Milestones and growing up Archives - Page 6 of 19

Ben Kao Everyday fun! Milestones and growing up

Six is the age of…

January 28, 2015

… Scowling at injustice with a big, big sense of right and wrong

Here he is, very upset that he is the only boy in his group. He says his teacher did the WRONG thing.

Here Ben is very upset that he is the only boy in his group. He says his teacher did the WRONG thing.

… Sulking every day on the way to school complaining to Mom about girls and telling her how much you hate them

“I don’t want to go to school, Mama. I hate girls.”

… Singing your lungs out in the shower and doing the boogie woogie while at it

The noisiest part of his day, and mine

…And staging a water battle for German and American soldiers while you’re at it

Drowned comrades

… Needing to look cool all the time

So the sunglasses need to match the outfit…

…Wanting – not a pet dog, a pet kitten, but a pet JAGUAR

Security blanket every night

… Making a mess with your Lego and turning a deaf ear to Mom’s nagging about bricks hurting her feet (like, who cares?)

It’s painful? Really? If you stepped on a brick?

… Being extremely creative, with tons of mischief up your sleeve

Making Running Man nametags and making himself a spy

…Wanting many moments of being all alone to create something massive

“Leave me alone to make my Lego,” so says someone

… Leading the pack

“Shall we play MAGIC TRAIN, guys?”

… Having no fear

This is just a vampire. What’s so scary?

… Having intense conversations with friends, and wanting to be with older boys

Playing BrainBox with Gabriel, his bff for now

…. Monkeying with Mom and loving every minute of it

Ba ba ba… ba ba NA NA!

6 years ago, this boy entered my world. A leaking water bag and almost 14 laborious hours later, I met the gentlest, sweetest, baby who came to rock my world.

And rock my world he did. Every. Single. Day.

I love you, Son. Every. Single. Day.

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Everyday fun! Happy days Milestones and growing up Nat Kao The Kao Kids

Castle show

January 27, 2015

These days I work 7 days a week.

And these days, my children see only the first part and the last part of me. In the mornings, when I send them to school and back home, and in the evenings when I return home for dinner.

The routine is pretty set in the afternoons after I send them home from kindergarten: grab a snack, get a shower, sit down and finish ‘Mama Homework’ and then play.

And these days, at 3, 5 and 6 years of age, PLAY is the best thing ever that can happen in their lives. With one another. With each other.

Today, when I got home, I found them in a castle. Suddenly, there were knights and a princess in the house, and lots of talking animals.

The kids said, “Are you ready to see a surprise?” and ran to their room.

Surprised, indeed. By their creativity, and the mess! They’ve turned the Kura into a castle!

Tonight, the children prepared a “castle parade”. My children sat their mother and father down and announced:

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Welcome to our show!”

And then proceeded to demonstrate how to cook eggs (my youngest is currently into everything OVAL), how to swordfight like a knight (Ben’s specialty), and how to prance around like a princess (no prizes there who was in charge of this segment).

So the host made the announcement…

…and even asked if we knew the difference between the shields a Viking used and the ones that knights use.

The castle cook demo-ed how to cook eggs…

And the princess held up the magic egg from we-don’t-know-where

And if you ask me, this was the best show I’ve ever watched so far this year, and such an excellent respite from the stresses of a 7-day work week.

At this point, I would say – Those years of juggling, struggling and living each day to survive 2 tods and an infant? Today was the day I felt they were worth those blood, sweat, tears, loss of hair and sleepless nights.

Because now they have proven to be the best play mates for each other.

Keeping each other company, while Mama’s at work!

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Family life as we know it Happy days Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Getting matched in matchy ways this CNY

January 20, 2015

My husband and I have NEVER worn anything matching. Ever.

Too corny. Too cheesy. Too gaudy. Too attention seeking. Is what we say to ourselves.

Until this year. Where we did this.

Yes, go matchy matchy on ourselves, together with the kids. We decided we only live once, our children are only young once, and soon enough they are going to be declaring their own fashion manifesto which we probably have no control over. So we modelled for MidouCeur, just for the fun of it.

Ok, now you know what we’ll probably be turning up in at visitations during Chinese New Year. If we catch your attention, remember to say hi!

