Motherkao loves... Archives - Page 4 of 10

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Science, and Science Centre fun! [The Second Part]

July 15, 2014

Imagine stepping into a 3000 square metre indoor playground with interactive zones inviting you to play, play, play – and not stop. And while you play, play, and play, you’re actually learning about science in fun and engaging ways.

Yep, that’s KidsSTOP for you.

I think if there was such an edutainment centre when I was a kid, I might have been more curious and wanting to explore more as a child. I certainly hope that being there at KidsSTOP would do that for my kids – getting them all curious and making little explorers out of them.

KidsSTOP has FOUR interactive zones designed to engage young children’s imagination and creativity, while encouraging hands-on learning. The zones are IMAGINE, DISCOVER, EXPERIENCE AND DREAM.

Within the IMAGINE Zone, there’s the Built Environment, a recreation of a building site, Dino Pit, a detailed replica of an excavation site, dino “bones” included, and Supermarket, where the littles ones get to grocery shop and play cashiers. This zone gives shape and form to the most creative ideas in a variety of fun settings.

The DISCOVER Zone feature exhibits that answer all the big questions relating to things like nature, flight and space, the solar system and the human body.

The EXPERIENCE Zone, tucked behind the Omni Theatre is the place to get close to nature (Critters, Virtual Pond), as well as immersing oneself in behind-the-scenes production like a budding filmmaker (Kiddie Theatre).

And lastly, the DREAM Zone allows children to explore the depths of their imagination, and opens up the world of infinite possibilities – and that we’re talking about a two-storey Big Dream Climber that leads to a secret music room, a Giant J slide that lets anyone free fall and a Small World that brings LEGO bricks larger than life.

Park Map of KidsSTOP screen-capped from http://www.kidsstop.edu.sg/park-map

While I like everything organised and categorised systematically for clarity and purposeful learning, at KidsSTOP, I forced myself to tell the kids to explore whatever they want, however they please and whichever zones they were inclined to (except the sand, for there was no spare change – of clothes, that is). Whilst I would love that they take time to go visit one exhibit systematically after another, read whatever information was presented to them while at that and internalise the concepts to build on existing knowledge, I know full well that my kids are only 5, 4 and 2 which means I had better keep my ‘teacher tendencies’ under control.

They are here to play, was what I constantly reminded myself. Let the learning happen organically.

So no surprises at all who hung around where and lingered around what.

With my littlest, who loves balls, he was found transfixed and completely fascinated at Built Environment.

Nat at Built Environment, engrossed in getting all the balls into the tube

The little girl was found – make a guess – talking to herself and cashiering at the Supermarket like a pro.

Cashiering like a pro

Of course, once in a while, inspiration struck and she decided she wanted to fly to the moon.

Fly me to the moon

Otherwise, she was often found checking the seasonal prices of red peppers and tomatoes again and again.

Scanning tomatoes

And my five-year-old? He couldn’t be contained within exhibits. There was a world up there to explore.

The Big Dream Climber: Ben spoke of a magic place after you've reached the top and there are instruments to make music there!

The Big Dream Climber: Ben spoke of a magic place after you’ve reached the top and there were instruments to make music there!

The kids also took turns to check out the Human Body exhibit, and it appears that Ben might have a keener inclination to be a surgeon in future. He was so focused taking out organs and putting them back, then suturing imaginatively, like a pro.

Do not disturb: Surgeon at Work

What about me? Did I just sit around and watch the kids or try to catch a nap while the kids play? Well, I did want to do that. But something was beckoning me. This thing called the Giant J. I challenged it at 5 metres. Any higher I might pass out hanging on the bar up there.

Mama at Giant J. Photos of me on the slide were made possible thanks to Andy from Sengkang Babies

And it was incredibly, exhilaratingly FUN!

And I’m free… free-falling!

Another place where the Kao kids spent a really long time at was here:

In a room called ‘Critters’

Because how much do my children love animals? SO MUCH.

And here as well:

Learning volume through shapes

This was where I watched with fascination and wondered how long these kids (including Sengkang Babies‘ Boon Xin) can pour and pour and pour and pour those green beans.

Apparently, for very, very long. So much so that they didn’t want to leave.

Until I had to distract them with other things in the room, like this – which then got the boys interested..

There’s something to learn from this – just that I don’t know what!

And this, which got Becks excited for a while.

At Kiddie Theatre, kids can build LEGO at designated corners which would then be captured like an animated film!

And then it was back to, Can we go climb the Big Dream Climber? Can we go play at the Supermarket? Can we go pour the beans? all over again.

I tell you, this place is where the kids CANNOT STOP.

KidsSTOP equals cannot stop playing. Cannot stop asking Mama if they can go here and there and back to here and then again there. And then repeat ten times.

You can imagine how difficult it was to get all three kids out of there.

KidsSTOP: Where the play never stops

And it’s no wonder that they have to operate by stipulated sessions at KidsSTOP. On weekdays, the 1st session starts at 12pm and ends at 3pm (last admission 2.15pm), while the 2nd session starts at 4pm and ends at 7pm (last admission 6.15pm). On weekends, the 1st session is from 10am to 2pm (last admission 1.15pm), and the 2nd sessions starts at 3pm and ends at 7pm (last admission 6.15pm). Your admission ticket only allows you to go for ONE SESSION.

Clearly, at KidsSTOP, no hogging is allowed, which is brilliant because all kids get a chance to play and the crowd is kept at a manageable capacity.

