What's a good diaper bag?

Touring Tote from The Insanely Chic: I couldn't resist it, despite the price tag

I was talking to a girlfriend a few days ago about diaper bags. Being a first-time mom, she didn't find tips like "depends on your needs" when choosing a diaper bag very helpful. Especially when she doesn't know what she needs!

Our trusty Dash from Skip Hop. Three years and counting.

I love bags with a passion (any woman in her sane mind would too!), and naturally diaper bags came under much scrutiny when I was looking for one when Kai was born. Terence often say I'm willing to compromise practicality (and value for money) for the sake of design and style. *Blush*

Personally, I like diaper bags:

1. With straps that allow you to switch between carrying it on the shoulder and attaching it to the stroller. The Touring Tote gives you three carrying options. It can be used as a small hobo, a long shoulder bag, and clipped on to the stroller.

2. That has many compartments inside that allow you to organize your stash.

3. Must have easy-to-access pockets on the outside for items like mobile phone, keys etc.

4. That has a long 'shelf-life', i.e. stylish yet practical enough for me to continue using long after my kids are out of their diapers.

5. That are made of canvas or easily washable/wipeable materials.

Based on this criteria, Skip Hop's Dash wins over the Touring Tote. However, I like the latter because well, it is very pretty. :-p But I think my diaper bag acquisition drive stops here. I'm pretty happy to own one that's more rugged and unisex--or at least something that Terence doesn't mind carrying--and another that's feminine. Perfect for tea with a bunch of yummy mummies.

The domestic goddess

Ho no no. I wasn't referring to myself but Nigella Lawson. Her 'womanly curves' prove that one need not be skinny to be a 'goddess'.

I figured since I'm on a path of trying recipes from some of TV's most popular chefs--namely Jamie Oliver and David Rocco--I should not forget Nigella. Her Anglo-Asian lamb salad tasted as yummy as looked on TV. (My lamb was nice and pink in the center before I added the dressing that 'cooked' the meet a little, which explains why it looks brown in the picture^).

It's definitely a recipe I'll try again.

The secret path

Our secret path

When we first moved into our current apartment, I told Kai that there is "a secret path" that leads him to school. It's actually a short cut that takes one behind a row of bungalows and alongside a huge drain.

A new leaf unfurling

It isn't exactly a 'secret' since quite a lot of people from our estate use it. But being far removed from the main road and with so many interesting things to see along the way, Kai really see it as his own special, secret path.

On some days, we would pretend that there is tiger after us or a boulder rolling behind us. On other days, he would tell me what he sees floating in the drain (leaves, leaves, and more leaves). It's always fun to point out things to him along the way and listen to his make-believes. And he finds what we adults would normally see as the mundane or boring, interesting. To us, a pipe's just a pipe. But to Kai, a small pipe brings water to the big drain and has rats living in them.

I'll loathe the day he sees a pipe as just another pipe.

A lazy Saturday morning at Laurent Bernard Chocolatier

I've heard of Laurent Bernard Chocolatier at Portsdown Road for quite a while now. It is located in a place that doesn't sound at all Singaporean--Wessex Village Square, a name that reminds me of small, quaint European towns with cobblestone streets and romanesque water fountain in the middle of its square.

But it is far from that. The only thing that is remotely European are the black and white British colonial houses nearby. It also has a very relaxed, sleepy Aussie town vibe to it.

Although the restaurant is known for its desserts and chocolate drinks, its main courses are surprisingly good. My open face sandwich of goat's cheese came with bread that was soft and fresh. We ordered a waffle for Kai which came with rich chocolate sauce, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and fresh cream with vanilla bean in it. Priced at S$10-plus, it's definitely value for money.

Though the location is one of its charms, it's also a setback. It isn't easy to get to without your own transport. But Singaporeans are always travel for food, so it's definitely worth a taxi-ride there.

(Photos in this blog entry were taken using my mobile phone, so the photos really do not do the food real justice.)

Baby outfit

The most convenient thing to do at home is to grab whatever outfit is at the top of the pile and throw it onto the baby. That means a lot of outfits get recycled while those at the bottom, well stay at the bottom.

A few days ago, to my horror, I dug up a size "0000" onesie (one-piece baby suit) from the bottom of the pile that Kai has never worn and which Kit--being the size he is now--cannot wear. I also dug up a new "Magic Baby Swaddle" that I've only used once on Kit, and which is now too tight across the chest.

That sent me going through Kit's wardrobe with a frenzy. With him "growing like a weed" (quote, unquote a friend), I had better find any never-worn-before-outfits before they become obsolete. As a result, I uncovered a cute onesie^ a friend gave us yonks ago.