Photo Source: Midouceur

You can see the entire collection we modelled for, here at MidouCeur’s website.

From now till 22 January 2015, enter the promo code CNY8off to get 8% discount off at MidouCeur for purchases above SGD100 net. If sizing and fit is always a big question mark for you, MidouCeur will be having a pop-up stall for 2 days on 24 & 25 January 2015 from 10am to 9pm at Chinatown Bazaar. Connect with them on their Facebook page or IG account to get updated details of the location and other collections.

Disclosure: We received 2 family sets of 2 designs from MidouCeur for helping them out in this modelling shoot. For details of sizing, please contact MidouCeur direct. All opinions here are our own, and are not in any way representative of anyone else. We’ve changed our mind about wearing couple / family / matching clothes. You’ll see us turn up all matched this CNY, yes, you will!

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Everyday fun! Learning fun! Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

This is not a box

January 14, 2015

Image source

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou

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Christmas happiness Going Out! Happy days Holidays! Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up Reviews The Kao Kids

Awesomeness at LEGOLAND – Part 2, LEGOLAND Theme Park & Water Park

December 30, 2014

After we did the slowly slowly thing on Day One of our getaway to LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort, and thoroughly just relaxed and enjoyed the hotel facilities and activities, you would think that we would start on our chiong-like-crazy (or dash like mad, for our non-Singlish folks) thing on Day Two since we were very kindly sponsored a Theme Park and Water Park One-Day Combo Pass.

It was really generous of LEGOLAND to give us a One-Day Combo Pass, but it did inevitably translate to some kind of rushing stress to make full use of every single hour of the parks’ opening, and cover everything we can to make the ticket worth it.

So again we had to consciously decide NOT to rush; to do the slowly slowly, and to even be prepared to buy tickets on the third day if we wanted to spend more leisurely time at the park.

We were sure hell-bent on doing the Slowly Slowly Movement for this trip.

So did we manage to enjoy two parks in one day? Yes, we did. And we didn’t rush like crazy and only because we did what we felt we want to do. This included returning to the hotel for a one-hour nap.

Here’s what we did, and how we did it:

1. We did make some effort to wake up earlier, instead of at anytime we wanted.

We woke up at 8.30 am, got dressed and prepped our day-pack with caps, raincoats and water. We slapped on sunblock and mozzie repellent, headed to the Bricks Family Restaurant (remember to factor in the wait to be seated!), ate our usual portion for breakfast (as opposed to going for many rounds even if it was a buffet!), did one toileting round at the hotel and headed to join the queue by 9.55 am.

2. We entered the Theme Park at 10 am sharp and turned right.

There was a human swell at about 9.50 am but the queues moved pretty fast the moment the gates opened. The moment we were inside, I rented a double stroller for RM22.50 (hotel guests get a discount, compared to the usual rental rate of RM45) and we turned right from The Beginning to head straight to Lego City. I’ve read on many blog reviews that the right side of the park was catered more for younger children, and since I have a 5, 4 and 2 year-old, it only made the most sense that we got them to enjoy what the park had to offer them. I’ve also briefly walked around the Theme Park when Ben and I were invited to preview the Star Wars Miniland Model Display earlier in September this year, so I was sort of familiar with the layout and map.

Picture Credit: LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort

3. We only did things that we would all be happy doing together, including waiting for one another.

This meant queuing only if everyone agreed to join the queue (or wait for whoever who wanted to ride to queue and finish) and promising to wait patiently.

There was no queue for Junior Driving School (the first thing that greeted us at Lego City) and even then only Ben was game enough for it. The circuit was uncomplicated and the experience was completed in no time.

Ben at Junior Driving School

I say 5 is the golden age where a kid is game to try anything!

You can get a proper card license with your photo at RM20

Say! Driver’s license!

We waited for his “driver licence” (which we paid a fee of RM20 for) longer than the drive and queue put together (had to fill in form for name, make payment, wait for print, etc), but it was a good warm-up for the kids to understand what it was like being in a theme park. Until now, the only theme park they have been to was Hongkong Disneyland, which I’m not sure whether they remember.

We queued at the Boating School for a bit, and steering the battery powered boat was one memorable experience.