We’ve had ourselves a truly enriching and enjoyable time at KidsSTOP, and the kids have been begging to return to play some more. When we left, we saw a birthday party group arriving, and found out that KidsSTOP also has birthday packages! It will be really fun to dream up a party here soon enough, so that, plus the Giant J at 6 metres are reasons for me to plan our return. The kids also made me promise that the next time we go, I’ll allow them to play at the Dino Pit and will not forget to bring a change of clothes for them!

More details:

KidsSTOP is beside the Singapore Science Centre at 21 Jurong Town Hall, Singapore 609233.
Website: http://www.kidsstop.edu.sg/

Disclosure: We were invited to KidsSTOP as part of a Blogger’s Invite. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are our own.

Read the First Part of our fun here.

3 Comments

Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Science, and Science Centre fun! [The First Part]

July 15, 2014

Science as a subject was something I couldn’t exactly grasp. Well, maybe because logic is something alien to me in the first place. And don’t even get me started on how to explain scientific concepts to my children.

I don’t, that’s why my finger is always pointing to their father whenever Ben or Becks asks me the big ‘whys’.

Having said that, I believe in purposeful and experiential play for the kids so that when the day comes when they have to learn a scientific concept, their sensory and playful experiences can quickly help them connect, leading to the Eureka moment.

So when the Singapore Science Centre invited us to experience the Singapore Science Festival 2014 last Saturday, we were all ready to get for ourselves as many experiences and interactions relating to the wonderful world of science as possible.

FIRST STOP: Science Ahoy!

Science Ahoy! is kinda like your geek funfair. You enter it (Annexe Hall 1) taking on the persona of a sailor, and for SGD5 get a survival manual which would help you stay alive in the event of a shipwreck.

Ahoy! mateys, let’s be learning us some science!

You get to learn through engaging activities in the form of stations, and at each station, explore a specific concept that would increase your chances of survival, like using the sun to tell time, boiling psyllium seed husks to make a marmalade substitute, learning the link between buoyant forces, water tension and gravity to move a boat, using area and perimeter to encrypt messages, and understanding why sometimes we can feel the earth moving.

Ben and Becks had a go in making the cross section of the earth. They were given a plastic bowl, some crushed papers, plasticine, a marble and pieces of blue and green felt. With that, those little hands were guided to make the inner and outer core of the earth, its mantle and crust. They learned from this activity that the thickness, state of matter, temperature and materials that make up the layers of our Earth are different! What a clever way to teach these little curious minds!

Science Ahoy!_Cross Section of the Earth

Busy little hands, focused in making a model of our Earth

Cross-section model completed!

At another station, Ben and Becks were given a challenge with plasticine. They were asked why despite being the same weight, one plasticine floated around in the water steadily and the other sank.

Quiz time: Mr Sailor asks the Kao kids THE question…

…How can we make plasticine float?

When we learned that the secret was in its surface area, all of us (including me) got busy moulding our ball of plasticine to make it buoyant. What fun to experience the concept of buoyancy this way!

Little hands getting busy again

Buoyant at last: It’s in moulding the shape with a big enough surface area to keep out the water!

At yet another station, we were told that the rats have infested the kitchen and the oranges and sugar sacks were gone. With some psyllium seed husks, water and food colouring, the kids concocted jello-like marmalade, and had lots of fun feeling its texture. Who says we can only make jam with sugar and fruit?

Gooey Marmalade

Touching and feeling what gooey marmalade is like!

Every kid loves slime. Every. This was one of the most crowded stations that morning.

All the kids got excited with jello!

I loved it that despite this being a learning festival for primary school children, the people from the Science Centre and A* STAR, the co-organisers of the festival, were all together so encouraging and patient in getting my young ones to try the activities, as well as explaining to them the concepts in very simple, layman terms. Although my kids weren’t keen enough to go seek out the answers for the other two more challenging activities – the math cryptography and the sun-dial making – I was already very pleased that the Kao kids had acquired for themselves invaluable experiences that would be stored for later use.

Science Ahoy! is on daily from 9.30am to 6pm, from 11 to 18 July. The recommended time for this is 90 minutes and the $5 fee does not include admission into Science Centre. Accompanying adults go free though.

SECOND STOP: Human Body Experience (HBX)

The Human Body Experience: yes, to enter the exhibition, you get swallowed first

We’ve seen ads publicising this experience, and the kids were actually very frightened by the thought of being “swallowed alive” by such a huge human mouth. We’ve been told in advance not to come in high heels and to be prepared for a fully immersive experience in terms of sense, sight and sound, and to be ready to crawl and move around a lot.

The journey began with us being “swallowed” by the mouth and sliding down the oesophagus – taking us inside the human anatomy through organs and muscles and the nervous system. We became explorers inside the five main systems of the human body: the circulatory, digestive, immune, nervous and respiratory systems.

It was very intriguing indeed. How wonderfully made we are, and how much detail goes into creating our bodies! I don’t know about you, but it’s in times like this I wonder, how can anyone not believe that there’s a God who made us? There wasn’t any science I could teach my kids and many things were too complex for my preschoolers to understand. I couldn’t answer Ben when he kept asking me, “What’s this? Where’s this? What is this supposed to do?”. I had no simple and clear explanation for my preschoolers when they asked me why there is electricity zapping through the brain. Or how our bodies fight germs. Or why our bones are strong enough to hold up our organs and all. Ben also asked why our intestines are so long and yet can fit snugly in our bodies.

Most of the time, with those questions, I actually answered, I don’t know. God made it so.

But one thing I could tell them for certain that day was: Look at how good God is in making you!

Many things to see, learn and explore! Unfortunately, it was pretty dark and I had to mind the kids, so I gave up on pictures.

