle from his jie-jie. We sourced for a new bike for Phoebe for a few months. We wanted to get one that's aesthetically nice, rather unisex and relatively cheap. Finally, we found this in Giant Parkway. My hubby saw it in the newspaper an afternoon and immediately called Giant to reserved one. That following night, we went to pick it up. It was the last piece, selling at $49. We thought it was a good buy as it has fulfilled all our requisites. Phoebe loves her bike. I'll get her a pink safety helmet. We'll bring the two kiddos out for cycling soon! :)

Mama's 64th Birthday

Mama is 64 years old now. I feel extremely happy to celebrate her 64th birthday. In fact, ever since her last year's explosion of illness, I treasure every birthday that mama celebrates and will celebrate. I look forward to every of her birthday. And I tell myself that I will celebrate every of her birthday. Not just hers but also all my love ones because you never know when will be their last. Sounds pessimistic ? It's life. It's God's gift to us and we must celebrate it.

Anyway, do you remember the roller art that Phoebe had done last week ? I didn't know what to do with them, so I kept them. My hubby suggested to Phoebe to make a card for Mama. With her previous experience in making a card (for Vera), Phoebe was able to complete one for mama that very morning itself. I cut out two of Phoebe's and Reuben's palm prints and also three hearts out of the roller printing. We made a card for Mama, with all our love.

Shangri-La Hotel was having a Flash-Your-Age promotion. I booked a buffet lunch at The Line one month in advance. The spread was good. We had a hearty lunch and took a few pictures after that.

Next year, when Reuben is older, I'll also get him to contribute in making a card for Mama. I'm looking forward to her 65th birthday! (^_^)