A rush of memory came back to me as I held that onesie from Dolphin Discovery Centre. I still remembered the biting cold that greeted me on 26 March 2007 when I opened the car door and ran from the centre's carpark with then 9 month old Kai, who fell sick during our first trip to Perth. He was such a baby then and how fast he's grown.

Parents, hold the memory of your children close. Everything that happens, happens only once in a lifetime.

Strike a pose

It's very hard to get my 3yo to pose for the camera. He either runs away screaming "no, no, no", turns his face away, or just frowns at the lens. But a few days ago, he obliged and put on different expressions for the camera. We laughed ourselves silly. What a wonderful way to end the evening.

Baby love

Babies draw a lot of attention. Perhaps it is nature's way of ensuring that someone so small and fragile is cared for. And sometimes, the perks also extend to the caregiver as I re-discovered recently.

At the Sentosa payment gantry a few weeks ago, I was asked for the confirmation letter from the hotel that I was staying at. As I was joining Terence, who was there for a conference, I didn't have the letter which would grant me free entry to the island. The lady peered into my car, saw a toddler looking at her with big innocent eyes and a baby sleeping soundly, she said: "Oh, never mind lah."

And so that was how I entered Sentosa that trip without having to pay a single cent.

# # #

Just yesterday, I had to go back to our old apartment to return the transponder for our car. I expected the guard to go through the process of taking down my particulars, the unit I was going to, purpose for visit, and all that jazz. But the guide looked into my car and said: "Oh, you got baby ah. For a while only right? Never mind, just go."

Babies are really useful. Time to discover ways to get the most of Kit at this time of his life. :-p

A pleasant surprise

The welcome kit we received at the Butterfly Lodge on Sunday came with two packets of spinach, courtesy of the hydroponics farm.

While mummy and the two boys snoozed the afternoon away. daddy went out and bought chicken bones to make his own take on spinach in superior stock--a popular Cantonese dish. So I woke up to a yummy chicken stock boiling in the kitchen.

It turned out to be a meal where we didn't have to coax, beg, and threaten Kai to eat. I whipped up another dish--thanks to the Chow's recipe--that's fast becoming popular in the Tan household--Pat Krapao Moo Sap (fried mince pork with basil and chili padi). Of course Kai's version didn't come with the chili.

Kai's day out at Butterfly Lodge

Now that I'm better adept at managing the schedule of a six-week old baby, the next thing on my list is to make sure I (or we) spend some special alone time with Kai. A Sunday outing to the Butterfly Lodge at Oh Farms was just what I needed--not to have to stare at baby all the time (!)--and Kai finally got to see in real-life what we've been reading in books.

We saw caterpillar eggs^...

caterpillars^...

chrysalis^...

and of course lots of butterflies^ up close! And believe or not, it's actually possible to touch the butterflies as they rest on the flowers. Even I was thrilled!

Firing up the wok

I have been cooking, cooking, cooking ever since I felt confident enough to bring Kit out alone to do grocery shopping after sending Kai to school in the morning. The sling, Baby Bjorn, and nursing shawl are my trusty helpers these days.

Alone? Grocery shopping? With baby?

Yup. After consulting with another friend who had to take care of two young kids in Australia all without domestic help (and expecting a third). I figured it could be done. It just take a lot of good planning and prayers that baby will not fuss... too much.

# # #

The last time I made fried rice was when I was studying in Australia. Making it again yesterday just reminded me how unhealthy the dish can be when you eat it outside. The sinfully good fried rice is coated with oil! Mine is a much healthier version, though some foodie might just cringe at the thought of not-so-oily fried rice?

The treasure box

Sometimes Kai sits with me while I nurse Kit in his room. To distract Kai, I'll ask him to "find what's in Di-di's (little brother) treasure box". It's this toy box from Ikea that's choc-a-bloc with Kai's old baby toys and other hand-me-downs from friends.

He gets a blast discovering new ways of playing with them. Just the other day, he found a teething ring filled with plastic pieces in different shapes and we spent some time describing the shapes. And he's refused to let me take anything out of the box or from the room! It's a great way of spending time together with my boys.

My boys

How do you know you have enough?

That was the question MIL asked me a few days ago when the topic of breastfeeding Kit came up. (It's the perennial question all well meaning grandmothers love to ask.) Kellymom.com has a good answer.

Look at Kit. With his feet sticking out of the swaddle cloth that used to fit him so well, I'd say he has enough!