Steering a powered boat for the first time

It’s nice to go boating

It was around then it started to get really scorching hot. The heat was beginning to get to us. And we were not even there for two hours yet. Although I’d rather the sun than rain, my family and I don’t really function very well under heat. If you follow this blog, you would recall how happy Ben and Becks were when it poured all through our 5-km walk for the Hello Kitty Run earlier in November.

So. Some people were gradually turning into grumpy pots by about 11 am actually.

Not so smiley anymore sitting on Santa’s sleigh, as you can see

We then ventured into Rescue Academy to put out the fire and stop the robbers, and despite the fact that our family of 5 had to be broken up into two to take two fire engines, it was a really exciting activity for all of us. This, no queue at all.

There’s a fire, and we headed for the rescue mission; pity we didn’t manage to snap anything of ourselves moving the fire engine manually!

We then retreated into Lego City Stage for the show, When Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney, at 11.30 am; and I would be the first to admit that it didn’t really matter what I was watching. I was just so glad to have air-con.

So we learnt, that Santa got stuck in the chimney, and he’s a real dude that comes every Christmas if you believe!

With the cast of the show

So we didn’t take the LEGOLAND Express (queue was too long), didn’t go for any other rides except Lost Kingdom and Beetle Bounce at the Land of Adventure, didn’t ride the roller coasters at Lego Kingdom and didn’t take the water plunge at Dino Island after the show. Many rides appeared too daunting for Nat and Becks, and it was always “No, don’t want”, when we asked if we should go for this and that. My little girl just sat on the stroller people-watching half the time, and Nat was pretty shaken after going on the Beetle Bounce. Ben was the only one game to try everything, but the heat by 12 noon got to us quite a bit, and we decided to play carnival games instead (which were all around in booths and very expensive!) and stop at Burger Junction for lunch.

Nat looking ghastly going for the Beetle Bounce drop

After a nice lunch at Burger Junction, the kids were more game to take some pictures and were happy just to watch bigger kids play at the Build & Test site (it’s also air-conditioned), where they built cars and tested them in circuits and ramps. Ben and Fatherkao braved the heat to try out the Kids Power Tower which was really fun for all of us watching. We then played a few more carnival games and walked away with two stuffed tigers and a unicorn, and were happy to head back to the hotel for a nap.

Bigger boys playing at Build & Test

Ben with Laval from Legends of Chima

Brontosaurus!

And Nat’s favourite – triceratops!

Video: Kids Power Tower

Ah, LEGOLAND. If only the trees around us were a little taller, wider and stronger. The heat made all of us more tired than we normally would be, and we had to go back to sleep a bit.

We were really glad to have the hotel room to escape from the heat.

4. We spent two hours at the Water Park.

When we woke up from our nap, it was about 4 pm. The next two hours spent at the Water Park was spent in a light drizzle (unpredictable weather, what’s new?).

But it meant the mood was cheerier because the air was lighter and the heat was gone. And I’d buy tickets to just enter this park instead in a heartbeat anytime.

Because?

Because even though these two couldn’t go on most of the slides, they were contented to sit for a long, long time by the wave pool. Chatting and laughing.

And it was such a joy to watch.

Just cautiously sitting together by the Wave Pool, Nat and Becks

Talking and laughing…

…And people-watching in silence

Although there were over 20 thrilling slides here at the Water Park, Becks and Nat were totally at home at the Duplo Splash Safari and the Wave Pool, while Fatherkao and Ben were happy to go again and again for Red Rush, Build-a-Raft River and Splash n Swirl.

Me? I was as pathetic as pathetic can be sitting around in the drizzle just watching everyone in action as I had to entertain a “visitor”. It was that time of the month. And alas, I looked around for tampons at the Medini Mall and found none.

LEGOLAND Water Park, I’ll come back for you.

On hindsight, we might have done better visiting the Water Park first with the combo pass, and head to the Theme Park later in the evening at 5 pm. But I’m not sure if that would have satisfied the Lego fans under my charge, because the Theme Park had a lot more Lego awesomeness than the Water Park. But, oh well.

