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Christmas happiness Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

A SpongeBob SquarePants kind of Christmas at Changi Airport

November 19, 2013

We’re going to be seeing a lot of yellow this Christmas! As part of Changi Airport‘s Christmas festivities this year, the folks at Bikini Bottom are surfacing from under the sea to spread some Christmas cheer.

Before Bikini Bottom was inflated… there were three kiddos waiting!

We were invited to preview what Changi Airport has in store this Christmas last Saturday, and like what SpongeBob would say, “We’re ready, we’re ready, we’re ready!”

And so we checked out the world’s tallest Pineapple House, standing at 11 metres tall at Terminal 3…

Fun at SpongeBob’s Pineapple House!

…Entered the transit lounge at each airport terminal to see the massive topiaries of famous landmarks – the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum and the fabled Trojan Horse in Turkey. We also met SpongeBob, Mr Krabs, Patrick, Squidward and Plankton there, all having lots of dress-up fun!

Inside the transit lounge in T1, T2 and T3 to preview the “places of interest”

And at Terminal 3’s Departure Hall (Row 11), we saw a ginormous Bikini Bottom – a bouncy inflatable playground standing at 9 metres, complete with a ball pit, a maze and a slide.

Bikini Bottom now inflated!

The kids haven’t actually watched an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants but they absolutely love the plush toys they were given in their goodie bags and all the photo opportunities while we were inside the various transit lounge. I used to watch SpongeBob A LOT when it was launched in 1999 (I was in JC then!), so guess who was the one most familiar with the characters! It was a fun morning out for me as much as it was for them, being able to relive some teen-hood memories of my couch potato days.

Thanks for the invite and the goodie bags, CAG and Nickelodeon!

There’s gonna be a galore of fun-filled activities this Christmas season at Changi Airport this year, so do make the airport one of your ‘to-go’ places this festive holiday! As SpongeBob would say, “This is gonna be the coolest party eva!”

Chillax’ with SpongeBob and Patrick at Changi Airport this Christmas!

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Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Reviews The Kao Kids

Review: Grimm’s Fairy Tales (and my take on fairy tales for children)

November 9, 2013

We all know how grim fairy tales can be (pun intended). So many of the pervasive stories found in the Brothers Grimm’s tales in their original versions can be terribly terrifying, gruesome and bizarre. Like I would never forget how my Lit teacher deconstructed Little Red Riding Hood for me when I was reading Literature in JC. And revealing the sexual misconducts, blindings of mankind and macabre twists found in well-loved tales like Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstiltskin. (Thank you, Mrs C, for opening my eyes.)

Which is why I don’t read fairy tales as bedtime stories, and I make sure the kids only watch / read / hear the sanitised, child-friendly versions of them (think Disney and cheery, cartoony books). They vaguely know some stories, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White, but that’s pretty much it. Ben used to tell me when they were read fairy tales at childcare that “it’s quite scary, those evil witch people” (I think he was referring to Snow White’s stepmother) and I told him to shut his ears cos’ Well, Son, you don’t have to know all these fairy tales, really. Wait till you’re older and Mama will surely tell you more, and take apart the stories so you will never read them the same way again! That’ll be even more exciting! Hurhurhur. I didn’t exactly tell him that; I just told him not to pay attention if it made him feel afraid.

Anyway.

I wrote all these to say that when I Theatre invited us to their final production of the year, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, I did hesitate if I should take the kids. I mean, I’ve done a lot to keep them away from fairy tales, and because of what I know about this genre, I’d prefer they get acquainted later than sooner.

But having caught I Theatre’s Hey Little Mousedeer! earlier in the year, and getting to know this family-focused theatre company, I know – and it is with confidence I say – that I Theatre will surely deliver a brilliant family-friendly production for us all. I have utmost respect for the hands and heads behind this non-profit organisation that exists to create top quality theatre for children and families in Singapore. So it is with this confidence I know that I don’t have to worry about the show being twisted and macabre, and that Ben, Becks and I would have a good time watching this full-scale Broadway standard musical that promises to be suitable for the whole family.

Indeed the production didn’t disappoint. The production had the overarching theme of family, with lovely songs that are catchy and inspiring (Mr Bang Wenfu, you’re a legend!) and brilliant delivery in terms of scripting and acting. The nine stories told were so carefully edited what we got were wholesome, sanitised versions of “happily ever after”, something which I seriously do not mind my children understanding and watching – for now.

