Playful Hearts - Brand Ambassador Campaign Bronze Award Winner

I think it is a Mum Thing. Along with my many other friends which are mothers, we would submit our kid's photos for contests, ambassador campaigns etc. Generally, I would think our LO secured quite a bit of exclusive ambassadorship (blogger rendition). I would like to think it is because his mother writes well and he is cute?!?

Big secret reveal here, so actually the kiddo has an IG (account has been hacked so we have unlinked it). It started off pretty much an experimental project which is written in baby's pov and focus a lot more on a mother and child's needs. Somehow, it gotten some traction and wow we won a Bronze Award. Thanks Playful Hearts for creating a thoughtful certificate. It is his first and it is special. So here's a post to commemorate this moment <3 

To more achievements for #babyreviewer 

P.S. If you wanna buy some stuff, let us know. We have a discount code if you buy through us hehe (sorry it is tagged to my email so I can't share it just like that.)

Food Tour 23: Set Meals in Tanjong Pagar

My friends have been commenting on my expensive taste because I am going for set lunch of late instead of eating the humble cai-fan (economical rice) like a normal civilian. I don't know, economical rice always remind me of homecooked food and it doesn't make sense for me to spend on food which I can/ my family can serve at home. Haha, would rather spend more and eat something different.

1. Let's Kinn Thai ($9.90)

I was shoved a pamphlet so I decided to give it a try. I guess they were honest, the mains was truly $9.90 and the set comes with a drink and a tiny bowl of soup. But for someone who eats/ love a lot of Thai food (not called ChaaYen for nothing, yo), this is average. The drink was too sweet for my liking and psst...there are better Thai food there that cost way cheaper if you don't care too much of having a seat. 

2. Eventasy Noodle Bar ($9.90)

It was a cold day, so this place lured me in. My set ended up costing more than $9.90 because I upgraded and the so called $9.90 deal was before GST. I had the Tomato Broth Noodles and it was really yummy so I didn't feel too sore about paying a little more. I was actually very satisfied with the whole meal. However, this doesn't belong to the category of food you would crave so badly for because it taste so good. Maybe I will go there again if I am in the vicinity. 

3. Chen's Mapo Tofu (<$15)

Somehow, I felt like I obviously saved the best for last. This is a Michelin starred mapo tofu shop and it is really good. I have brought like 2 sets of company there already so far. It is not very spicy so I really love it. I usually eat with the noodles because I don't really take much rice now, though I think mapo tofu is more of a rice dish haha. I have seen other people trying out their non-mapo tofu dishes and I am so game to try the others too. But every time I step in, I always end up thinking I have to order the best food there, and I am stuck with the same meal. Golly. 

CNA Green Plan Winner

And so we won...with our post on the Green Economy featuring the Raeusables Sponge from Cheeky Feys. Like I say, I have been really into the sustainable living and have been researching and looking into brands/ businesses that embrace a green approach. In terms of my lifestyle, I am also trying to be a little more environmentally conscious (not always successful though).

Just to set things clear here, I am no tree hugger. But I believe in adopting actions which is within my DNA and not for the sake of just being Green, I won't cut up a perfectly functional t-shirt to be a tote bag. (Ridiculous, I have no idea why the Green Advocates preach that.) I still shop (just less) and I enjoy recycling/ swapping/ blessing/ selling etc. Winning this challenge is especially meaningful, it also makes me feel like I am using the clout to good use :)

Hope you guys don't mind, but you will be seeing a lot more post on topics I am passionate about.

My Home Office: Height Adjustable Table from Datumstruct Solutions

Due to Covid, almost everyone has a home office to work productively and effectively. I think I jumped on this bandwagon later the rest, but this also mean I gathered enough feedback before I design the house. Like many couples/ families, I was very tempted to convert one of our rooms into a study room. But as the husband rightly put it, once we go back to office, it would be pretty much a white elephant. 