5. Bathe at breakneck speed and go back to LEGOLAND Theme Park before it closes at 8 pm

Ok, this was the only thing we rushed our kids after the Water Park closed at 6 pm. We hurried them in the shower at the hotel, and almost ran back to the Theme Park (which extended opening hours to 8 pm in December). We managed to go on Project X, the 18-metre high roller coaster – me, Ben and Fatherkao – twice in the cool of the evening, but that was it.

By the time we finished touring Star Wars Miniland, the rides at Lego Kingdom were closed (they shut down at 7 pm). We had hoped to go on the Dragon’s Apprentice and the Royal Joust when it was cooler in the evening, but didn’t know the rides shut at 7 pm. I don’t know why we thought it was 8 pm.

It’s closed, the Dragon Apprentice, and we’re really sad!

Nonetheless, we soaked in the sights of Christmas lights and the voices of Christmas carolling the last hour we were there at the Theme Park. After the drizzle that day, it was finally cool and the awesomeness of LEGO happened for us all once again.

Chrismas carolling

The 9-metre high Christmas Lego Tree made of 427, 695 Lego Duplo bricks, decorated with hand-built ornaments: what a sight!

***

Might I make a few suggestions, LEGOLAND?

If you had night tickets like that of Universal Studios Singapore during the Christmas season (where you can choose to buy tickets only for entry from 5-9pm), I would gladly buy them. The heat may be a little unbearable for younger children.

To solve the problem of unpredictable weather, perhaps more tents and canopies? We were ready with caps and sunscreen and brollies, but still. It would be great if the park was more covered so we can have temporary relief from heat, or rain, for that matter.

Could we please have water points? Most theme parks do! I brought my helper along, and I was glad to have lugged her for this trip because the sole purpose of her being there was to help us with the water for the three kids and to make sure all of us were hydrated. I read from reviews there were no water coolers available, so I came prepared. I can’t imagine those who didn’t, and like me, have 3 young kids in tow. Can’t possibly be going around hunting for stores and snack bars to buy water, right?

Would you consider offering an Express Queue system? In the heat, I might gladly pay. So I might be able to ride more rides with less stress. And the adrenaline, instead of the heat and queuing, might get all of us going.

Apologies if I sound like such a wuss. Just some suggestions.

***

Having said all these, I am extremely, extremely thankful for this wonderful opportunity to be found in LEGOLAND Resort. Like the hotel, we love the details. We were wowed, especially at Miniland, by every single Lego-constructed mini monument and landscape. We were impressed at the awesomeness of seeing almost life-sized dinos, animals, people and things, constructed all by Lego. The fans in the house were very gratified, because that – that is the awesomeness of falling in love with Lego over and over again.

Beyond the rides and queues and carnival games.

Beyond the thrill of splashing down a slide for the third time or going up a roller coaster.

To us, the beauty of Lego is the ability to imagine and build, and has always been the reason why we love Lego.

Thank you, LEGOLAND Malaysia, for being such a generous host!

This was us, doing the L-E-G-O!

Disclosure: This review is in no way representative of the views of LEGOLAND Malaysia Resort. We were kindly sponsored a family one-day combo pass and meal vouchers for the purpose of this post. All opinions here, including experiencing heat and waves of awesomeness, are our own.

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(Self) Examination Becks Kao Love language Milestones and growing up What to Expect... As a Mother

The day she asked for polished nails: a sober lesson in motherhood

December 12, 2014

When I was expecting a girl, I laid a few rules (for her) I was determined not to break.

She is to wear no makeup before she turns 16; she will not be allowed in high heels until her growth is complete; and there must be no nail polish found on her nails – both toes and fingers – at least before 16 years of age.

Why so strict, you ask.

Because there’s a saying in Chinese 早熟早烂.

In English, loosely translated: soon to ripen, soon to rot.

I’ve always believed that the moment a girl takes her first step towards vanity is that moment she begins to grow up.

I don’t want my little girl to grow up so fast, and I wish to bubble wrap her at least till she’s 12. Can I at least do that? She’s my only girl.

