Magic

Shimmery, magical green. That was what came to my mind when I walked past this leaf-covered trunk in East Coast Park a few months ago. I can imagine pixies living in it, and it has since become one of my favorite spots at the beach. There is a shelter right behind the tree, and that's where Kit and I will seat on some days to enjoy our morning snack.

Like seashells on the seashore

Today is just one of those days where I feel like crawling under my blanket and just DIEeeeeee. Not literally, of course, but I just want to lie down and sleep away the fever that's been haunting me since yesterday. With no care in the world.

But alas, I have two boys to entertain.

Right now, I feel like seashells on the seashore. Hot. Dry. With skin that feels so sensitive to touch that my clothes feel like sand rubbing into my skin when I move. Yuck. Hope your day has been better than mine.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New adventures

Kit turned 13 months last Friday. It's hard to stop thinking of him as a baby but as a toddler who wants to try new things all the time. And he wants to conquer the world! I discovered that he loves going down water slides and he really doesn't care if water splashes all over his face, which is something a lot of kids are scared of, including Kai.

He is also starting to toddle around on his own. But he is still a little unstable and is liable to topple over when he gets excited. Nonetheless, he's actually making baby steps. Be warned world, here's a new exploror on the way!

Unlike Kit, however, there is no way I can get Kai down any water slide. But Kai is exploring the world in his own way. I thought he might be afraid of taking a ride on a pony, and he surprised me.

He still wanted me to join him on the carousel though. (Not just because I had to due to a height limit). It's nice; I don't want them to grow up too fast. :-)

Elmo's up, Elmo's down. Elmo's running around.

I make no apologies for being "that kind of mother" that lets her young children play with the iPhone and iPad. Kai doesn't play ALL day of course; I limit the amount of time he gets on the iPhone. And Kit, I discovered, will sit for 5-10 min to watch his Sesame Street podcasts and that means A LOT for my sanity as he can't be still for long periods of time. He has to be up and about almost all the time.

This was how I discovered that Kit likes Elmo. One of his favorite clips is of Katy Perry sing "Hot and Cold" with Elmo on YouTube! Although Kai is no Elmo fan, he'd drop what he's doing to watch the clip. Yup, that's a picture of both of them, enthralled by Katy P and Elmo.

I like i Light Marina Bay

The past week had been a hectic one with freelance assignments that I wanted to get out of the way by Thursday as Kai's school was closed on Friday, which meant I had to dedicate all my time to the kids. So that definitely put a crimp on my blogging time. But just before the start of the crazy week, we visited the i Light Marina Bay festival that made me look at our island state in a different light.

i Light Marina Bay is sustainable light art festival that entertains as well as engages the audience. As the title of the festival suggests, only energy-efficient lights and lighting techniques are used in the light art works. When we visited the bay last Friday, the haze hadn't made its unwelcome presence felt just yet so we had a relaxing stroll along the bay--or rather we strolled, Kai run from one installation to another.

Photography buffs were out in full force that night. We only had our Canon S90, which Terence and I took turns to give our own interpretations of the installations. That's how I saw "My Public Garden"^.

And here's how Terence saw the same exhibit^.

They placed these inflated mats^ shaped like aeroplanes on the grass and it looked like they were docked along a runway. It wasn't just an installation, but picnic mats! We just had our dinner so we just rolled around for a while to enjoy the night scene.

These alien shapes are part of a light sculpture, which isn't part of the festival (I think, as I can't find it in the walking guide).

I liked the "Human Tiles", which is an interactive installation. Using what the artists call "virtual tiles", which cover a building's facade, a video camera captures movement of people in an area in real-time, creating constantly moving and ever changing color images on the tiles.

Kai really liked Lumenocity Singapore as he had a blast running through the columns.

When we got tired, we just sat down by the water edge and took in the sight. Singapore has come a long way. The whole experience felt worldclass. Don't miss it.

(Festival ends November 7, 2010.)

Taming of the drool

My soon to be 13-month-old is a lean, mean, drooling machine. He has been drooling like forever, teething or not. Recently I found Mum 2 Mum bibs from Mothercare that earned top marks in both the drool-catchment and fashion department. It is thick, has a water resistent backing, and is designed like a bandana. Even Kit's PD said he's making a fashion statement with the bib.

Plan B

Kai was very excited about walking above the trees at the TreeTop walk (accessible from MacRitchie Resevoir) on Sunday. But right after we dusted off the MacPac Possum, I found that Kit was running a low grade fever, possibly having caught a cold from gor gor.