The stories were told through eight animals, Wolf, Donkey, Cat, Rooster, Fox, Dog, Sparrow and Goose, and were creatively condensed only to highlight good virtues and values. Like The Enormous Turnip was told with the focus of not being greedy and jealous, and Hansel and Gretel had the message of family love triumphing above all. Rapunzel was surprisingly refreshing as it was told through puppetry, and all I could remember was Ben cackling away as the puppets delivered their lines with humour. And Little Red Cap was all about avoiding the woods, listening to your mother (I like!) and the brave hunstmen that saved the day. All in all, every story – even the not-so-familiar ones like The Musicians of Bremen, Lucky Hans and The Valiant Little Tailor – was all about good triumphing over evil and the joys we find in love and family.

And what we got out of that 90 minutes (15 minutes intermission not included) was that we had our funny bones tickled and ourselves an afternoon of wholesome family fun. I must say these animal storytellers from I Theatre were remarkably exceptional in captivating us with these tales that would have been otherwise so disturbingly grim if unedited!

Thank you, I Theatre, for enthralling us once again with your artistic brilliance!

Grimm’s Fairy Tales runs from 1 to 17 November at the Drama Centre Theatre, National Library Building. Tickets from Sistic here. This production is suitable for families with kids aged 4 and up.

Disclosure: We were invited to watch Grimm’s Fairy Tales by I Theatre. There was no monetary compensation involved and opinions here are all my own.

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Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! Reviews

Gymnademics is at the ARC! (+a giveaway)

November 7, 2013

If you’ve read my earlier posts (here, here and here), you would have realised that Gymnademics isn’t your typical early childhood gym. Nat was invited to try their programmes out for a term earlier this year, and had it not been for timing constraints, we would be glad to have him continue lessons weekly.

Gymnademics adopts a holistic approach towards early childhood development, with a curriculum that comprises of a series of physical and intellectual activities specially designed to help the little ones (5 months to 5 years old) enjoy the process of discovery and learning.

Here’s some good news to share: Gymnademics has a new centre at the Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC) at 460 Alexandra Road, #02-25, Singapore 119963! Spanking cool, isn’t it?

And as part of their opening promotion, they’re waiving off registration fees and giving away a complimentary session when you sign up at the ARC:

*GIVEAWAY JUST FOR MOTHERKAO READERS*!

I’m giving away TWO trial class passes for classes at the ARC to two lucky readers of this blog! Simply Like Motherkao’s FB page (if you haven’t already done so) and Gymnademics FB page, and leave me a comment here with your name and email. Two winners will be randomly picked when the giveaway closes on 12 November. Trial passes are valid till 30 November 2013.

I assure you that there will never be a dull moment for you and your child at Gymnademics. Every hour that Nat attended class presented him with the opportunity to be engaged in as many as 14 activities that are mentally and physically stimulating. It’s been a few months since his last lesson, but I tell you, this little boy remembers his Welcome Song and hand actions for do-re-mi till this day his teacher should be proud (hear, hear, Teacher Selene!). Both of us remember his classes with fondness because it has been so much fun!

UPDATE: AND WE HAVE 2 WINNERS!

Congrats, Erlina and Serence, you won the trial class passes to attend Gymnademics with your little ones!

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Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves...

Hello Cinema Again!

October 30, 2013

We were invited to the movie screening of the Dreamsworks Animation, Turbo, at Golden Village Katong last week. I can’t believe we got to watch a movie in the cinema again under the ‘Mums & Babies Movie Screening at GV’! The last time we were invited, we watched The Croods at Golden Village City Square and enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

Being deprived of entertainment, unless you count watching my three kids clown around, I lugged all three of them plus the helper to the movie screening by bus – circle line – free shuttle (at Paya Lebar MRT) at 10 last Tuesday morning, so we can get our movie fix.

We arrived at I12 Katong’s Golden Village Cineplex at 11.45am and had ample time to settle in. It was a good thing I didn’t buy popcorn; the kids were given Gerber Graduates Puffs and a box of Heinz Baby Biscuits each. We grabbed three booster seats (which I didn’t find in GV City Square) and trooped into the theatre, all ready for the movie.

All ready to watch the movie!