I don’t want my little girl to grow up so fast. I think I did – a little too early, in my opinion – and I lost time. Time to explore in complete childhood innocence the fun to be had and the purity in being totally girl-like. I lived every day as a child wanting to grow up and be like my mom, and now with the bi**h of hindsight, I so wished I had totally enjoyed myself running around barefoot, playing rough with my cousins and learning a sport instead of rummaging my mother’s wardrobe to apply lipstick and blush, wearing her clothes and high heels and hoping for a miracle that I would be a woman tomorrow.

I know it’s a journey for every girl, but as a mother, it is my deepest wish to delay that as much as possible.

I don’t do my fingernails at all (only my toenails when I need help with ingrown) and I don’t put on makeup in front of Becks. Still, my little girl sees her friends going to kindergarten in lipstick (some of them perpetually take out lip gloss to apply) and colourfully varnished nails. And since then, every day, she’s been longing for painted nails.

To the point that she takes my markers and paints them herself, and adds stickers for some good nail art measure.

No matter how I’ve encouraged her to play with her brothers, get involved with learning board games and play pretend to imagine a whole new world, she would naturally gravitate towards the path of vanity. I lost my blusher brush for months and found it hidden in her closet. She wanted to keep long hair and would badger me to buy her hair accessories. She also took my pearl strings and bracelets from my jewellery box and declared them hers. She started wanting to wear dresses and pretty shoes (she hasn’t asked for heels yet, thank God) and braided hair.

And this is the same girl, who at two years of age, refuses to put on anything that’s remotely a dress or skirt.

I have been saying no for many months to nail polish now, but today I decided to make her feel special, and to make her realise that Mama’s not that big an a**. And so I painted her nails, much to her surprise, delight and elation.

Why the sudden change of mind, you ask.

Because I understand that in motherhood I must be flexible. Because it is better me than anyone else to gratify that desire. Because it is more about the relationship I build with my daughter that will withstand the challenges down the road of vanity than the rules that I’ve made.

Because I intend to keep my daughter close to me for as long as I can, and to only let go when she is ready, and I need to do that with her feeling loved and not controlled.

And so she gets purple nails today.

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Christmas happiness Getting all sentimental now Happy days Invites & Tryouts Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

Capturing a moment in time this Christmas with Orange Studios

November 28, 2014

Christmas is, without a doubt, our favourite time of the year.

It’s a time for reflecting, sharing, giving and loving.

It’s a time to take stock and to give thanks.

And it’s a time to look back at how much my children have grown.

2011: Christmas with family

2011: My little Santarina Becks

2012: Keeping our tradition of getting a real fir tree!

2013: Look at the presents, and how much the kids have grown!

This year, Orange Studios invited us to capture 2014’s Christmas through pictures we would want to keep for a lifetime.

Pictures like these, to remind us that time is but fleeting and every year is a year of change that must frozen in time by photography to be kept alive in our hearts:

Oh, how quick my babies have grown!

Another year, another Christmas. Here’s to more happy times and jolly cheers!

xoxo

Just for Motherkao readers:

Orange Studios is offering a mini Christmas Photo Shoot so you will never forget this Christmas!

The following are the dates for the sessions:

Nov: 24 – 27, 30 (limited slots remaining for 30 Nov)
Dec: 2 – 4, 9 – 14

Quote [Motherkao] and for SGD180 (U.P $200) you will enjoy the following:

– a 30-minute studio Christmas photoshoot session
– all soft copy photos (8R resolution) returned with light edits

Terms and conditions:
– The above rate is for up to 4 pax. Top-up $15/pax for additional participants.
– Maximum 2 outfits.
– $30 surcharge for weekend sessions.
– Soft copy photos will be provided in a DVD, by self-collection. Top-up $4 for postage (i.e. normal mail).

Contact them at 8606 6950 or contact@orangestudios.sg for enquiries or bookings. Connect with them via Facebook for more updates!

Disclosure: We love Orange Studios, and were super stoked to be invited by them to share this offer. No monetary compensation was received for this post, and all opinions here are our own.

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(Self) Examination Family life as we know it Getting all sentimental now Milestones and growing up The Kao Kids

Words.

November 22, 2014

To my dearest children,

These days on some mornings, what I see sometimes breaks my heart.

Have I been too harsh? Too unkind? Are you picking up this unkindness from me?

You are all waiting for a chance to pounce on one another.

