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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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Becks Kao Ben Kao Getting all sentimental now Going Out! Happy days Nat Kao The Kao Kids

Happiest Children’s Day

October 6, 2013

I’ve been a mother for about four and a half years now, but this is the first year I celebrated Children’s Day with my kids.

Children’s Day is a special day; it’s recognized on various days all around the world to honour children globally. As a child, the day was nothing fantastic really; all I could remember was Sharity Elephant and how important it was to give all my pocket money to the less fortunate. It’s not that I didn’t want to give. It was just not a special day at all. But now that I am a mom, it’s especially meaningful for me because I now have the opportunity to celebrate my children. It’s even more meaningful as a stay home mom; in previous years, I had to work on this day and the kids attended childcare and celebrated the day with their teachers. But this year, with no work and no childcare, I could spend this day giving thanks for Ben, Becks and Nat – the loveliest children that God has sent into my world – and remind myself that these children are unique individuals created by God for a purpose. And that despite the blood, sweat, tears and living on the brink of insanity every day, mothering them has been my greatest honour and privilege.

This year, we had a celebration together. With cupcakes. Ben and Becks were like, Huh, how come there’s cake? Whose birthday is it, Mama? Why are you making cake?

I didn’t explain much as to why there was a cupcake made specially for each of them except to sit them down and sing “Happy Children’s Day to you, Happy Children’s Day to you, Happy Children’s Day to my children, Happy Children’s Day to you!” and had them blow the candle, which they did with much delight. The cake ritual was more for me than for them – because I wanted me to have that realization sink deep that one day they wouldn’t be so children anymore to want to blow a candle for no reason and eat a cupcake Mama made.

Some day they will grow up.

In the evening, we met with some friends and their lovely children for a picnic against the gorgeous city skyline of Marina Bay at the Marina Barrage to continue our celebrations. The kids ran and played and laughed as the adults picnicked away (and overate). I am sure that deep in our hearts we were all grateful for our beautiful, healthy children who were running after kites, playing ball and squealing at bubbles as we sat there watching them.

There’s just so much to celebrate, and while I know we don’t have to wait for Children’ Day every year to count our blessings, this time every year should be an extra special day for every kid to have a blast and for the mother to sit back, enjoy her kid(s) and repeat this ten times to self:

The insanity is worth it.

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Becks Kao Happy days Motherkao loves...

I was never a fan of pink

September 20, 2013

Before I had a daughter, my wardrobe consisted of autumn colours and I would usually be seen wearing black, white and grey.

Then my daughter came along and changed that. I started liking colours because she loved colours. First she was crazy about all things pink. Then she was into the colours of the rainbow, and now her favourite colour is green.

And just like that, very unconsciously, I started liking the colours she liked. The kids hate it whenever I wear black or white. I don’t hear their usual “Mama you’re so pretty!” whenever I am dressed in those colours. That is why I now wear colourful tops, have green nails and a metallic pink handphone cover.

I’m writing this just to say that if I didn’t have this baby girl in my life, the colour I’d most probably want my KitchenAid to be would be black or silver or white.

But no, I have a little girl who’s my only daughter, and she’s coloured my world much. That was the reason why I was found at Best Denki yesterday swooning over this pretty baby in Limited Edition Raspberry Ice:

And someone loved me enough to get it for me in a heartbeat so Baby Girl and I could go “waaaaa” when it was placed on our kitchen top.

Life should be this colourful always.

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Becks Kao Getting all sentimental now Happy days Milestones and growing up

Becks’ Rainbow Three

July 29, 2013

If I had to describe what parenting a two-year-old is like, I’d liken it to the Flood in the days of Noah. The challenges that come come like a torrential downpour. They just hit you, and hit you hard, like an overwhelming and irrepressible surge, leaving you to wonder what happened to that cute little babe you’ve birthed some 24 months ago. These are the days of the toddler exerting her independence, testing the boundaries and challenging authorities. These are the days of temper tantrums and extreme mood swings where intensive battles of wills are fought. The good thing about this Flood is that we’re all in the Ark (and that is Christ) and we stick it out as a family, and that this too shall pass.

If you don’t already know, I’ve had a bigger share of challenges than most parents out there with my little girl when she turned two. She’s wanted to leave home and sulked at her own birthday party. We’ve had to deal with hissy fits and temper tantrums on a daily basis, and struggle to get her to eat her meals, follow instructions and use the potty. So when the little girl finally turned three, what better way to celebrate than to throw her a RAINBOW party. Afterall, the Flood’s officially over and we’re beginning to see some really good days ahead!