Particularly unforgettable: being suddenly sprayed with mist as we walked through the stomach (to simulate bile) and having to wobble to keep our balance and being all squashed at the interior of the intenstine. The squeezing and squishing took a toll on the little girl towards the end of the journey that by the time we were reaching the anus, she was all shook up and crying. So for the faint-hearted, I’ll have to say, HBX may not be suitable for you.

The boys loved it though (yes, Nat enjoyed the experience!) and so did I, and we wished we could experience again, the next time more slowly and calmly. We were rather frantic given it’s our first time!

The Human Body Experience is at Hall B in Singapore Science Centre. Admission rates to HBX and Science Centre is SGD20 for adults and SGD15 for children aged 3 to 12 years old.

THIRD STOP: KidsSTOP

If you haven’t already heard, the first of its kind edutainment centre to engage children from preschool to lower primary levels in science is now here. Occupying over 3000 square metres, science can be explored here, playground style. This is like the kid’s version of the Singapore Science Centre (which would probably only start to make sense when you are in Primary 3) and is built especially for children 18 months to 8 years.

This is one place that makes me wish I was a kid again

My kids loved KidsSTOP. I loved KidsSTOP. We had so much fun and it was a place where my kids didn’t want the fun to stop.

Find out how much fun we’ve had for ourselves at KidsSTOP in the Second Part to this post.

Details on admission charges to KidsSTOP can be found here.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Singapore Science Centre for a Blogger Preview. All opinions here are mine. The fun we had was also ours. The risk we took was also our own. We survived being swallowed and subsequently “passed out” to bring you this story.

0 Comments

Food, glorious food! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews

I ate 4 kings, and then ate like one at Marina South Curry House [Review]

July 2, 2014

I’ve never been a fan of any of those Four Heavenly Kings 四大天王 in the 80’s and 90’s – and I don’t care for them anyway (ok, maybe except for Mr Kwok) – but I ate them all up last week which was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.

Yes, I did. No lah, not them.

I’m talking about this dish that I tasted at Marina South Curry House that knocked my socks off totally.

四大天王 Marina South Curry House Version

Yep, the restaurant named it ‘The Four Heavenly Kings’, and it’s a vegetable dish stir-fried in the most delicious rempah made of sambal hei bee (dried shrimps) and the best combination of brinjal, lady’s fingers, long beans and petai (stink beans) one can ever taste in this corner of Planet Earth.

Ok, I got too excited and carried away. Anyway. This is how the post should start.

We were invited for a food tasting session and media launch of Marina South Curry House which is located at Amara Shopping Centre at Tras Street (and not at Marina South, though it used to be there before every space we once knew about that place to fly kites became home to Gardens by the Bay!) last weekend to try their Signature Claypot Fish Head Bee Hoon which gained much popularity since its feature on the Taiwanese Food Programme, 美食大三通, and their famous Red Curry Chicken and Salted Egg Chicken Wings.

Our family was all ready for a feast to conclude the June holidays, and so to Marina South Curry House we went…

The restaurant is located 100 Tras Street #03-14. 100AM (or formerly known as Amara Shopping Centre) S079027

The restaurant is located at 100 Tras Street #03-14, 100AM (or formerly known as Amara Shopping Centre) S079027

Where we were greeted with a nostalgic and an old school feel about everything in that place…

Retro in the house, and the music my grandfather and father would love to listen to, playing in the background

Even the kids were given goodie bags that had all the old school games like pick-up sticks, chapteh and sticky ol’ school bubble balloons!

We’ve been looking high and low for these and couldn’t find them! One would have thought these sticks have gone into extinction…

And the Hungry Hungry Hippos game (read about our craze here) we brought to keep the kids busy was one of the things that fit in just right in this place with such a retro feel.

My hungry hippo-boys chomping away marbles while waiting

We were first served drinks and were told we had to try their Original Buah Long Long Drink. Which was extremely refreshing, and as we would discover later, an excellent complement to the curry dish. We also had their Iced Barley, Iced Sour Plum Calamansi and Iced Sour Plum Lime. Such great thirst quenchers.

The Original Buah Long Long Drink ($3.90); Iced Barley ($3.90); Iced Sour Plum Calamansi ($3.90) and Iced Sour Plum Lime ($3.90)

The Signature Claypot Fish Head Bee Hoon took a while to make its arrival (I hear you have to wait for 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours) but when it finally came, it was a tantalising and flavourful broth that tasted of fresh fish. It’s a little different from the milky versions and those with XO I have tasted before. This one tasted light, yet the broth had a kind of thickness that was befitting of a Fish Head Bee Hoon dish.

Signature Fish Head Bee Hoon in Claypot ($18.90)

I hear that no MSG is used in the cooking process, and the chef uses fresh seabass and simmers the soup for six hours every day.

This dish was Ben’s favourite that evening.

We also had the Luohan Chye, which in my opinion, was pretty normal.

Luohan Chye: tofu, taupok, mushrooms and small bok choy ($9.90)

The Salted Chicken Wings came piping hot and browned perfectly with salted egg coated on the skins. This dish was a nice change from the usual prawn paste chicken wings we usually have at tzi char stalls. Needless to say, those wings were the most yummy things for the two people in our family who absolutely love savoury, deep fried food. Who else but Becks and Nat.

Salted Chicken Wings ($12.90)

Unfortunately, we have no pictures of ourselves licking our fingers to show because, well, we were all too busy eating! Plus, we had oily hands from the chicken wings.

The Red Curry Chicken came boiling in a mini wok and it tasted like there was an explosion of flavours and spices in my mouth. Very, very spicy, so be warned! I can take heat very well but this…

Red Curry Chicken ($6.90)

This was really HOT!