What I particularly loved about this movie experience was that we were assigned seats all the way at the back and the kids could move around freely up and down the aisles, and in and out of the theatre (perfect for the little one who couldn’t sit still, and the older ones who needed to pee). The doors were kept open throughout the movie, so Nat who couldn’t sit still after half an hour got to roam about outside for a while with the helper. There were also some dim lights along the aisles such that the theatre wasn’t completely dark. At GV City Square where we watched The Croods, the lights were all turned off and the kids were pretty terrified at their first movie experience. There were also babies who were crying non stop then and I thought some dimmed lights might have helped soothe them.

Ben and Becks watching the movie while Nat moved freely around

The kids also had booster seats this time and that too, was a wonderful thing, because I needn’t sit any of them on my lap and hear them complain that they can’t see the screen.

Turbo was a good movie about daring to dream big – because how incredulous is it that a garden snail wishes to be as fast as a racer, right? – and Ben loved the speed and velocity in the movie. So did Nat, who’s into cars and trucks now at 20 months. Becks was a little alienated, but was more than happy to finish the Gerber Graduates.

It didn’t matter that we caught the movie three months after its release. We had a great time, and I totally just chilled out. Those 90 minutes were as good as a me-time I haven’t had in months, cos there was finally no one on my lap, and there was, at long last, silence from the kids for a while.

Thank you, Golden Village, once again, for the invitation!

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Going Out! Invites & Tryouts Learning fun! The Kao Kids

IKEA Make a Friend Contest (and how a robot may change my mind about something)

October 28, 2013

I’m one of those moms that dislike having to work with glue, newspapers and recyclable thingys. In fact, I’d go as far to say I declutter so often you’d never be able to find a single thing to craft with where I live.

And yes, I am also a typical (Asian) Tiger Mom, who would much prefer my kids to be reading, tracing, learning their math or playing the piano, so I don’t usually do craft with my kids or allow my children time for crafting. Painting, yes; drawing yes; but making stuff from nothing, nope soree’.

The kids know that (the Tiger Mom part), and they don’t have a thing for crafting either (perhaps largely due to the fact they don’t get to do it enough to like it). So when IKEA invited us for their ‘IKEA Make a Friend Contest’ Preview Party last Saturday, I didn’t know if we should go. We would need to make a robot together – me, Ben and Becks – and I am really not sure if we could pull this off. Truth be told, we’ve also never worked on making something together.

But the kids love, love, love IKEA. There’s something about being there (at IKEA Tampines, where we hang out a lot), smelling the wood and looking at furniture that makes them very happy kids. So when I asked them, they didn’t even think for a minute how difficult it would be for all of us to be making a robot together. They heard ‘IKEA’, they jumped for joy.

It was then I knew I’d probably be the one making the robot instead of them.

Oh well.

So did we eventually “make a robot friend” on a nice Saturday morning? Well, for starters, Ben and Becks started fiddling with the materials we were given in our box with no idea what to do. Then Ben started drawing his signature smileys on the cardboard rolls and Becks just did whatever she wanted to do whenever – pretend paint, played with super glue, cut paper into strips – and was most diva when I requested that she help by adding some colour to boring brown cardboard boxes.

“Colouring with crayons is VERY tiring you know, Mama,” my little girl said.

The brother also echoed:

“Ya … I don’t know how to make robots lah. So difficult.”

I’m sure you could tell we were off to a great start.

So I ended up conceptualising, and doing most of the assembling, requesting for help only when help was forth coming – like when the kids were finally in the mood to help me tape / glue / cut / colour – all the while going flustered mom on them asking them to stop squabbling / putting glue in their mouth / rubbing newspapers on their faces / destroying the robot.

A rare shot of Ben and Becks getting some “work” done

And finally, we, made our friend. 95% Mama and 5% Ben and Becks. I’m sure it still counts as teamwork!

Tadaa! We made a robot friend!

Ben named him “Alien Robot” because he was green and had spoons on his head.

He really liked it, and got all the stuffed toys that IKEA gave us to befriend him too.