So a rainbow party was what we had last Saturday, to celebrate Becks turning three. Actually, credit goes to korkor, who first suggested a rainbow cake in light of Becks’ indecisiveness of the cake she wanted. She wanted everything – Dora, Barney, Mickey Mouse, guns, her bolster, pigs, a green teddy bear, Angry Birds – and I gave up asking her about cake designs after surfing the net for half an hour with her. It was then when Ben whispered in my ear and said, “How about a rainbow cake for Becks cos’ it will be so colourful!” that we decided on the rainbow theme.

I got my friend, Karen, and her crafting mom friends, who run Owls Handmade, to help me with the décor, birthday bunting, food placards and jar labels. They got the paper rosettes and all that I asked done within a week! Putting the rosettes up did wonders to the blank wall in the house and immediately brightened up our place. There’s something about red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple put together that makes everything happy. Check out the colours!

I also headed to IKEA to get a pretty orange-striped plastic table cloth ($29.70 for 3 metres) and some spice jars for the party favours. Then it was off to Biscuit King to get some old school biscuits (half kg for $5.80) – and there, the jars were filled with colourful “gems”. The labels that read ‘To more colourful years ahead’ specially designed by Owls Handmade then went on every jar, which the guests took home after the party.

I then logged in to Etsy and custom made a rainbow blouse for Becks with her name and age, and started planning the food menu according to the colours of the rainbow, so the guests had some home-cooked grilled beets and cherry tomatoes (red & indigo), curry chicken potatoes (orange), pineapple raisin rice (yellow), edamame (green) and Pulut Inti (blue), which I ordered from Lek Lim Confectionery, together with all the yummy kueh kuehs like the green ku kueh, ang ku kueh, oh ku kueh, kueh lapis nonya, ubi and mini wang kueh. The desserts were a hit with the guests and the dessert table was heaven for the little ones! I also served a platter of colourful vitamins – pineapples, kiwis, strawberries and grapes – and made Oreo cake pops covered with rainbow sprinkles.

Earlier that morning, the kids’ homelearning activity was to sort four packets of M&M’s by colours into jars (which they had so much fun doing!) – and there was M&M’s galore at the party too.

Becks’ birthday cake was once again baked by Debbie, who made her penguin hummingbird cake last year. I got her to bake a rainbow cake for Becks with a penguin (again) living in icy cold Antarctica, and she did an awesome job with it – the little penguin was even sculpted holding three tiny rosebuds, one for each year! Needless to say, the colours in the cake were such a hit with everyone, and the little girl was mighty pleased to be seeing penguin on her cake again, this time a much more colourful one!

It was a pretty, pretty party – one that was colourful and happy – and I am so glad rainbow days are here! Becks was a happy little girl that day; she kept saying ‘Thank you, Mama!’ throughout the day and reminding all of us at home that she’s three years old. Yes, darling, you’re finally THREE!

P/S: A big thank you to all our good friends and family for coming to make this rainbow party such a special one for our little girl! She was very shy and I’m sorry if she ignored you, but she was one very, very happy girl that night. We all slept at 12 that night (the first ever) because she couldn’t wait to open all the lovely presents from you!

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Going Out! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... The Kao Kids

Hello Cinema!

July 27, 2013

The last time I stepped into a movie theatre was in 2008. Fatherkao and I (and Ben whom I was preggers with) watched Bolt on the big screen. We had deliberately selected a movie that would be sanitised for our unborn child. No violent scenes – check. No sex – check. No vulgarities – check. I’ve not watched anything else on big screen ever since that movie about a spy dog.

And I have been so deprived ever since motherhood consumed me. Even more so now, with 24/7 care-giving, once a day homelearning and 8 hours of co-sleeping.

So when Golden Village invited me and the kids to watch The Croods on big screen last week, guess who jumped for joy. The kids were like, “No…. we don’t want… we’re scared of the dark and the loud noise!” cos’ that’s what I told them theatres would be like, but I was like, “Come on, guys! Don’t be such a wuss! We have to go!”

They have never step foot in a cinema ever and this was going to be their first.

And watched The Croods we did, at Golden Village City Square.

Picture credit: disneydreaming.com

Clutching on tight to the soft toys they brought!

I was surprised that for a ‘Mums & Babies Movie Screening’, which GV does on a regular basis (ticket at $6 and kids below 90cm go free!), they didn’t turn up some lights and turn down the volume. It would have been perfect if they did, because I needn’t have to sit Becks on my lap the whole time and have her almost bruise my arm every time there was scary music, loud sudden sounds and “bad stuff” happening on screen. The little girl was squeezing my arm so tight I had to cover her eyes and ears to stop her from injuring me. There were also a couple of kids and babies crying at different parts of the movie, and I guessed if the lights were turned up and volume turned down a little, it would probably help soothe some of them.