I requested to try the Yellow Curry and Green Curry for a point of comparison, and concluded, there’s something very special in the Red one that’s making it very spicy. The Yellow one was my favourite among the three and I like the blend of fragrant spices that’s used to make it.

Ooh, more yummy curry in yellow and green

So we were done with the Signature dishes, and I was like, what else is on their menu that I must try? That was when I spotted…

‘The Four Heavenly Kings‘.

The words just stand out! Pity there isn't any description and I had to ask.

The words just stand out! Maybe the grammarphobe in me also noticed that it should be in plural. Pity there wasn’t any description of the dish and I had to ask.

Can I eat them?

My curiosity in this dish proved to be the highlight of my tasting session. Oh, Marina South Curry House, why isn’t this Signature too? It’s TOO GOOD not to be, in my opinion. I know not everyone is a fan of petai, but trust me, when you taste them cooked this way, you’ll be converted!

Four Heavenly Kings: brinjal, petai, lady’s fingers and long beans on a plate

I also ordered their Sweet and Sour Pork for the kids to try, and they liked it. It wasn’t exactly spectacular; just homely and well-balanced. I didn’t need any more “spectacular” – ‘The Four Heavenly Kings‘ did that for me already.

Sweet and Sour Pork ($8.90)

It was a satisfying dinner indeed.

Marina South Curry House is a good place to go if you’d like some reminiscing of the past with its retro ambience and a taste of classic homely Chinese cooking. It’s called ‘Curry House’ but don’t be fooled; the curries are delightful and so are all the other non-curry dishes which are all made equally with passion and culinary dedication by their experienced chef.

Thank you, Marina South Curry House, for hosting my family for dinner and for such a flavourful end to our June holidays!

The kids and me, we went in Retro, can you see?

Disclosure: We were invited to Marina South Curry House for a food tasting session to bring you this review. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are mine. Calories also mine. Full stomach and expanded waistline too.

0 Comments

Happy days Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Ten things we loved about our recent vacay

June 24, 2014

I can’t believe I savoured a piece of heaven last week and I’m still feeling a little dreamy about that wonderful place we had our short getaway. You would think that you’d only find such tranquillity and untouched beauty in Bintan, Bali, Boracay or the Maldives (and those by the way, are in my bucket list). But no.

We were in Batam.

Say what?

And although the run down Batam Ferry Terminal, the army of mozzies and the putrid stench of diesel and cigarette smoke lingering in the cabin were the less than perfect things that threatened to mar the perfection for just a wee bit, one only needs to endure it for half an hour (ok, maybe 45 minutes plus the waiting and all) before one arrives to witness this:

Everybody say,” Omm…”

This is Montigo Resorts at Nongsapura. It’s a 30-minute ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal followed by a 5-minute drive to the resort. I’m a sun, sea and sky person, so to be taken away from the madness that goes on in our home to be right here made me a very happy person.

Here’s a list of ten things that made me really happy being there:

1. A&W at Nagoya Hill

We gain an hour being at Batam, so when we arrived at 12.45pm, it was only 11.45am Batam time. Since check-in was at 3pm, we paid about SGD40 for a 45-minute taxi ride to Nagoya Hill.

To do what is the most important thing to do when in Batam.

Eat here:

But is it me or does the food not taste as wow as when I was a kid? The root beer float tasted kinda funny.

Still, it was nice being there, and I was happy to introduce what our childhood was like to the kids. Well, at least for me, this fast food restaurant was memorable because I got to eat curly fries and have a root beer float as a treat if I did well in my exams.

2. Spa, spa, and more spa

At Montigo, I was pleasantly surprised and extremely touched that I had my spa booked in advance. My husband gave me orders to disappear into the spa and emerge a happy person.

I obeyed.

I went for a Javanese Lulur Spa Experience, which involved some deep tissue kneading and a scrub, had a pedicure and a traditional facial the day after.

It was all very rustic, calming and soothing – being there, walking on bamboo and listening to gamelan playing from the speakers with the sound of waves not too far away. I also repaid a few hours of sleep debt.

Four words about the pedicure though: Cannot expect too much. It was basic and the Spa Ritual polish they used were inferior compared to the OPI I am used to. And it was a good thing I didn’t go there with gelish nails. They wouldn’t be able to soak it off at all.

3. Private infinity pool

Oh need I say more? We went into the pool in the villa whenever we wanted to, however we wanted to. We soaked, we splashed, we swam.

I jumped. And played a fool.

And made the kids laughed.

Their father? He dunked them all with clothes on in the still of the night.

And then there was laughter everywhere.

4. Showering under the clouds

I’ve never done this. Have you? Sit in a shower and look heavenwards towards God. Most amazing experience ever.

Most humongous tub I have seen ever.

5. In-villa private BBQ

We had a chef come in the second evening and fill the whole villa with smells of barbequed seafood and meat. It was another first for the family, sitting by the poolside, enjoying food grilled and served to us on the spot. We ate and ate till we were bursting in the seams, and then we ate some more.

What a life!

6. Cooking while watching the kids swim

There’s a kitchenette in every villa, and some really basic utensils for cooking over an induction cooker, so we thought we’d do some cooking. There’s only a medium-sized frying pan and a small pot (and they were all badly scratched and no longer Teflon coated) but we managed to make aglio olio, french toast, creamy pasta and wok-fried instant noodles which meant we settled four meals in the villa. We brought a pair of kitchen scissors (should have also brought a paring knife), canned tuna, 3 packets of pasta and our own salt and pepper. While at Nagoya, we grocery shopped for garlic, tomatoes, onions, fresh milk, cheese, ham, bread, Indomie and eggs. There’s only a bar fridge in the villa, so do plan purchases wisely. I thought there would be a freezer and ended up throwing away a box of mini Cornettos I bought for the kids.