So far, we have been working either on the kitchen table or our study/ vanity table in the bedroom. And somehow we have gotten used to a small working space. At one point, I did consider getting arms and extra monitors. But I gave up on the thought because it didn't fit my house theme and I didn't entirely wanted to be reminded of work. 

And we got ourselves a height adjustable table ($240) from Datumstuct Solutions which is placed in the living room for now. During the day/night, it pretty much acts like a side table. The intention is to leave it empty when not in used. During movie nights, we would place instant food and drinks on it. I wouldn't say we have been taking particular care for it, but this piece sure is sturdy.

Having it height adjustable just means we have more flexibility to move it around and use it for other means. You can make it tall enough to stand at work or even placed it in front of your treadmill. But we are lazy, we like sitting down.  Have to put a smiley face cos when I WFH, I am always in a mess. 

But every product has its flaws. Some improvement which I would love to see its cousins have in future would be charging pods and the ability to rotate it. I only have a charging plug on one side of my sofa and the wire is too short to move to the other end. (Probably need to get an extension plug). Truth is, we don't adjust the height that often. Haha, guess when you have what you wish, you end up not using it. Gah!

Partially because we have a kid, we decided to keep away all the wires too except when we have guests who are excited to push the up and down buttons. LOL! I actually love the matte finishing because it makes the piece looks so classy but between you and me, it is very obvious when there is dusts on it. 

Will update on the photos and function, am still figuring how to load the videos. 

Stay tune!

iTOTS: Interesting Taf toys

We saw some interesting developmental toys from Taf Toys and thought a review on them for parents would be much appreciated. From my Mummy's chats, I heard a bit of good comments on their products. One being "I kept the toy for 7 years before I had my next kid and the toy is still in good condition. They are expensive but really value for money".

My personal experience has also been good. Apart from looking classy (sorry, but I hate those cheapass shopee/ taobao toys), the finishing is good. Most of the items, we have been using them for a year+ (and probably more with the growing extended family) and they are still in very good condition. 

1. Taf Toys Kimmy Koala Wonder Tissue Box ($39.90)

This toy initially caught my eye because I was sick of our little one ripping out tissues from our tissue box. With this, I hope our kiddo would stop wasting tissue and money, LOL! And I did see a lot prospects in using this same set-up for different play methods. The original play method is to basically load the tissue box with the coloured cloth and textured fabric and get the child to pull them out. 

You can also assist them if they are younger by placing them at the sides if they are uncomfortable with placing their hand into the box. As the cloth is sheer and of different colours, when he is older we used it to teach colours and he would at times place the cloth over his head to experiment looking through the different shades.

For alternative play, we would hide toys within the box and get him to pick them out. There is some element of surprise for him cos he wouldn't know what was hidden. His favourite so far has been us tying the cloth on his limbs and he would try to unpick them himself. I guess it does help to improve his fingers coordination. 

To wash the cloths, I usually toss it into the washing machine along with his clothes. No special care is given but so far the sheer cloths has yet to tear or show any loose threads.

2. Taf Toys North Pole Ball Drop Stacker ($39.90)

This is really ideal if you want to teach the kid on object permanence. My kid honestly plays it like a toy. He would pop the balls in and watch them as they roll out. Although you can actually stack them up so that it becomes a more complex structure, he doesn't really play it that way. It is usually just a 1-storey high box. 

This set comes with 6 coloured balls, with 3 being texture. We actually have like a whole box of balls so sometimes he just use the other balls to keep popping them in and out and watch them roll out of the box. By the way, the bottom of the box has a height gradient, so the ball would always roll out. No disappointment for the little one. 

We did our First Ever Swap!

I heard a lot about The Fashion Pulpit so I decided to give it a go myself. The main pushes were (i) I really had too much relatively unworn clothes lying around, (ii) my Mum was pressuring me to move them to my new house which didn't have a huge cupboard and (iii) I am starting to be into the green economy.

The biggest challenge was basically my mother. Was expecting her to say "bring back covid germs" etc. but nope she did not, instead she went "please give your junk a second lease of life" And I am proud to say I did. 