Go away! Don’t disturb me! Get out! I don’t like you! Why?! What?! I don’t like you! I don’t love you! Ugh! Shut up!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At so young, all of you seem so agitated when things don’t go your way.

I know I have to give all of you room to resolve your conflicts and learn how to navigate your way through friction that’s experienced because you have siblings.

I know I need to give all of you room to grow and understand what one another is like. And to accept one another for who he or she is. Every one is different. How everyone relates to everyone is different. And you have to live everyday learning that the world doesn’t resolve around you, and that there are people around your age here in this family that you would have to live with for a long time.

The moment you wake up, you’re with a brother or a sister, or two brothers for you, Becks. You’re never alone.

And you start your day everyday just learning to share, negotiate, speak up and get along. Yes, I do also know you don’t have a choice.

May I suggest something, my babies? The world is already harsh, cruel and unkind out there. Let’s speak kindness. Let’s choose to love here, at home.

Don’t be too eager to pour out on your siblings what you hear outside or from the adults in your life – we have not been good examples and always wished we could be better. We have been busy, flustered and tired to the bones.

And deep down, we wished we could always have a kind word for you.

So my dears, love one another with your words always. Because one another is all you’ve got. Play together, learn together, navigate through the course of this life together. And if there are disagreements and when things go your way, choose the way of love.

Don’t ever say you don’t love one another, ok?

Let’s not break each other’s hearts here in this family.

Loving all three of you to the moon and back,

Mama

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Family life as we know it Milestones and growing up Reviews The Kao Kids

This Thing About Essential Oils, Part 1: Loving every minute of being oily

November 20, 2014

So this thing about essential oils is quite something. I’ve always had problems inhaling and using store-bought essential oils and aromatherapy products. I’d feel nauseous and get headaches, so you can imagine what a wreck I would be standing in front of those aromatherapy push carts that have multiple diffusers emitting all sorts of vapours. Same goes for entering the fragrance level of departmental stores.

Until I used therapeutic grade essential oils, and the ones from Young Living.

I’m not going to enter into any discussion with anyone regarding the various criticisms and schools of thought with regard to the various companies in the States producing essential oils and their business practices and structures (they are usually MLM). I always think the person with the testimony triumphs over the one with the opinion.

Suffice to say, I trust Young Living because of the company’s ‘seed to seal’ promise and support the founder’s vision of harnessing the potential of essential oils for healing and wellness in unadulterated ways. Until that proves otherwise, of course. As a Christian, I do believe there’s a time and place for oils and medicine and treatment, but Jesus is still our Healer.

The oils are featuring quite a bit in the family and something we’ve all grown to like very much. The kids love a good sole massage with the essential oils before bed and I use Thieves rather regularly to support their immune system. I find Peace & Calming a wonderful blend too to settle overstimulated kids, especially if they are tossing and turning or waking suddenly after a bad dream.

I’ve also shared before here that I absolutely need to rub some Peace & Calming behind my earlobes when I need to calm down.

I caught a chill recently and it happened the day before my 5-km GE Run. Knowing that I should never medicate before going for a run, I oiled my soles regularly with Thieves throughout the day and applied R.C on my chest and throat.

I felt better the next day, completed my run, and never felt better.

I thought since I’ve been using Young Living Essential Oils for quite a while now, I’d share a list here of some of the oils I absolutely need to have in my household.

These are my must-haves in the house:

Photo Credit: Fellow Mom Blogger and “Oily” Friend – Serene Seah, who writes at Xavy-licious

Purification – for insect bites and itch; to diffuse when the haze is bad. Nat was once bitten by some unknown insect after the kelong trip which formed a huge nodule and this oil applied neat for 3 days cleared the pus and swelling away.
Lavender – for burns and cuts, for my scalp to prevent excessive hair loss
Peace & Calming – need I say more?
Valor – I used this to rub over sore muscles after the GE Run and I stopped aching after 2 days
Orange – I apply it over the liver area over the kids (3 drops directly below their right ribcage) after they eat processed food at parties
Citrus Fresh – for fresh-smelling rooms and children
Thieves – to support the immune system
Lemon – to add to our water, for detoxification
Lemongrass – love, love, love the smell when applied on my wrists (apparently that helps lower cholesterol levels) and when it’s diffused
Di-Gize – for stomach and digestion woes. It works amazing for the kids whenever they have unexplained stomachaches (those they say are painful and they can’t poop it out) and I use it to replace the Ru Yi Oil we used to use
R.C – to replace the way we apply Vicks VaporRub when we have a cold; to rub on the children’s chest and throat when they are sneezing and down with a chill
Oregano – for the husband to combine with Thieves to support his immune system
Frankincense – we pour a few drops on our palms, rub our palms together and cover them over our eyes; it does help relieve tired eyes and solve ‘floater’ problems
Peppermint – to get rid of terrible smells