Ben and our new friend, “Alien Robot”

All of us at IKEA and our new friend, plus more new stuffed toy friends

It was a lovely Saturday morning (despite having to craft!) at IKEA and watching the other bloggers and their kids getting their creative juices flowing was all very inspiring! I felt so alone there, like I was the only mom in the room who didn’t like to craft at all and probably the only one nagging non stop at my kids (stop playing with tape! – don’t mess around with UHU! – quit shredding the construction paper! – gawd’, no, those rolls aren’t binoculars!). I don’t know how these moms do it – not scold their kids or nag them – and I very much wished that the kids and I could make something together without the nagging (from me) and squabbling (between themselves). I know it’s a little too much to expect, with Ben only 4 and Becks 3, but is it really too much to ask that they sit still and focus on a task?

Perhaps they need to be given more opportunities to work with craft materials, yes?

Perhaps I need to take a chill pill too?

The room of bloggers and their kids! Check out some of their blogs: The Gingerbread Mum, The Dino Family, Sengkang Babies, Singapore Mom Blogs and Sakura Haruka

The room of bloggers and their kids! Check out some of their blogs: The Gingerbread Mum, The Dino Family, Sengkang Babies, PeiPei.HaoHao.,Singapore Mom Blogs and Sakura Haruka

The kids, some adults and our robot creations

Nonetheless, it was a nice morning out and the kids were more than happy to be at IKEA, and to be presented with food and stuffed toys. “Alien Robot” now sits proudly in our living room as our new friend, and he’s making me change my mind a little about gathering recyclables and working with the kids on doing some craft together (perhaps with one kid each time, just one or two a year). I’d have to overcome my extreme disgust for glue first, that’s for sure. That, plus find a good pair of gloves to wear when handling newspapers. But till then, I’m glad the robot taught me something about how maybe, just maybe, I could start training the kids to focus on one ‘craft task’ at a time, and that maybe crafting together with them wouldn’t be so bad after all if we started doing it more often.

Hmmm. I need to think about this one. I am sure I can start being more ‘crafty’ because there are definitely more benefits than I can see. And we all can learn to reuse and recycle too, while at that.

But if you and your kids love to craft and love IKEA, here’s more on IKEA Make a Friend Contest:

If you’re not like me, and absolutely love to make things together with your kid(s), you can make a robot at IKEA’s Make a Friend Contest! The contest is open to all parents with kids aged 12 and under, and all kids who are 12 and under – but you have to be either FAMILY members of IKEA or småles members of IKEA. (You can find out how you can be a FAMILY member here or register your child as a småles member here.)

In the competition, each parent-child team will be given cardboard materials to create their very own robot within an hour, and every robot will be photographed and shortlisted by a panel of judges before a final round of voting. The best looking robot wins $500 worth of IKEA Children’s Furniture and gift card, and will be turned into a life-sized robot to be showcased at IKEA stores!

The great day of family fun where creative play takes place is on 23 November 2013 from 10am onwards at IKEA Tampines. There would be 5 sessions in total (more details here) and registration is free!

To register for a spot in the contest, simply sign up online here from 28 October 2013.

Disclosure: We were invited to the Bloggers’ Preview Party at IKEA. I did not receive any monetary compensation for writing this. The kids did, however, receive stuffed animals of their choice, and will go on an all-time high when you mention IKEA, and would love the idea of going IKEA even more now. All opinions here are my own.

P/S: I am not a crafting Mama. Please don’t throw stones my way, tell me how un-creative our robot looks or write to me about how I shouldn’t be denying my children the chance to get creative with doing craft. I’m changing my mind about that, but till then, it’s hard for the tiger to rid her stripes and her OCD.

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Going Out! Invites & Tryouts The Kao Kids

A FaBOOlous Halloween at Liang Court

October 23, 2013

We’re not into trick-or-treating, attending costume parties or carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns in observance of Halloween. In fact, the kids are pretty freaked out whenever this time of the year approaches, especially when heading to the supermarket requires them to duck in the trolley or look away.

So this is what happens at the supermarket these days…

So when we received an invitation for a Halloween Party at Liang Court, the kids went umm, no thanks, Mama! Thankfully, I was told that Liang Court’s ‘FaBOOlous Halloween’ would not freak the living daylights out of us, and it would be one celebration that would be suitable for children.

So last Saturday, the kids and I attended our first ever Halloween party, where we made costumes, were treated to yummy snacks from Shakey’s Pizza and caught an awesome, entertaining Japanese Street Gag by a really talented Japanese street performer who stood on one leg on a rope and juggled *gulp* knives.