Ben, on the other hand, was cackling away and enjoying the show and his huge bag of popcorn. It was a really good movie, one of learning to embrace change and sticking together as a family. Very heartwarming. And funny!

As for Nat, the littlest caught the first ten minutes of the show, took a walk outside when he got cranky, fell asleep on the helper’s shoulder and slept through the entire movie with her covering his ears. I guess the only good thing about the complete darkness was that it was perfect for him to take his nap.

I am thankful to be seated in a movie theatre once again, after so many years. I’m also so glad to be able to lug all three kids to a movie, and watch it with so many other parents and their kids. We’re all parents there, so it was perfectly ok when a kid yelled / cried / screamed / talked / asked questions. No glaring. No shushing. No tsk-ing. We were all in the same boat — all deprived of a movie experience ever since parenthood but made possible by the Mums & Babies Screening at GV.

Yay, we did it! We watched a movie!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. We were invited to the Mums & Babies Movie Screening at Golden Village. All opinions are my own.

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Fatherkao loves... Food, glorious food! Happy days Invites & Tryouts Motherkao loves... Product Reviews The Kao Kids

Smooth Operator (with help from the all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender)

July 25, 2013

No, I’m not referring to Sade’s lover boy with diamond life.

I’m referring to this man who’s been in the kitchen lately, making after-dinner drinks for the kids and winning their hearts:

Smooth(ie) Operator

Thanks to the all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender, Fatherkao is now the official Smooth(ie) Operator in our house. With mangoes in season, a 600-W blender with a two-speed pulse setting, a high quality 1.5-litre jar and titanium-coated 5-star serrated blades, he’s been wowing the kids with his smoothie creations effortlessly using this new kitchen tool.

The all new Philips Jamie Oliver Blender

He throws in ripe mangoes with lemon sorbet, some fresh lime and mint leaves, and pulse everything with crushed ice. Some days he adds a dash of milk and some days a splash of orange juice.

The ingredients for a refreshing mango smoothie

And the kids go on an all-time high waiting for their desserts after dinner…

Act 1, Scene 1: Gimme, gimme!

Act 2, Scene 1: Can’t wait! Gimme!

Act 2, Scene 2: Smoothie ready!

And going totally ecstatic to the point of declaring this:

Ben: Mama makes smoothie a little bit nice. But Dada makes the NICEST! Next time, when Mama wants to make smoothie, we’ll call you, ok, Dada?

Yummy yum yum, they say!

Now, that’s how the Smooth Operator stole my thunder and became the latest hero in the kitchen, with an uncomplicated blender who does all the work for him!

Keep life simple with the PHILIPS | Jamie Oliver range which includes a food processor (S$268), handblender (S$128) and blender (S$108). Available at leading electronics and departmental stores.

Disclosure: I received the Philips Jamie Oliver Blender for the purpose of writing this. This post is the second in a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Philips Singapore. All opinions are my own. And yes, I am jealous that what I make for the kids is only “a little bit nice” but that’s just because I lent Fatherkao my Philips JO blender.

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Happy days

Birthday sweetness (and forever 21)

April 9, 2013

I turned a year older last week on a quiet Tuesday. The kids had some lessons with me at home, followed by kindy, as usual. After school, they picked out an ice cream cake at my favourite ice-creamery and then came home to nap. That was how most of the day went.

Until I was pleasantly surprised with a specially planned birthday dinner with family and friends at Cafe Hideout, a bistro just downstairs our place. My husband got Charles, the chef and owner, to specially prepare a menu to celebrate the occasion; and invited a few close friends and my family to have dinner with us.

We had the entire place to ourselves, brought our own champagne, and feasted into the night, with free-flow bread in the basket, Charles’ cream of tomato soup, trio of appetizers, huge slabs of pork ribs with mushroom risotto, and apple crumble for dessert.

The night was concluded with a Baskin Robbins ice cream birthday cake of chocolate goodness!

I went home with the feeling of sweetness through and through. I’m truly blessed and thankful to be spending this ordinary day with the extraordinary people in my life that matter most to me. Thank you to those who came and made it extra special, and thank you to the love of my life, who never fail to make my life sweeter than it already is.

P/S: Cafe Hideout serves the best meat sauce pasta and aglio olio, in my opinion. Chef Charles’ striploin steak and white wine butter sauce mushroom tagliatelle are a must-try if you’re there.

Disclaimer: Motherkao received no monetary compensation for this post, and opinions are strictly my own. I believe good things must be shared, so do check out this cafe that serves great food! More info on their FB page here.

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Family life as we know it Going Out! Happy days The Kao Kids

Rise & Shine, it’s picnic time!

March 5, 2013

We had a lovely breakfast on a lovely Sunday morning against the Marina Bay skyline at The Lawn.

The sky was clear. The weather was cool and breezy. The kids weren’t too cranky despite having been ill for the last two days.