The oils have been speeding up recovery and maintaining the well-being of the children, and we’ve been going medicine-free for a long time now. We’ve had many, many happy stories of the essential oils working well for us on occasions where the only known thing was to medicate or rush to the doctor. The kids now know that when they have a bruise, a cut, a rash, some sores, ulcers or pain in their body to say a prayer, and look for Mama to apply some oils.

I am really glad to have invested money in these oils because it’s way better than having to deal with the side-effects and after-effects of medication. We’re all now very oily, happy people!

Disclaimer: I’m not doing this MLM thing nor am I into this MLM thing, and I am not sharing this to get downlines. I get questions sometimes from readers and friends who ask me about the oils I use and what I use to to oil my kids for their wellness, and I’d thought this sharing might help.

Coming up in the next post: This Thing About Essential Oils, Part 2: All about the Zyto Scan

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Becks Kao Ben Kao Going Out! Learning fun! Milestones and growing up Re: learning and child training

What my kids caught which can never be taught when it poured

November 2, 2014

One of the perks of being a blogger, at least for me these days, besides getting the usual media invites for events and product samples for review, is to be invited to exercise.

Which by the way, is great, because I so need to do so.

We were invited by the good people at SPRG (the same good folks that invited me to participate in the Great Eastern Women’s Run as an influencer) to join in the inaugural Hello Kitty Run 2014 at Sentosa as part of the feline character’s 40th birthday celebration here in Singapore. Since Becks, my little girl, is such a fan, they say.

But it’s 5km! I say. Her royal highness is not going to be able to make a 5km-run, not when her mother hasn’t even done her maiden 5 clicks yet.

It’s a FUN run, they say. And it’s perfectly ok if we walked and enjoyed the scenery.

So we said ok. Because her royal highness is such a fan, and she got excited by the thought of being in a run with me. And with Hello Kitty, or so she thinks.

And so we joined 17, 000 other fans yesterday at Sentosa, to participate in the first run of our lives together – me, Becks and Ben.

Hello Kitty’s mega 40th birthday surprise comprised a bouquet of flowers
presented by Dear Daniel, a 33 inch cupcake and a birthday song sung to her
by all 17,000 race participants. (Image Credit: SPRG)

It was a madding crowd, I tell you. Local and overseas fans turned up in full force – men, women, boys, girls alike – tattooed with red ribbons and donning everything that screamed Hello Kitty from headbands and spectacles to shoes and shimmering pink skirts.

Sandwiched all the the way at the back in the huge crowd – but first, a wefie! (Look at her royal highness’ grumpy face – too hot and stuffy, she says)

We had to be flagged off in waves because there was such a swelling human crowd. The jostling and heat, plus the threat of a stampede, were just too much to bear.

Just look at how crazily packed it was at the starting line.

17 thousand people, folks. This is how it looked like! (Image Credit: SPRG)

17 thousand people, folks. This was how it looked like! (Image Credit: SPRG)

And then the terrible happened.

This was how the sky looked when we finally got close enough to the starting line

Look at the dark clouds covering the skies. And there were still a whole lot of people in front of us!

The moment the fourth wave was flagged off (and that was us), the rain started pelting heavily on us.

It was like all the Chinese compositions we’ve ever written in school that always read “突然间下了倾盆大雨… 我们都像落汤鸡一样” came to life (loosely translated: suddenly, it rained cats and dogs and we looked bedraggled like drowned rats).