A FaBOOlous Halloween at Liang Court from 1 – 31 October

It was a fun Saturday afternoon out. We made costumes sponsored by WondersWork that weren’t freaky at all – Becks was a choc chip cookie, and Ben was a Red Indian Chief, complete with face paint and tomahawk.

Sweet Choc Chip Becks

Red Indian Chief Ben

Well, there wasn’t anything to boo anyone about, but both of them loved their costumes so much they wanted to wear it everyday for the next three days. They also kept asking me what a vampire was, because some other kids chose to make vampire costumes, complete with blood (red face paint) and fangs. Then they started quizzing me on why there had to be scary stuff in the supermarket every Halloween, and what this day was all about.

Don’t throw stones at me now, I told my kids that Halloween’s one day where people with nothing better to do pull pranks on their friends! Hurhurhur. Too much to explain about it being the Eve of All Hallows dedicated to remembering the saints and martyrs and the faithful departed believers. Will make a mental note to refer them to Wikipedia when they can read.

So we didn’t do any trick-or-treating, didn’t carve any pumpkins but we sure learned some things about Halloween and put on some real un-scary, kids’ friendly costumes! Happy Halloween!

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Enrichment Invites & Tryouts Learning fun!

Learning Chinese the fun way [Chengzhu Mandarin Centre Voucher Giveaway]

October 16, 2013

One of the things to do to help pre-schoolers learn a language is to make learning fun and exposing them to the language in their daily lives in the most organic way. Ever since Becks attended Chengzhu Mandarin Centre’s Holiday Programme (成竹华语中心) in June where I picked up a tip or two to help pre-schoolers develop a love for learning the Chinese Language, I have stopped structuring Chinese lessons for the kids and started reading stories and speaking more in Mandarin to them to make learning Chinese fun and unobtrusive.

Becks isn’t exactly speaking more Mandarin, but one thing for sure, she’s definitely listening to more of it, now that Ben and I sometimes converse in Mandarin and play word search games.

*GIVEAWAY*

And as promised, I am giving away 3 x SGD$50 vouchers to be used at any of the holiday programmes that will run its course from 2 to 6 December 2013 at Chengzhu Mandarin Centre.

There will be a total of 9 programmes catered to children from aged 6 months to 9 years to help your child discover the joy of learning the Chinese Language through drama, stories, music, art, creative writing and performance. The school holidays will certainly be filled with much fun and adventure! You can check out details of the programme here.

To win the voucher I am giving away, simply leave me a comment here with your name and email address and the programme you wish to sign your child up for. Giveaway ends 30 October 2013.

UPDATE: Julia Gabriel Education will be giving away the $50 vouchers to all who indicated their interest by leaving me a comment! Hope your little ones would have fun at Chengzhu’s Holiday Programme, Angie, Ann, Meifen and PC!

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Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Product Reviews

All in the picture again, thanks to Natsuki Photography

October 11, 2013

It’s always nice to have every member of the family in the pictures, and we were given an opportunity to smile for the camera again as a family last month at the Botanic Gardens, this time with Natsuki Photography which invited us to review their photography services.

I was initially a little hesitant to venture outdoors for a family photo-shoot. We’ve done an outdoor shoot once at Lower Pierce Reservoir (with an established company that boasts of having served big names and brands as their clients) and let’s just say the experience was extremely unsatisfactory and unpleasant. It was the combination of mozzies and unknown insects, an unenthusiastic and amateur photographer, plus the intense humidity which made everyone look unhappy and cranky in the photographs that made me decide that venturing outdoors ever again to pose for the camera – anyone’s camera – would be a bad idea.

Natsuki, the photographer behind Natsuki Photography, did suggest that we could have our photo-shoot taken in the comfort of our home. It sounded like a fantastic idea, but who was I kidding? I took a good look at our humble 5-room flat and there on every wall in the living room hung our homelearning activities, colouring sheets and posters of every kind. There were toys and playmats on the floor and absolutely NO corners at all to sit / stand / squat / sprawl for any photo. Even our lovely white sofa now has blue ink scribbled all over it, thanks to the littlest one. So it was a definite N-O to our house as the location for the shoot.

