Exploring Clementi Woods Park in SmarTrike

For the sake of my own sanity, I have been exploring parks. Somehow walks in the parks clear my head better. If you are no homebody like me, grab a cup of cafe coffee and enjoy it at a park, it will make life a little sweeter. 

This time round, we are exploring Clementi Woods Park. Honestly, this didn't used to my sort of park. It is really green and boring. But now, I actually like how unpretentious it is. Maybe that's why the expats like it too. You don't really see many people there, great for Covid situation, only some ang-mohs walking their dogs or strolling with their kids. 

I like to think I am walking my Dalmatian too! Hehe. We got our little one a trike and he loves it. There are many brands out there but this one caught my eye because it had character. It works like a stroller, just that it can be modified into a tricycle when baby is older. The shade can be adjusted and there is a little cup holder at the front. If it was foldable, this would have been perfect. Price-wise, SmarTrike has quite a strong brand so I think below S$200+ still seems reasonable. 

We were at Clementi Woods Park to do his 10 months photoshoot and baby turned a few heads. Hard not to I would think *chuckles*, he was dressed in The Suspender Shorts from the Baby Closet ($40.90) and was riding his trike proudly. We might be exploring more parks with baby in the next few posts. Now I really want to be a green parent too!

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Finally no more dog ears

Now that my laptop is down, I have spending a lot of time clearing my miscellaneous stuff (which I have no idea there's so much of) and finally picking up my book again. Are you like me? I hate getting dog ears on my books or even dirt/ folds on the cover page. Hence, I barely bring my books out. 

I have always been wondering "why is there no solution for this?" This is when I came across the book sleeve from Kayithj. It is what I am looking for and even better still, it is pretty and stylish. I went for the Large size because I have a habit of tagging interesting pages in case I want to refer back.

After stuffing in my book, there is still space for stationery. If you have the habit of doddling or dairying on the go, this book sleeve works well too! For mummies like me, this cover can also fit 1 hard cover baby book along with Mummy's book should we choose to go out and chill pinic-style.

There are quite a bit of quirky designs available. It is quite up my alley, fyi if any of you want to send any media drops/ fan gifts to us in future. :P It costs about $30+ for a piece. I would think the price is still considered reasonable given the quality for a made-to-order piece! Kayithj holds quite a bit of items and we will be reviewing their other pieces too, so do keep a look out for them!

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Journey to the West: Jurong Lake Gardens

Our baby really enjoy going out, but given the Covid situation, we decided to avoid indoor aircon places. So parks, like Jurong Lake Gardens seemed ideal. To be honest, I did some research before going. But I think no amount of research is going to prepare me for what lies ahead. 

Our plans included having a meal at Fusion Spoon. We had a pizza and the Nonya laksa and the food was rather average (captive market). Some of the items such as the merlion ice-cream was definitely targeted at the tourists. $5 for a tiny piece, no way! With a baby, we never made it further than the Passion Wave because he did a fart which we though was a shart and fell asleep halfway. 

Despite my boundless whines, Jurong Lake Gardens is really pretty and has a lot of nice spots for photos despite us not venturing too far in. Secret spot alert: The toilets near Clusia Cove is absolutely gorgeous. Baby had quite a bit of fun playing with the pebbled seats and crawler plants. It was also a lot more cooling than the rest of the place. I actually even bought a change of clothes for him, but Clusia Cove is close because of social distancing. 

If you have a baby and wonder how on earth you can do here? Well most of the play areas are more suited for the toddlers. But babies are very curious by nature and have their own form of fun just touching plants and having them rubbed against them. They would also observe a bit of wildlife (i.e. water hens...erm not entirely sure if they are called that but that's what another father told me, butterflies, bees and pet dogs?)

Some survival tips for fellow parents:

1. Dress up! Baby was decked in the Sail Away Bodysuit ($42.90) from The Baby Closet. I was also in a matching romper and the husband in a matching colour. There is really so little going out opportunities, so I really try to make an effort to dress us all up when we step out of the house. Don't say I am overdoing it, because we did see other parents/ babies there and everyone was dressed like it is CNY all over again :P


2. Bring a stroller. You can dump baby in it when your arms get tired or let him sleep in it so that you can still take photos and go on a date. (Yea, this mama still got it in her!) A stroller is also quite a nice prop to hide the bulging tummy :'(


3. Pack lots of food for baby. We brought like milk, biscuits and water so that he remains bearable despite the sweltering weather. Awesome strategy!