Basically, there are 4 categories and I went for the one-time swap (initially) because I wasn't sure if I liked it and also I wasn't sure how strict they were. And so, I brought like 12 pieces of clothes there and only 6 pieces were accepted. But I guess some of my pieces were pretty valued because I got a whooping 34 points to trade.

I haven't quite figure out how the place is arranged but I guess I will figure it out after a few trips there. The good news was that there was a fitting room so I could get clothes that fit me. I ended up scoring 2 Ukrainian inspired pieces (which I can totally see myself wearing), 1 Zalora and another Mango. And also, drumroll please - a swarovski necklace. WOW!

I spent about an hour (including swapping and choosing my clothes). I think I am just a boring old fart, so I always pick the same style and I didn't exactly go down with a loot. LOL! I enjoyed myself so much I actually upgraded my membership to revamp my wardrobe.

It is really an excellent shopping place for women in particular because we tend to grow out of certain styles fast (I swapped in most of my teenage fashion. I couldn't see myself prancing in mini skirts anymore) and if you have just went through a size change (for me, it is pregnancy, I could basically still fit in most of my clothes, but I just don't look good in them anymore). It is not just giving my clothes a new lease of life. It was also giving myself a new lease of life :)

Down with Covid - What to do if you have an unvaccinated child

 

The last few days of February zoomed past just like this. One by one, we came down with the Covid flu like a stack of dominoes. First the husband, then our little one and lastly me. For the little one, it started with a fever and vomit fest. It was so difficult to find any info online and on MOH. And so, I called my friends instead - the worldly mother which I consult for everything under the sun and my sick friend who also had a C+ toddler. 

To be honest, I was torn between sending him to the clinic or asking a doctor to come to our place. My husband told me that the clinics were filled with Covid patients and I didn't want our kid to catch a strain (should he not be C+). I didn't know of any doctors who did house-calls and my friend sent me - Speedoc. Fair warning, the consult/ test is fugging expensive and when we managed to call in the hotline, they turned my kid away (cos he was less than 3 years old). Fortunately, my panel doctor was ok to take a look at him. 

Like the adults, the kids also got a stash of flu medicine. The only difference was that it was much more challenging to keep their fever down. We had to monitor his temperature aggressively and rotated between paracetomol and panadol every 3 hours. Baby was really angsty on the first day, the subsequent days were slightly more manageable, but still I had to burn my mc to care for him. By Day 3, his fever was more or less in control. 

Since we can't bring him out, staying indoors did drive him a little nuts. He ended up breaking a glass and acquired furniture climbing skills, risking his life. He was also fascinated by my heels when I "threw away" (hid) his shoes so that they would stop reminding him the freedom he lost. 

I definitely got away easy. I only had a flash fever, slight sore throat and lost my sense of smell on day 4 on-and-off. But it did break my spirit. I only medicated myself one dose of the dubious "lian hua" chinese medicine that is raging throughout social media and hydrated my self with 1 cup of Vit C, coconut drink and had chrysanthemum tea for water instead. I only bothered to test on day 6 (because hey who got time for this when you have a toddler) and cleared it at one go. Wheee~~

The husband had body aches, fever, burning throat and was lethargic. Based on my friends' symptoms (yea, I had a lot of mental support because most of them were down at the same time), his was also considerably light. He took western medication and took 7 full days to recover. Not sure why, but he tested himself daily from Day 4 onwards. 

Through this experience, I can only comment that the protocol keeps changing and is so confusing. I think the image above is the most updated as of now. So my friends and I all went to see the doctor and all of us came back with different understanding. Eventually, we all decided to be considerate and not step out of the house (even for essentials) as long as we are still positive. 

Oddly, the current protocol allows you to step out after Day 7 (whether or not you are negative) which is kinda of weird. How did this 7 day rule even come about? As I am typing this, the streets of Singapore are more empty than usual. I have more of less resigned to fate and is no longer whiny about my predicament (somehow C+ makes people grumble more lol). Just happy to catch back the lost time and thankful we brave through this with little after-effects.