DIY Ninjago Piñata: wrapping up (and stuffing?) piñata man

After making the frame, the next step is to wrap the frame with cling wrap. This process was really most time consuming and frustrating, and this was when I learned that I really should have secured straws horizontally across the body to maintain the shape (width wise). This was how I ended up with a pinata man that was skinnier than I originally planned; every time I pulled the cling wrap to tighten it, pinata man gets skinnier. (URGH!)

In my mind, I thought the cling wrap would remain taut when wrapped around the frame but that wasn't the case. The cling wrap would sink, and I knew it would sink even more after I place wet paper-mache on top.

That's where the tissue and plastic shoe boxes came in. (Make sure you use empty tissue boxes so you can turn your project around/over without tearing the cling wrap.) Placed inside pinata man, the boxes supported the cling wrap and prevented them from sinking. But the boxes couldn't support the entire surface of the structure (e.g. corners), which meant I ended up with an uneven paper-mache surface. (More URGHS!)

I also learned that it's best to put the paper-mache on by sections (e.g. head), cover that section with the desired layers of paper-mache, let that section dry first before removing the box support inside, and then move on to the next section (e.g. torso). When you reach the final section, leave a panel at the side open (i.e. without paper-mache). Once everything has dried up, pull out your straw frame through the panel. The cling wrap should come out together. Then seal up the panel with paper-mache.

I like the next part of the process the most: painting pinata man!

Project Ninjago Piñata: Making 'piñata man'

So Kai wants a Ninjago piñata for his sixth birthday, which has proved to be a challenging task thus far. My plan is to make the frame using straws, wrap it with cling wrap (or Saran Wrap in the US), and paper-mache it.

We call him "pinata man".

Using bendy straws and some sticky tape, I made the frame. It was a little challenging getting the proportions right and making sure the straws go where you want them but I now learned that this was the easiest part of the project!

On retrospect, I could put straws across the body to keep the shape. I didn't initially because I wasn't sure if I could pull most/all the straws and cling wrap out of the paper-mache when it's completed. If I had straws across the body, it would have helped maintain the shape better. Now my ninja man is skinnier than I originally wanted, which is an absolute bummer.

Before I started the paper-mache process, the frame is as tall as Kai!

Sailing life's ocean

Smooth sailing. How I wish everyday could be like this for Kai.

Funny how a mother's day can swing from stinky (like not having any time for a shower till after the kids sleep) to super stinky. I blame social media. After a trying session of helping my 5yo kid, who's struggling to read, I checked in on Facebook and coincidentally, some friends were showing just how well their 5/6yos are reading. That's when my heart sunk right to the bottom (I don't think it even hit any bottom since a mother's love is suppose to be a bottomless pit).

Through Facebook, blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and other cool apps, you share victories with your friends and families. You share tears. You share once in a lifetime moments. You share fears.

I fear for my son. I am afraid of the burden called life that he has to carry. Truth is, I don't know for sure if Kai is dyslexic even if the experts hinted that he could be. Why should I even label him; I'd rather believe that he would come into his own at his own pace. Yet a (selfish?) part of me knows it'd be easier to 'explain things' if he is indeed dyslexic.

Husband thinks I am an emotional worry wort. (Well, everyone's got someone strange in the family right?) But I am a mother. I wish life would be smooth sailing for my children. Since that's not going to happen, then I guess I'd just have to teach him how to sail life's ocean.

Next piñata project: Ninjago

Kai's birthday is round the corner, and he's wants another piñata. The shape of the piñata changes from time to time, depending on what he's crazy about for the moment. It started off with Beyblade, then Animal Kaiser, and now that we are finalizing the design, he's finally decided that he wants a Ninjago theme for his birthday.

Samurai X: Nya is the only female ninja in the Lego Ninjago series

For the uninitiated, Ninjago (or Lego Ninjago to be exact) is a line of products from Lego based on the ninja theme. Now, look at the Ninjago character (pictured above) that Kai wants for his piñata.