It was all very satisfying to be making simple meals and looking out at the pool and the sun, sky and sea those days I was there.

7. Free wifi

I guess if you’re not living under a rock, free wifi is going to make you happy. All our thumbs got quite busy and it was satisfying to be able to stream videos (we watched Running Man on the first night, heh), check FB and post pictures on Instagram.

8. Beautiful sunsets

I shared in an earlier post that witnessing the sun setting and disappearing into the horizon was one of the most magnificent moments I could share with my kids. And you know what I got them all to do? We closed our eyes and pretended to paint the sunset, “ate” cotton candy clouds and imagined the clouds to be what we thought they could be.

How many moments like these would I be sharing with the kids in my lifetime?

9. Sky terrace

The third floor of the villa leads to a sky terrace that has plenty of space to run and look out into the hues of blue that’s before our eyes. Here, we take deep breaths and say a million wows, just like being on top of the world.

10. Happy kids, happy husband, happy helper, happy me

Needless to say, we’ve all had a great time (even the helper had fun) and this goes down in our memory bank as a beautiful vacation that we’ll remember for a long time.

P/S: This is not a sponsored post nor a review of Montigo Resorts. This is me reminiscing the vacation, feeling grateful for everything and sharing with all those who’s been asking us to tell them more about that wonderful place.

PP/S: For more pictures of sunsets captured by the husband, see them all in my first post here.

0 Comments

Going Out! Happy days Holidays! Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Of sunsets and beautiful moments

June 23, 2014

We just returned from a short getaway at a place you would least expect a piece of heaven.

There, at our vacay villa, we witnessed the most gorgeous sunsets for three evenings in a row, watching the golden sun dip into the horizon right before our very eyes.

We’ve learned the last three days that no two sunsets are ever the same. That’s how marvellous the God who created all these would paint each of His masterpiece.

We were very blessed to have someone so generous towards our family extend an offer to stay at this beautiful home away from home for four days. Who would have expected to find this piece of heaven just half an hour away from bustling Singapore?

For four days here, we made beautiful memories as a family together.

2 Comments

Happy days Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up Motherkao loves... Product Reviews Reviews The Kao Kids

Lights, magic, action! by Philips and Disney

June 13, 2014

I’ve always lamented the fact that there are no night lights that are child-friendly in the market.

By child-friendly, I mean something that is soft, not fragile, and can survive a careful kid accidentally dropping it or a careless one deliberately throwing it. By child-friendly, I mean a light that would stay cool to the touch and not have its bulb explode on us if we leave it turned on the whole night. By child-friendly, I also mean something that’s kind to little eyes with a glow that’s comforting enough, yet provides sufficient lighting so the child doesn’t end up walking into walls and doors if he needs the way to the bathroom lit.

Our night light – other than looking extremely cute – is none of these things I wish for.

Meet Bunny. Bunny’s head is hot to the touch usually after two hours; the light itself though yellow provides such a glare that the kids can hardly fall asleep (which means they end up talking and talking); and I am constantly reminding the kids that the rabbit IS NOT A TOY they can play with because the bulb inside its head can shatter any time. That plus the fact that Bunny is top heavy and often topples while being plugged to an electrical source.

Our Bunny night light

We’ve had Bunny for some time now but I’m always on the lookout for better, more innovative night lights for the kids’ room.

I’ve been told my search is over.

Last month, something wonderful happened. Philips and Disney have teamed up to develop a range of inspiring, magical and playful lighting products to make bedtime easy and fun for the little ones. Since seeing is believing, Philips got a couple of us mom bloggers to come see for ourselves how dynamic lighting solutions can be created at their Philips and Disney Imaginative Lighting ‘Pajamas Party’ Media Event.

Look at this. I could start checking off my wish list for night lights just by being there.

Ok, it’s official. My search is finally over.

This is Disney magic at its best, paired perfectly and flawlessly with cutting-edge Philips technology. The entire lighting range comes with child-friendly features. And I like the child-friendly idea very much. The lights use Smart Philips LED, which means the lamps stay cool to the touch, won’t consume much electricity and the bulbs don’t have to be frequently changed due to their long lifespan. Each light is also designed such that there are no small parts or sharp edges to worry about, and little fingers can be kept safe with velcro cable binders to tidy messy cables away. Add to that, the entire range is specially designed to be held by little hands which means it’s easy to hold and use.

You get lights of every magical possibility, from projector lights that illuminate the bedroom that transform scary shadows into an imaginative wonderland…

From the movie, Cars!

No prizes for guessing how badly the little girl wants to have to THIS projector light (picture credit: Philips)

To these huggable pals so squishy and friendly to cuddle…

SoftPals Mickey and Minnie

SoftPals from Monsters Inc: all SoftPals light up when shaken and turns off when you shake ’em again!

And torch lights so adorably fashioned for little hands which are ideal for travelling…

Jake the Pirate hero and Winnie the Pooh will light the way

And night lights that emit a gentle light which comes on with a simple wave.

Sensor night lights in five variations: Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Cars and Princess

I can’t remember how many times I went “I want them ALL!” on the inside that evening because I’ve been waiting for things like these to hit the stores.

The kids were thrilled, needless to say, and fiddled with everything that was there at the Pajamas Party with much glee. They were all invited to turn up in their PJs and be ready to be transported to a world of enchantment and magic through light.

Nat checking out the lights – and I didn’t have to fear he would get in trouble with wires and electricity!