He was quite disappointed, and at the same time adament about visiting a 'treehouse'. Luckily Terence remembered he had fun at The Tanglin Tree, which features a wonderful playground right next to the cafe. It has a house on stilts, which satisfied Kai's desire of playing in a treehouse.

The food there was superb, and Kai was so absorbed in his play that we managed to sneak in a leisurely breakfast. The Mac and Cheese (S$26) isn't just any normal Mac and Cheese; it has a whole lobster in it, which makes it real good value for money.

The portions there are huge. My Egg Benedict (S$14) came on a bagel and a generous serving of spinach. Yum! The Tanglin Tree was definitely a perfect Plan B for us. But if you plan to go there on a weekend, you should go there early or make a reservation well ahead of time because it gets filled up mainly by expats really quickly.

Where
56 Tanglin Road
#01-01 Tanglin Post Office

What are little boys made of?

I don't know anything about "snips and snails, and puppy dog tails", but mine is made of sandy shoes, dusty nose, and grubby shirts after a few good roll in the sand.

Vegetable 'soup'

The weekend is here, which means it's time to cook up a new batch of baby food for freezing. Here is an Oaty Vegetable Puree, which smells and tastes like a creamy vegetable soup! It's easy to make, and it is one of Kit's favorites.

Serves 4 portions

Ingredients
2 tbsp porridge oats
1 small leek, finely chopped
2 tbsp canned sweetcorn, drained
1 medium tomato, skinned, seeded, and chopped
Small knob of unsalted butter or magarine

Method
Steam the leeks for 10-15 min until tender.

Meanwhile, cook the oats based on instructions on packet using half portion of water and half portion of milk. Cook until soft and creamy.

Combine cooked leek with the oats, sweetcorn, tomato, and butter. Stir until heated through.

Puree or mash, depending on the desired consistency. (You may need to add a little extra breast or formula milk.)

V for...

It seems like only yesterday that Kai needed help with making the victory sign. How fast they grow.

Repurposed

I had a chunky charm bracelet which, truth be told, I've only worn twice. It had all these gorgeous ocean-themed charms that jingles and chimes with every single movement. And I sound like a clanging truck when I type on my laptop.

I loved it though. But what's the use of it when I don't wear it at all.

So I turned them into wine charms. Love them still, and they (will) get used at every party.

Roll over Kiki

Kai has his Eeyore, and now Kit has Kiki the Monkey.

It's funny how Kit suddenly took to this monkey which he saw in a Mothercare shop. It was love at first sight, or rather, bite as he grabbed the monkey from the shelf and put it straight into his mouth. I felt I had to do the responsible thing of buying it.

So that's how Kiki the Monkey came to be part of our household. Thanks to Kiki, it doesn't take much to put Kit to bed in the evening now. I'll just feed him, kiss him goodnight, and give him Kiki. He'll grab the monkey, roll on to his side, and fall asleep on his own. That's it, no fuss.

Hurray for Kiki!

Yummy pasta for baby

We didn't have the luxury of time to cook all of Kai's meals when he was a baby. I was working fulltime then, so Kai's weekend diet consisted mostly of bottled baby food. (Thankfully he had homecooked porridge during weekdays as my MIL took care of him while we worked.)

But since I am now a SAHM, I have time to experiment with baby food and it's been pretty fun! It's also satisfying to see baby tuck in the food that I cook for him. Here's a recipe that's a favorite of Kit, and it's really easy to do. It's suitable for freezing too, so just cook up a batch over the weekend and you are all set to go for the week.

(Adapted from Marks & Spencer Baby & Toddler Meal Planner's Minestrone Soup recipe:)

Serves 4 portions
Age: The recipe is for 6-9 month old babies, according to the book, which means it'd be better to puree the final product. But Kit is eating this at 12 months, so I didn't puree or mash the final product.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf
300 ml no salt vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
4 tbsp tomato puree
55 g small pasta shapes
25 g spinach, washed and thick stalks removed, finely chopped (I halved the amount as 25 g seemed too much and I wasn't sure if baby would like the taste.)
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Method:
Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and carrot and cook over medium-heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened.

Add the bay leaf, stock and puree, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, boil water in a separate pot and cook pasta until soft.

Once pasta is cooked, drain, and add to vegetable sauce. Mix well.

Add the spinach and cook for further 2 minutes or until the spinach is tender. Stir in the parmesan cheese.

If necessary, puree or mash the mixture.

Separate into 4 portions and freeze.