Great. My initial reaction to his decision was: OMG, I-am-so-dead-and-there-goes-my-sleep-and-what-the-*bleep*?! Last year I kind of had it easy because Kai wanted an Angry Bird piñata, and all I needed was a ballon. Even a Beyblade or Animal Kaiser card piñata would be easy given that they are both regular-shaped items. For this, he doesn't just want the ninja's face; he wants the works.

Samurai X unmasked. Kai wants a male version of Samurai X (aka Nya), whose elder brother, is fire ninja Kai!

Yep. The works, including the helmet and the armor.

After a few days, I finally figured out in my head how I'd get the basic shape up. Everything's in theory at the moment so I guess I will have to adapt and figure things out along the way.

All I can say is stay tuned for more crazy developments. In the mean time, how about suggesting how many layers I should make this time? I did eight the last time, and it took a long time before the bird would give up its goodies. I don't want it too thin such that the piñata breaks after two whacks as well. So... four, five, six layers?

Check out our Angry Birds piñata journey:
- Kai's Angry Birds Birthday Party: DIY Angry Birds Piñata
- Kai's Angry Birds piñata: It was whacked, stabbed, and ripped apart

Beach babes

In life, they'd always have each other.

Both my boys love the beach, and I love bringing them to the beach. It is so easy to while the time away. Just throw some beach toys in the shade, order an ice cold beer from a beach vendor, slap on the sun screen, and it's happy days for the boys, husband, and I.

Receding tide making patterns on the beach of Club Med Bintan. 

We've left our footprint on so many beaches. Island/Beach hopping in Krabi, Thailand. Chinaman's Beach in Australia's Jervis Bay. Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road. Our perennial favorite -- Karon Beach in Phuket, Thailand. Bondi Beach in happy, happening Sydney. Langkawi in Malaysia. Freemantle and Cottlesloe in Perth. Prevelly Beach in Margaret River. Gold Coast, Queensland, and Green Island, Cairns. And then more recently, Seminyak and Nusa Dua in Bali. And both boys grew up exploring Singapore's beach at East Coast Parkway.

In a world of their own.

We've travelled far and wide yet nothing beats Indonesia's Bintan beach, which is just 45 minutes from Singapore by ferry. The sand at Club Med Bintan is fine, beach is clean, water is clear, no scary crashing waves (great for kids), and the beach is flat with a gentle slope into the ocean. The boys could walk and walk and walk into the sea for as far as they wish without suddenly plunging into a drop-off or stubbing their toes on corals. It stays constant, whether at high tide or low tide.

I watched my boys grow up at the beach, and I will continue to watch their footprints get bigger at the beach.

Giving thanks

There's time for play, even at dusk on the cold, windy beach in Gold Coast, Australia

I have been feeling a little... (I suppose the word is) sad the past few days. I saw a boy, probably around 7yo, having his tennis lesson. Nothing special about a boy having fun in the tennis court, all except that he has down's syndrome. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw him, so happy, so carefree.

As a mother, how many times have I worried over my boys' ability to overcome life's challenges? Countless. But looking at the down's boy in the tennis court remind me that no matter what issues my boys face, their issues are not going to be as hard or challenging as those faced by the boy (or by his mother) in front of me. Sure, I still fear for my boys, but I must thank God for giving us two happy, healthy, normal boys with normal, everyday challenges.

Finally, I love how William Blake captured a mother's thoughts in his "Cradle Song".

Sleep, sleep, beauty bright,
Dreaming in the joys of night;
Sleep, sleep; in thy sleep
Little sorrows sit and weep.

Sweet babe, in thy face
Soft desires I can trace,
Secret joys and secret smiles,
Little pretty infant wiles.

As thy softest limbs I feel,
Smiles as of the morning steal
O'er thy cheek, and o'er thy breast
Where thy little heart doth rest.

O the cunning wiles that creep
In thy little heart asleep!
When thy little heart doth wake,
Then the dreadful night shall break.