The Kao kids in PJ having fun

And it was a lovely night catching up with some moms from Singapore Mom Bloggers

It was an amazing night indeed, coming face to face with innovation at its best, all thanks to Philips and Disney.

As if that wasn’t enough (and I was all ready to go order me some lights), Philips sent us Mr Mike Wachowski who would be taking over Bunny for night duties.

Here he comes!

Let’s see how Mr Wazowski’s been faring so far.

Soft, not fragile. CHECK. Can survive kid dropping it and throwing it around. CHECK.

If it can survive Nat, it can survive anything

Not hot to the touch and kind to little hands. CHECK.

Perfect for little hands: It’s made of silicone, and really smooth and soft to the touch, even after being lit for many hours

Comforting glow, not glaringly bright like our Bunny friend. CHECK. Kids can fall asleep readily and quickly. CHECK.

Mr Wazowski’s comforting glow

Somebody even loves holding it to sleep!

Can be used as torch to guide one’s way around, and to the bathroom. Not too bright, not too dim. CHECK.

Someone needs company to the bathroom all the time! You can have the SoftPal charged or get it to run on batteries.

We’re loving Mr Wazowski a lot more than Bunny. I hear because of the way he’s designed, to be far superior than Bunny, that is, his presence can help children get more peaceful sleep. “Suitable and quality lighting is important. The right night light can help train or correct your child’s sleeping behaviour for better development,” says Tammy Fontana, a child sleep expert.

Mr Wazowski is going to be permanent resident in the kids’ room for a long time, and I’m planning to get Sully when he’s available at the stores. I’m hoping that Disney would soon create Boo to join the both of them because that would make a stunningly complete trio for night duty.

That, and also for the reason that each of my kids can have one night light they can call their own and go to sleep with, and when the nightmare of toilet training for night time starts, they each would have a buddy to accompany them to the bathroom!

Thank you, Philips Singapore, for inviting us to the event, and for sending Mike Wazowski our way!

The Philips and Disney lighting range is available at www.philips.com.sg/shopLED, and from June 2014 at selected departmental, and mother and childcare stores.

The Philips and Disney lights retail at the following prices:

Philips and Disney SoftPals: SGD72.90
Philips and Disney Light & Image Projectors: SGD38.90
Philips and Disney Night Light (Sensor): SGD24.90
Philips and Disney Torch Lights: SGD19.90

Disclosure: This post is a sponsored conversation on behalf of Philips Singapore. We received the Philips and Disney SoftPals for the purpose of this review, as well as the Philips and Disney Torch Light in our goodie bag at the event. All opinions here are Motherkao’s own.

0 Comments

Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Product Reviews

One advice from the PD I won’t be following (yet)

May 28, 2014

During my last visit to the PD two weeks ago, she asked if I’m taking off Nat’s diapers already and getting him used to not wearing any at home.

She gave me the same advice for the older two kids when it was time to begin their toilet training: take off their diapers in the day when they are at home, get them used to their private parts not being covered up by a diaper, and lead them to the toilet every two to three hours to help them do a wee.

As it appears, it’s now time to begin toilet training the littlest. How time flies. With three kids so close in age, I lose track of the timing for all these milestone developments, especially for the last child. In fact, I was there at her clinic for his MMR vaccincation which was due 8 months ago.

Nat is now 26 months old, and I’m really thinking hard about how I could start toilet-training him. He’s active and up to mischief ALL THE TIME, and running around in his diaper pants since wearing it at 11 months that it’s become an extended part of him.

Little Nat in his new Drypers Drypantz which is like an extended part of him

That plus his mother is way too lazy to be doing this toilet-training thing for the third time. Haven’t I already told the world that I’m so happy to have finally found a good brand of diapers that fits the untrained ones snugly in the butt, hold pee (and poo) in well, which gives me such a peace of mind?

And even more so now with the new improved Drypers keeping him so comfortable throughout the day, I’m not just about to take his Drypers Drypantz off and fret about having to clean up puddles of pee when I can let him roam and run with this extended piece of him.

No, no, I’m so NOT about to do that. Haven’t you heard my recent complaint about this boy?

[Sung to the tune of ‘Three Blind Mice’]

One active Nat, one active Nat, see how he runs, see how he runs;

He’s gonna run after Ben and Becks, climb monkey bars and have fun to the max;

He’s not ready to pee at the urinal yet;

This is one active Nat.

This is Nat, who take every opportunity to climb, run and get in trouble

This is Nat, who takes every opportunity to climb, run and get in trouble

I’m telling you, once a mother finds a diaper that fits her child snugly, provides many hours of dryness, and gives him the skin comfort he needs, she’s not about to follow anybody’s advice when it comes to taking off his diaper and leading him to the trainer urinal to do a wee, like what, 10 times a day?

We’ve gone for a couple of hours straight recently when we were maid-less and I was out with all three kids and found the new Drypantz more amazing than it used to be. The garter waistband was firm enough to hold so much of Nat’s pee and didn’t drop at all, although the boy soon realized that it became difficult to run around (hurhurhur – so cute, that diaper butt!).

Plus, the material the diaper-pants is made of is soooooo soft (smooth and cloth-like cover on the outside, as well as absorbent within, with aloe vera, chamomile, olive extracts and Vitamin E), I hardly need to worry about diaper rash or the diaper giving him a scratchy wedgie.

So, no, Dr PD. When I smiled at you sheepishly, it was really because I was extremely reluctant to do as you suggested.

Toilet-training can wait a while more, I suppose. This active kid’s happy to be in his new improved Drypers Drypantz anyway.