And I was torn between running back to seek shelter and hailing a cab home from Vivocity or continue walking in the rain with my five-year-old and four-year-old. So many people with young children were walking past us with their kids and babies strapped in carriers and strollers in the opposite direction anyway. Nobody would blame us for not being able to continue the race.

I was also very worried about the kids catching a cold. They have never, ever been drenched like this in their lives, and if they ever got wet because they were at water playgrounds, we always made sure that there was a warm shower facility and fresh change of clothes available. I didn’t have a brolly or poncho in my bag. I had packed light for the run – there was only a water bottle, two hand towels and two singlets to change out in my bag, plus keys and some money.

I stopped with the kids to hide under some bushes near Sentosa Gateway and asked the kids a few questions to gather information about their state so I could make a more informed decision:

Me: The rain doesn’t look like it would stop. It may get heavier and we would soon be wet to our socks, shoes and underwear. Shall we run back?

Ben and Becks: *silence*

Me: If we run back now, we can make our way home. Then we won’t be so wet.

Ben: But you said if we start a race, we finish it. That’s what people do when they race?

Me: Yep, I did say that whether we are comfortable or uncomfortable, wet or dry, we don’t give up once we start. But it’s a long way ahead. Sure you want to continue in this?

Becks: I don’t want to go home. I want to continue.

Me: Ben?

Ben: Yes, continue. We don’t give up.

Me: Alright, let’s press on to get our medals.

Ben & Becks: Continue! *with a glint in their eyes and smile on their face*

And so the decision was made. We continued to have a similar conversation in the rain at the 800m mark, the 1.6m water point and the 2.4km toilet break, and every time I would ask, “Shall we seek shelter? Can we take a break? Shall we wait till the rain becomes a lighter drizzle?” and the answer from my two determined children would still be the same.

“Let’s continue,” they would say. “Let’s not give up.”

And never did we stop once in our 5-km walk to hide from the rain or to rest our tired legs or to whine. Ben and Becks saw it as a chance of a lifetime to be indulging in free flow water play, and I saw that they were considerably cheerier as compared to the looks on their faces while we waited in the heat for the race to start.

They were happy to be skipping in the rain, wringing out water from their shirts and splashing in puddles.

Playing with raindrops at our toilet break near Palawan Beach

My bag was soaked through and there would be no more dry clothes and towels, but was so glad I had a ziploc bag for my phone – hence this photo!

The rain made being in the race uncomfortable physically for all of us but it lifted the spirits of these children.

Around the 1km slope uphill we also experienced kindness. A lady walked past us as we chanted “Never give up!” and swiftly removed the towel Ben had on his head with a beret she was wearing. Without saying a word, she waved goodbye and we were left to savour the act of kindness speechless in the rain.

What an awesome moment. Which I am sure would be remembered by Ben for a long time.

We also experienced kindness at the Sapphire Pavillion after the finish line from three lovely ladies who helped me protect my kids from the squashing and mayhem that was unfolding before our eyes as everyone pushed and shoved to collect their medals. Because it was still pouring and the only way to exchange our race bibs for our medals was in leylong style (the organisers should have thought of a more systematic way to queue, or maybe they did but everyone was in such dire need of shelter that they just kept packing the space resulting in the human jam), the kids and I were compressed by the people all around us till it got difficult to breathe. It was then we meet three friends who helped us out. Two of them formed a human cordon around my children and the last one grabbed our race bibs and edged forward to exchange for the medals on our behalf.

For that I remain forever grateful to the good Samaritans I met last morning.

Last morning, I was reminded of Philippians 3:14. We were literally pressing on towards the goal to reach for the prize.

Last morning, my children learned something that can never be taught by words nor bought by attending an enrichment class.

And we finished the race!

Last morning, they walked all 5km of a race from start to finish on their own. No strollers. No carrying. No breaks.

Last morning, they learned what it meant to never give up, and that the medal was every bit the prize they had worked hard for that they deserved.

It would have been otherwise difficult to learn this precious lesson had it not been for Hello Kitty and the rain that fell on us.

Our well-deserved medal!

Disclosure: We were give media slots to participate in the Hello Kitty Run 2014. All opinions here are ours, including the lesson we learned and the exercise opportunity we gained. We endured wet clothes, shoes, socks and underwear to bring you this post.

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