4. Use insect repellent and sunblock. We got a Mylo sample ($6.50 for 10 pcs), which we pasted on the stroller. Seems effective. Didn't use a sunblock and the boys survived, I didn't. I am now a lobster. 


5. Bring a fan! We don't have one for the stroller, but it seems like it would be a good idea, if we had one at that time!


6. Lots of sanitiser/ wet wipes! Baby is still at a stage which he likes to shove things in his mouth. So we really need to wipe him or the area first.

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Momomi - Best playmat / mattress ever!

We were looking for a nice rug for the house and came across Momomi's soft touch tatami mat. It seemed very promising because it was thick, soft and very child-friendly. We were quite impressed when we received it. In fact this "rug" was a lot better than the playmat we had for our baby. 

To be honest, I expected a bulky package. But neh, it was in a vacuum pack. When we open the ziplock bag, the mat expanded and became the new piece of our living room. The tatami was truly soft, and might be the best tilam we ever got. I LOVE lazing around on the floor now. 

As parents, we also love how it doubled up as a playmat. It is very safe for our baby. The mat has a velvety layer (feels furry but it doesn't have any furball for my baby to suck out). There is also some bounce to it which can help soften any tumble (he is after all learning how to walk!)

My baby loves it too and we spend most of our time tumbling around on it. Play-wrestling with him feels a lot safer. My only regret is that we should have bought it earlier. To my readers, lucky you, just click on the links to Momomi and you can get 10% off your purchase!

Wishtrend interesting products

By now, I am pretty sure you guys know that I like my Wishtrend products. I have tried more products this time round and decided to do another sharing on 3 products as they are pretty interesting finds.

1. Klairs Midnight Blue Youth Activating Drop ($30)

I decided to give this a try because I heard so much good things about it. It does reminds me a little of the butter pea blue and it smells divine. I am not sure about you but this colour makes me feel that this serum is magical. Haha. It is quite light on the face so I really like it a lot. 

I use it after cleansing daily. It supposedly helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and promotes a youthful look. Recently, someone guessed that I was 5 years younger than my actual age and couldn't believe it when I said I was a mother of 1. Guess this works? Hehe. 

2. The Ecru Clay Soap ($14.40)

Many people are shocked when I tell them I use a cake soap. Haha, I do agree that soaps are generally more drying on the skin but I moisturise myself after so it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. And, I like that soap bars are more environmentally friendly. It literally disappears after uses. Haha. 

I was curious about the clay soap so I decided to give it a go. I would think it gives a very lux vibe and foams extremely well. It is unscented (which I don't like) and I notice that it melts quite a bit and doesn't survive as well in my moist and damp toilet. Klairs has another cake soap, which I will probably give it a go the next time round. Guess I am still a hard core Klairs fan!

3. Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil ($23)

Personally, I like using cleansing oil to clean my face. Because I would be able to massage it in and it feels more relaxing and spa-like. Sadly, somehow my skin is never compatible with cleansing oil and this one caused a little bump to appear on my skin. 

Klairs has a gentler version in white and I was thinking maybe I will try that next time. It is such a bummer cos I really like the texture and scent of this bottle. But for beauty products, a lot of effort and money sometimes have to be spent to try and know what suits and works for your skin. Beneficiary: my bro whose skin is extremely compatible with this cleansing oil. He owes me one. Hmph. 

Mideer Toys: Part 1

I came across this brand and wanted to share a little more about them because they have quite an interesting variety and the price is really reasonable. Some of the items we receive is still not age-appropriate so we are slowly releasing the goodies to baby. 

1. Mideer Kids Projector Storybook Torch ($17.90)

This is really one of my favourite product from MiDeer. Personally, I think this is a really cool and fun product that can grow up with the baby. It is probably the most appropriate for a toddler because they can sit for a longer period and understand the stories. The torch brings stories alive. There is about 8 pictures for each story and you child can twist the disc and change the picture projected. 

There is also a deck of cards with the stories (both in English and Mandarin) so all the work is pretty much done. Apart from acting as a projector, you can also use it as a torch. My boy is really more like a cat now, pouncing after the projections...hehe! For now, we use the torch to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars" with him in the dark. He can sort of flex his fingers now.. Whee!

2.  Mideer Kids Learning Alphabet Magnets Letter Magnetic Fridge Magnet ($11.50)

If you have a bomb shelter at home, the magnets really spruce up your bomb shelter. I changed the magnetic placards on my bomb shelter to this because this looked less cluttered and made my house less like a childcare. Honestly, it doesn't always looks like that at home. 