Happy Nat and his new improved Drypers Drypantz

This post is brought to you by Drypers. We’ve been regular users of Drypers Drypantz and Wee Wee Dry since 2012. We’re recommending this because we really like what we’re using and have not been disappointed once by the premium quality we’ve experienced. While Drypers Drypantz can deliver many hours of lasting comfort which my incidental experiment of being out with the kids and not having the time to change Nat’s diaper has proven, I do not recommend that you keep diapers on a kid for that long! Experts say a child’s diapers need to be changed 2 to 3 hours regularly.

~~~

Make the change to ultimate comfort with the newly improved Drypers Wee Wee Dry Newborn, Drypers Wee Wee Dry and Drypers Drypantz! Drypers is a partner in every parent’s parenting journey, helping you magnify little moments of magic, for life.

For the month of June 2014, with every purchase of 2 packs of Drypers Wee Wee Dry or Drypers Drypantz, Motherkao’s readers can receive a $10 FairPrice voucher when they send in a scanned or snapped photo of the receipt (as proof of purchase), along with personal particulars (name, address, contact no., child’s name and DOB) to sg.contest@sca.com with subject title [Motherkao].

Promotion not applicable to Drypers Drypantz M-4pcs, L-3pcs, XL-3pcs, XXL-3pcs. The promotion of the $10 voucher is valid from 1 June – 30 June 2014.

Disclosure: This post is part of a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Drypers. All opinions here are my own.

0 Comments

Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Product Reviews Reviews The Kao Kids Uncategorized

Pretty, sticky and lasting [Stickerkid review]

May 22, 2014

The kids’ personalised stickers which I got from those push cart stalls in the mall have been failing me. These days, we can’t even recognise what’s being printed on the labels. Thankfully, they are at the age where they are indicating their preferences more strongly than ever, so we know what belongs to who by colour and design preferences, like their water bottles. The confusion begins when things are identical, like school bags, uniforms and colour pencils.

The label that failed me, which also means a waste of money

And it’s as if Stickerkid picked up my distress signal, and offered to send some personalised labels my way for the Kao kids.

Stickerkid is an online store that designs and produces high quality Swiss-made personalised labels from stickers for belongings and identification bracelets to photo name labels. The company was founded in 2004 and has printed millions of premium quality labels for thousands of parents and their children all over the world. We were really blessed to be given a fully sponsored code to customise a one-line personalised label for our belongings, as well as iron-ons for all the three kids.

It didn’t take us long to go online and choose the colours and fonts that we wanted, and the kids each had a say of their labels’ font colour and background colour.

The kids took turns to sit in front of my lap top to personalise their sticker labels

And when they arrived in the mail two weeks ago, they were thrilled! Immediately, they started labelling their favourite things…

60 small stickers for each Kao kid from Stickerkid!

“Hands off, these are mine!”: I am echoing the sentiments of these kids here

And I took it upon myself to label their identical looking pencils to prevent more fights from breaking out…

Identical things like these MUST be labelled in this house so that a war doesn’t break out

As well as rid their water bottles of their previous useless labels and putting on new ones.

The kids chose their favourite colours for their labels which incidentally are the same colours of their water bottles!

The kids chose their favourite colours for their labels which incidentally are the same colours as their water bottles!

Clearly, the biggest difference between those roadside-pushcart-pseudo-Disney name labels and those from Stickerkid is the fact that the quality of the stickers really IS better. I hear these stickers survive the microwave, the dishwasher, water, sun and sand. I’ve waited two weeks to write this review to see if the labels would fade and drop off from the kids’ water bottles that go through a good deal of scrubbing once a day, and I am pleased to say that they haven’t! I also stuck them on fabric (the kids’ school bags) and the labels have stayed there since the day I pasted them on.

I stuck the labels on the kids’ school bag made of tough fabric and the adhesive in each label is amazingly strong

And although their iron-on labels for clothes may not be the prettiest, they apparently are made to last for a really long time – as long as at least 45 washings in 60ºC. With these labels ironed on, I no longer have to spend time squinting at faded size tags at the back of their PE t-shirts (Becks is S and Ben is M) when I get them ready for school. Any time saved is good time saved, I say.

What a relief to have these !

I’m really happy to have Stickerkids help personalise the kids’ stuff. Their labels are extremely affordable and value for money, and saves me time and prevents fights. These little stickers are really something.

Thank you, Stickerkid, for sending these goodies our way and making the Kao kids really happy with these pretty things!

***

If you’d like to check out Stickerkid and see for yourself how good their labels are, you can get a 10% discount by quoting the discount code “MotherKao2014“ when you check out! This promotion for Motherkao readers is valid till 30 June 2014.

Disclosure: Motherkao received no monetary compensation for this review. The labels (3 sets of small stickers and 3 sets of iron-ons) were sponsored, courtesy of Stickerkids. All opinions here are my own.

0 Comments

Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Reviews

Getting a splashlight at the new Salon Vim

May 21, 2014

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’d know that we’ve had a challenging three weeks being without live-in help and I’ve gone almost crazy handling the chores, the kids and myself.

So when the helper came and I saw that she was settling ok, I applied for leave from my boss to go get me some me-time. Of course, my lovely boss said yes, and took over my duties for an evening while I headed to the new Salon Vim at 313 Somerset. For a while now, my stylist has been asking me to come check out the latest L’oreal Spring/Summer 2014 Collection, and I have been seeing pretty pictures of gorgeous hair on Salon Vim’s FB page that I can only wish I have – because seriously, which stay-home mom has got time to colour + perm + treat her hair? It takes at least four hours for one of those, and the only time I get four hours to myself on a typical day is after 10pm after the kids go to bed.