Then I saw how the other mom bloggers from SMB were having so much fun with Natsuki Photography at their outdoor photography sessions and decided that it might not be so bad after all. They certainly didn’t look like they’ve got to fend off insects and had to deal with cranky kids. So Natsuki and I made arrangements for a shoot at the Botanic Gardens at 5pm on a Sunday last month. I was hoping that 5pm on a Sunday in September would mean cooler weather, fewer people and mozzies that would have been fully fed by the crowd that hung around earlier in the day.

We decided to go all colours as a family since taking pictures at the Botanic Gardens would mean we would be against a mostly green backdrop. We brought bubble guns, fish feed, well-rested kids and an enthused anticipation of being able to run and play freely as a family – and this was the result:

The kids did take sometime to warm up to Natsuki and her assistant, and initially they too seemed unsure as to how to handle the three of them, who couldn’t wait to run and play and chase each other. But it soon got better as we made small talk and looked for squirrels together. Natsuki made some suggestions as to what we could do for the camera, and we all ended up with a smashing fun time throwing the kids up in the air, smooching them silly and literally letting them roll on the grass.

I liked that she was able to capture many a priceless moment of the gleeful expressions of the kids.

And this has to be my favoritest picture ever – the three kids grinning at, erm, I couldn’t even remember what:

It was amazing I didn’t return home that day with cranky, sticky and whiny kids like the last time. Venturing outdoors to have our pictures taken wasn’t such a bad idea after all!

*And just for Motherkao’s readers, enjoy this special offer from Natsuki Photography just by quoting “Motherkao” when you engage their services*:

Get a 5% discount off packages when you quote “Motherkao” when you make your booking! One of the services that Natsuki offers is 1-2 hours of outdoor photography or photography in the comfort of your home, which includes ALL photographs in high resolution to be returned, 25-50 specially retouched photographs, a personalised digital photo-slideshow and all soft copies in DVD with customised cover
You’ll also get an exclusive online preview of your pictures so you can request for touch-ups and editing, and registered mail delivery of the photos in soft copies.
For more information, check out Natsuki Photography’s website here or contact them via email at natsukiphotography@hotmail.com

Disclosure: We were invited to review the services provided by Natsuki Photography and did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. All opinions here are my own.

P/S: I especially appreciated the fact that I could get ALL the photos back. You know, those NG (No Good) takes of you and your kiddos blinking / scratching / looking away – yea, those! Not many photographers offer this, and would charge you for the extra photos you want. I’ve often wondered why they would want to keep them for, especially NG takes – ya, maybe they delete them – so why not give them ALL to me? Well, Natsuki did. Check out some of our NG shots for a good laugh!

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Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Nat Kao Product Reviews

Gumigem Teething Necklace Review [+Giveaway]

September 23, 2013

Nat’s not exactly a gnawer, and he’s breezed through his teething now at 19 months, unlike his older sister who’s given me a bit of hell when her teeth broke through. Still, I hate to sling something over my neck only to have the littlest one, who’s so used to being worn in the Beco, tug and yank and put my costume jewellery in his mouth.

For that reason, I have not accessorized for the longest time.

Then I heard about Gumigem, a wide ranging line of award-winning, baby-proof, mommy jewellery that promised to make me look like a fashionista mom. Forget fashionista, I say – show me the baby-proof! I was really curious to see how an accessory that’s to be worn over my neck would be baby-friendly and yet stylish. I was offered my choice of their award-winning teething necklaces for review and so I browsed away at MamaLavie and finally decided on this:

Gumidrop Pearlberry SGD $34.90

Each item of Gumigem jewellery is made from silicone, which is the same material dummy teats are made of. The baby-proof part comes in the form of the silicone being free from BPA, PVC, Lead, Latex and Phthalate, meeting all required standards, which means it is all non-toxic and washable. When my Gumidrop Pearlberry arrived, I gave it a good wash with baby soap and slung it over my neck:

Looking like a fashionista mom already with Gumigem’s Gumidrop Pearlberry

My first thought: Why didn’t I get to know of this when Becks was teething and giving me a terrible time? I would have had teethers readily available for her in the form of these “pearls” and “gemstones” and wouldn’t even need to worry about them dropping, since I would be wearing them. Heck, I might even buy ten of those Bubba bangles and wear them on my wrist to save her (and myself) from those teething pains.

And my second thought: The necklace is indeed very, very commonsensically designed.