Baby loves it, maybe because it is colourful. He will always pluck the letters off the wall. His favourite so far is the skinny iguana, peeping tiger and the blur-looking yak. Sometimes, we would also spell words for him, though the words are pretty limited because we only have a set of alphabets. Would recommend getting 2 sets and maybe another set on numbers!

3. Mideer X Eric Carle Washable Finger Paint ($13.50)

Parents who want to introduce their children into art and paint, you should check this out. It comes in 8 colours and is washable. Currently, we are just using it as paint purely. Basically, we squeeze the colours onto a piece of paper and throw it into a ziplock bag so that baby can use and match the colour. 

The chance of the ziplock bursting is pretty low, but we wanted to be really careful so we got the kids friendly set. Baby doesn't exactly enjoy it for now, but as parents I have to say I did have quite a ball of fun :P

So far MiDeer toys have been really promising, we will reviewing the next few soon, so keep a lookout on our posts!

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Viu Premium Updates: Part 1

Pardon the lack of updates, quite embarrassingly I have joined the k-drama mums. Hahaha. Generally, I always find drama catching rather time consuming. With Covid etc., I have started to seek solace from drama watching to pass time. 

I used to catch "old shows" on Viu. But I have to say Viu Premium is pretty darn good. You can watch the latest shows online and best of all, there are no adverts. As a mum, I am still rather time strapped, so any form of time saving is still appreciated. Here's some of the shows I have catch/ catch-up so far. 

1. Birthcare Center (Drama)

A must-watch for mums. Although it is a parody, it is quite relatable. The talks about breastfeeding, relationship with the husband and going back to work are really thoughts that float through the Mum's brain. Thank god it is only 8 episodes because it sucked me in totally. Finished it in 2 days. Could have done it faster if the husband didn't remind me that I needed sleep/ rest (and that it was his laptop I was using). The day after sucks...I could barely keep my eyelids up. That's how good it is.  

2. The Return of Superman (Variety)

I only watch for Bentley only. Usually I skip pass every child just to catch him cos he is cute and Sam's parenting style is unique and worth emulating . I have watched him ever since I was pregnant, maybe that's why my baby looks quite a bit like the Asian version. Pretty pleased with it, cos that means he is cute :P

3. Running Man (Variety)

I used to catch every episode of this with the husband simply because he is a fan. To be honest, after Kang Gary left, I thought the show is kinda of less interesting. After baby came, I dropped this off my list. I am only back for Kwang Soo's last episode. Am only watching for him last time, so moving forward I probably won't be chasing. But...do catch the older episodes. They are good!

Kang Gary's kid is on Return of Superman too, pretty brainy! But nope, my son is not on that route LOL, still more of a foolish Bentley :

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!

Unique floral frames from Papier Parterre

If you are wondering why have I been so quiet lately, it is because my laptop has been down :'( It still can't boot up and a good deal of my photos/ works are inside. And so...I sort of took a digital detox. Using the hubby's comp to write because I just can't survive without a hobby :P

Without my laptop, I did a bit of reading, baking and cleaning up the house. Also, I focus a lot on deco that can make the house more homey. We came across this flower art from Papier Parterre and found it unique and rather worthy of a shout-out!

Embarrassingly, a good deal of my time was spent on deciding on its customisation. One thing I knew was that a gorgeous piece like this should sit at a place you could see it immediately when you step into the house. Since it was for the house, we settled for a heart-symbol and decided on a phrase "Hygge Me" which encapsulates the cosy vibe we were going for and pay some tribute to the Nordic influence. 

For each piece also had a choice of 8 different type of flowers (which we used Hydrangea). We wanted something blue because my kitchen had a splash of blue as well. You could either go for a black or white rim frame. For a clean look, white frames work well but because I still felt my house lacked a bit of texture, we went for a black frame. 

Just in case you think these are real flowers, they aren't. They are hand-rolled flowers that look very real. With an entrance piece, it does give a more deliberate effort in terms of deco. I know many people who invests good money in the renovations but don't put in as much effort in the tiny touches. It is such a pity because you can see quite a bit of difference in the before and after look.

For homeowners or those who are are looking for a meaningful gift, I am presenting you with a discount quote. Yeah! You may place your order on their new website here. Quote "FORFUNK5" and you will get to enjoy 5% off and you get free tracked shipping too! Each personalised frame cost around $59-$61 (depending on whether you want text), which is rather reasonable for a customised piece of work :) We will be sharing with you more local artisan's work in future, so stay tune!

Note: Laptop is down, so posts won't be as frequent!