Someone should totally start a 24-hour salon; they might get business from stay-home moms like me.

Anyway.

I happily scooted off to 313 Somerset with a rare opportunity of having four hours to myself and found the new Salon Vim at the same level they used to be at (Level 4). And my, their new place is HUGE. It boasts of double the capacity as compared to their previous place and a VIP room (which I was ushered into!) which is cosy, quiet and super comfortable. My stylist, Ymond, took a look at the condition of my hair and declared I needed a trim, a new colour and a hair and scalp treatment – and immediately got to work.

Salon Vim at their new home (Picture credit: Salon Vim)

He also asked if I would like to go bold and try out the new look called splashlight, which involved selecting a portion of hair to be coloured with a loud, contrasting colour against a base colour. Something like this:

Making a statement with splashlights (Picture credit: Salon Vim)

Oooh, that would add some excitement to my life, certainly.

He selected magenta red to be “splashed” under a tuft of hair on my left side, and mocha brown as the base colour. While he was mixing and prepping, I was praying I wouldn’t end up looking like Ronald McDonald or Marilyn Manson on a bad hair day. I mean, have you seen how red the dye is?

Magenta red in the making

Clearly, my worries were unfounded, because this, ladies and gentlemen, this was the gorgeous result:

From aunty to chic

I like that it’s not-in-your-face loud. I’ve got nothing I want to prove anyway. I like it that, on me, it turns me from aunty-looking to sophisticated chic with a statement that’s classy not angsty.

I like. I like how this splashing of highlights turned out.

Photo time with the hair

I also had a hair and scalp keratin treatment, courtesy of Salon Vim, after the colouring was done, and it was nice to be *finally* flipping through fashion and women magazines after so long. The last time I did so was when I went to Salon Vim for my sombre highlights and soft perm in January. It’s been a while.

Some pampering of the tresses is long overdue, I say

All in all, it was a happy me-time I had with myself. I’m happy with time alone, happy with the change, happy to get some red carpet treatment and happy to have a bolder new look. Salon Vim is really the place to go to if you want experienced hands who’s skilled in stylish colouring techniques, and a place to check out for the latest trends and styles.

Thank you, Salon Vim, for once again inviting me, and for pampering a tired mother silly!

With Ymond Chin, the stylist that made it all happen!

More details:

Starting from 26 May 2014 for 2 weeks, Salon Vim is offering a 50% discount off their hair and scalp treatment! For $125 (U.P $250), get fussed and pampered while your hair and scalp get royal treatment.

And just for Motherkao readers, Salon Vim is taking 15% off your bill* when you pay them a visit for any hair services! Quote [Motherkao blog] or [Elizabeth from Motherkao] when you make an appointment at 68847757 | 68847767 or email them at vimsalon@yahoo.com.sg. Connect with them via their Facebook page to check out the latest hair creations and get inspired.

Salon Vim by Chez Vous is at 313 @ Somerset Orchard Road #04-25/28, Singapore 238895

*The 15% discount is limited to first time Salon Vim customers only.

Disclosure: I was invited to Salon Vim to try out their services for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received for this post and opinions here are my own.

2 Comments

Becks Kao Ben Kao Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves...

Connecting with Canon & scrapping for a special someone

April 3, 2014

You all know by now I hardly allow craft at home. The moment the kids start painting / cutting / scrapping / peeling / glueing / sticking, I start cleaning up.

So I almost never say no to any opportunity to craft outside of home. And when Canon Singapore invited us to connect with them at EatPlayLove Cafe, we were raring to go. It would be our second time there. The first time we went, the kids had so much crafting with the free flow of art and craft materials from egg trays and pasta shells to ribbons and stickers. They remember the experience, and were more than thrilled to be going again.

This was last June!

Last Friday, we were invited by Canon to create photo art using the latest Canon Selphy 910, as well as their latest cameras. And have a yummy buffet feast and connecting with other mom bloggers while at that! So while I was doing that – chatting with mom blogger friends and eating my basil rice, that is – my kids swallowed their dinner quickly and were found at the craft corner getting all creative:

Can’t wait to start crafting – these are deprived children, I tell you

And we’ve not even received instructions on our “task” yet!

Our “task” that evening was simple: bring an SD card filled with beautifully-captured family moments and print them on the latest Canon Selphy 910. Then grab a canvas and scrap away with all the craft materials available to make something for keeps.

I got started while Ben and Becks were busy playing with papers, stickers and glue and had fun printing our family pictures with the Canon Selphy, which also allows users to print wirelessly from their mobile devices.

Printing fun!

I especially loved the idea of having the printer shuffle my pictures and churn out a collage! This was what it did, and I’m definitely going to be framing this:

You can get the Selphy to churn out a collage for you too!

Ben, Becks and I got going that night with the canvas to make something for their grandfather (my dad) who’s recovering from a stroke. We’ve been wanting to give him something to lift his spirits, and so we had a couple of pictures printed, grabbed some stickers and washi tape and scrapped away.

After a while of arranging, cutting, glueing and pasting…

…we have this to present to him!

We had ourselves a meaningful time that evening indeed, and we now have more happy pictures of our family to frame and a handmade gift for Grandpa. What a great way to be spending our Friday evening! And the best part ever for me – no prizes for guessing right – NO NEED TO CLEAN UP! YAY!

Thank you, Canon Singapore for inviting us to connect with you; and EatPlayLove Cafe, for cleaning up after us!

Disclosure: We were invited to connect with Canon Singapore at EatPlayLove Cafe. No monetary compensation was received for this post.

0 Comments