I made some ham and cheese sandwich and the wonderful grandparents and aunt got up early to join us, not before going to the market to get some vegetarian beehoon, and we had ourselves a hearty, healthy meal while being part of the largest breakfast picnic turnout in the Singapore Book of Records.

The kids had a ball chasing flying balloons, shaking hands with stilt walkers and mascots and jumping on bouncy castles.

When it wasn’t too crowded and we needn’t queue, Ben did his sports try-out and had some fun batting a ball for cricket. Becks and Nat were just too happy munching on the free samples of rice krispies and cornflakes from Kellogg’s, and drinking Ribena.

I think it’s a splendid idea to rise and shine early once in a while and spend such lovely time with family.

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Ben Kao Getting all sentimental now Happy days Milestones and growing up

Happy 4th birthday, my boy

February 26, 2013

My dearest Ben,

Wasn’t it yesterday you were four days old? How did you turn four years old so quickly?

You were the gentlest and sweetest creature my world has ever witnessed. I remember holding you in my arms in the wee hours of 26 February 2009, looking at a dream come true. We waited almost a year for you. We were trying so hard then, and finally when we stopped trying, you came.

You came and rocked my world, son. You showed me tenderness and what little boys were made of. You’ve got heaps of unending cheekiness, curiosity, and that tremendous keenness to learn and grow. You, my boy, have taught me much as a mother.

Through your questions, I’ve learned to be patient.

Through your mischief, I’ve learned to let go and have fun.

Through your sensitivity, I’ve learned what it means to love and feel.

How did you grow up so quickly? The years have flown by fast and I’m unwilling to let you grow up. I wished you’d remain my little baby boy forever.

Happy birthday, Benji boy. I love you always and forever. I loved you before I knew you and now I’m loving you with everything I’ve got.

Affectionately yours,

Mama

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Happy days Milestones and growing up Nat Kao

Baby Nat’s ONE-derful party

February 25, 2013

Nat is the only one among the three kids we have that knows he’s turned one. Every time we sing the birthday song, he claps his hands and blows an imaginary candle when we’re finished.

I know he must have thoroughly enjoyed the party we threw him last Saturday.

We held a celebration at The Grassroots’ Club Children’s Playroom for Nat’s first birthday bash. This event marked our fifth party held there. We celebrated Ben’s first birthday there. Becks’ full-month and first birthday celebration were held there, and so was Nat’s full-month. The place has become quite synonymous with any of the Kao kid’s party among family and friends.

Since this would probably be the last BIG party I’d ever organise (I don’t plan on having a fourth kid, so there’ll be no more full-month celebrations or first birthdays!), I thought I’d really make sure that my baby would have the best party of his life. Well, maybe not the elaborate Disneyland kind of party, but good enough for Nat to remember in photos and make him grin all night.

The venue was great because it has a ball pool which Nat absolutely loved and an indoor playground and kiddy rides which gave the adults much breathing space and chit-chatting opportunities while the kids were fully entertained, playing catching with one another and climbing up and down the playground structures. Ben and Becks were old enough to run along and play on their own, and that gave me time to catch up with friends and relatives, and parade the birthday boy around.

The food we had was catered by Casserole. It was decent, and the favourite amongst the guests had to be their nonya chicken curry and bobo chacha (a warm nonya dessert of coconut milk, sweet potatoes, taro and tapioca). The portions were generous, and that made some of my relatives very happy because they could pack food home for their lunch the next day. I also got an agar agar cake (which was so very tasty, by the way) from Cake Story. The folks there accepted my last minute order and was exceptionally prompt in responding and delivering the cake despite having one day’s notice.

Nat’s star-theme two-tier birthday cake was baked by the Queen Bee herself, Christina, who painstaking adorned the cake with colourful stars, both big and small. Stars because the boy loves the Ikea star night-light in his room, and would point to it every night when it’s switched on to say “aaar…” much to our amusement, and I’d thought it’d be nice if he had lots of stars for his cake, and say “aaar...” the whole night long.

He loves balloons too, so we got him a customised bouquet of colourful ones from Twinkle Balloons. He loved the balloons so very much he didn’t say “[st]aaar” as I hope he would but “bb-bor” the whole time at the party. He made the guests laughed quite a bit with his obsession for all things big and round.

We had a fabulous time with friends and family celebrating this big milestone. I’m reminded of the times when my other two babies were once one, and how fast time has flown by. Now, I don’t have a baby anymore. I officially have three toddlers.

A heartfelt thank you to all who came and blessed Nathanael with your presence and presents. (I would have loved to upload pictures of you on this blog but I respect the fact that some of you are very private people. Will have them emailed to you!)

It’s been a really one-derful evening!

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