Each Gumigem necklace is fastened with a breakaway clasp, so if the little one decides to tug it, there is no discomfort for the wearer at all because it will come undone and not create discomfort for the neck. Every bead and pebble is also kept in place by knots in the cord, which means that nothing slides up and down and traps tiny fingers.

Clearly, Gumigem has designed their accessories to allow an otherwise frazzled looking, disheveled, baby-wearing mom to dress up any outfit with ease. The colours are vibrant and a lovely shimmer; there are no hidden parts and they are easy to put on. No hooks, no clasps, no icky bits that “eat” into your skin.

For Nat, since he’s past his teething woes, this piece of jewellery serves as an excellent distraction and keeps him fairly still. I’m very glad that whenever I am wearing this and nursing him outside, I don’t have to deal with all the lifting up my blouse, scratching my navel and yanking my clothes.

Stylish accessory and safe distraction: Nursing in the car is no longer a nightmare

All hail the genius who thought of this brilliant idea: stylish jewellery solves teething woes and itchy hands.

*Giveaway: A Gumigem Neclace and 3 x SGD$10 coupon code! *

I’m hosting a giveaway for a Gumigem Gumidrop in Jellybean and 3 x SGD$10 coupon code for four lucky readers!

A gorgeous teething necklace up for grabs: Gumidrop Jellybean (SGD$34.90)

Simply fill in the Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win – it should direct you to leave me a comment telling me why you need this piece of accessory / how this piece of accessory will help with your teething baby! Giveaway ends 30 September 2013.

Click on the Rafflecopter widget here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you’d like to purchase the brilliantly-designed, baby-proof teething jewellery, there’s a 10% discount code for all Motherkao readers. Key in the code MOTHERKAO before checking out. Check out the designs here.

And the WINNERS are…

Necklace: Adeline Tan
3 x S$10 voucher: Arsheitha Ganesan, Edlyn Giam, Huimin Faith Su

Congratulations, and thank you all for participating!

Disclosure: I received the Gumidrop Pearlberry for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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Going Out! Invites & Tryouts

I Theatre’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales Giveaway

September 22, 2013

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching I Theatre’s Hey Little Mousedeer! sometime in August, and are very thrilled that I Theatre will be transforming the stories of Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, The Valiant Little Tailor, Little Red Riding Hood and others into a full-scale Broadway-standard Musical through drama, music, puppetry and song! Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm’s fairy tales have fed the imaginations of generations of people young and old for 200 years and still counting, and this November, under I Theatre’s artistic brilliance, a selected few of this classic collection of tales will be reinvented for the Singapore audience.

We can’t wait to catch this production and enter into the fantastical world of talking and singing beasts, princesses, magic and mystery, heroes and villains. The kids haven’t had fairy tales read to them much yet (unless you count Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears), so they will definitely be in for some surprises (and I will definitely blog about it, hurhurhur). We are also looking forward to hearing some brilliantly composed music by Bang Wenfu. We thoroughly enjoyed his compositions in the last production; the kids still can’t get the ‘One silly crocodile swimming in the river’ tune out of their heads and sing it every time they see a croc on Animal Planet!

So here, on the blog, I’m hosting a giveaway to catch Grimm’s Fairy Tales by I Theatre with your family! Up for grabs is a set of 4 family tickets to catch the production on 3 November 2013 (Sunday) at 5pm at Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library Building.

I have 2 sets to give away and each set of family tickets of 4 is worth $121.60.

Simply do the following:

1) ‘Like’ Motherkao’s FB Page and I Theatre’s FB Page

2) Leave a comment here on the blog with your name and email address

And that’s it! A randomizer will pick 2 winners for this giveaway which ends on 1 October. Winners will be announced by 2 October and I will be mailing the tickets to the winners via normal postage, so this giveaway is open to Singapore residents only. Please also make sure you and your family can make it for the mentioned show time before participating in the giveaway!

More details:

Grimm’s Fairy Tales will be staged by a very talented team of performers from 1 – 17 November 2013 at Drama Centre Theatre, National Library. The production is 90 minutes plus a 15 minutes interval, and is suitable for ages 4 to 16 and families.

Tickets can be purchased from SISTIC.

UPDATE: Family Tickets Giveaway WINNERS

Thank you all for your participation! The response was overwhelming, and unfortunately, I can only pick 2 winners for this giveaway.