Bringing Your Kids Overseas – The Survival Kit

Bringing kids on overseas trips can be very enjoyable or turn out to be a nightmare. And that most depends on how well-prepared you are for the trip. I’ve only brought my kids on 3 or 4 overseas trips before, so I’m no expert at this. But, so far the trips have been very fun and fuss-free, so I must have done something right! =D

I’ll be bringing my kids with me to Malaysia next week for a three-day leaders’ retreat, so I’m starting my packing again!

See, I’m so nice to share with you what I pack in my bags. =)

BRINGING YOUR KIDS OVERSEAS – THE SURVIVAL KIT

1. Necessities

1st and foremost, the kids’ necessities have to be brought, of course. If you have a baby like me, I have to make sure I brought along sufficient milk powder, diapers, pacifier, milk bottles etc.

Other necessities include the security blanket your kid sleeps with, small pillow or bolster that will help make their sleep experience in foreign land as comfortable as possible. Basically, you want to simulate a familiar setting for sleep-time, especially, so that both the kids and the adults get a good rest.

2. Toys

I cannot emphasize enough on this. If you think (wishfully) that your kid will sit still and stay put throughout your 3-hour coach ride or 5-hour plane ride, you’re heading for disappointments. Kids do not, I repeat, they do not sit still. In order to maintain your sanity and composure (not burst into vulgarities at your kid), you got to bring along things to entertain them.

Bring along several sets of toys and rotate them for your kids during the entire trip. The toys will occupy their attention and give them something to do during the travelling and in the hotel room when there’s nothing else to do.

3. Coloring Materials

I am a firm believer of coloring therapy. If your kids are old enough to do coloring, just bring along a thick coloring book and color pencils for them. It can be a great activity for you to do together with them. This is a fun thing to do either during traveling or when they reach the foreign land.

4. Food

Food is the most important thing to bring along. All kids love to eat. So, make sure you bring along lots of their favorite snacks, fruits, biscuits, cakes etc. When they’re eating, they’re usually not up to any mischief, which is good.

If you’re planning to cook for your kids, you will also have to bring along rice, vacuum-packed vegetables (can keep them in ice-boxes), dried ikan bilis or scallops, etc.

5. Inflatable bath tub

This is oh so important especially if you are not sure if your hotel room has a bath tub. If there’s only a standing shower head, your kids may not enjoy the bathing experience. Imagine you’re a kid and standing at 1 meter tall with this shower head forcefully splashing water at you from a high place. It’s quite scary, you know? Your kids can even have a mini pool party in the toilet.. It’s after all a holiday trip!

6. Kids Toilet Bowl Seat

This is not a must-have, but rather something nice to bring along. Your toddler will appreciate it beyond measure. They can do their business in comfort and not fear of dropping into the toilet bowl. =)

7. Portable DVD Player

This, again, is a luxury item and would be good if you can bring it along. I think this is the single most entertainment item for kids and you can bring along as many DVDs as you like as they are not heavy.

There you have it, in my opinion, this is my survival kit and I feel quite safe when I have all those things above with me. =) My luggage’s gonna be huge, but anything for a good trip with the kids!

Women Are Born Good Communicators

The little baby in my house is beginning to show vivid signs that she’s going to take after her sister and become another… yes, you’ve guessed it – DRAMA QUEEN.

I can’t believe my good fortune – Both my girls take after me.

It might not be a bad thing afterall, because it means she’s becoming more and more aware of her surroundings and able to articulate what she feels and wants better now.

It used to be that I can count with one hand, the number of facial expressions she has. Now it’s become uncountable. She especially likes to squeeze her eyes so tight until they become one slit, and give the broadest smile ever along with it. It’s a ridiculously cute expression which I shall attempt to capture on camera one day to show you.

Motherhood usually gets more interesting at this point when baby starts communicating more. Their gestures and body language speak a lot more now than when they were infants. It’s actually fun to talk to them now because they seemed to know what we are trying to say. =D

There is also this ‘stone’ expression that she has which is incredibly adorable. Check out her pouted lips. =P

Now when she’s happy, she no longer just waves her hands and legs and giggle. She’s mastered the art of clapping and she does it ever so often now. =)

Now all I need to do is to train her to do triple somersaults while clapping her hands and sucking her toe so that I can bring her round the world performing to earn our keep.

Just kidding. :)

The Nursery Is A Happy Place

I believe the biggest wish of every parent is not that their kids will become the most successful person on earth or have the biggest fortune, but to be the happiest person they can be.

It thrills me every time I step into the office nursery and see that Baby Jayne’s having a great time with her friends. =)

Alone is no good.

It’s a lot more fun when there’re friends around!!!

That’s Noah & Nadine! They’re the big brother and big sister in the office nursery now!

It’s great to see different kids with different personality all living together in harmony. :)

I’m sure you can tell that one is a cheeky fellow, and the other is just very sweet and gentle. BUT, they’re good friends nevertheless. How nice.

Told you yesterday that Baby Jayne loves standing now, right? It’s the same in the nursery - She spends a lot of her time standing by this table everyday.

It’s strange she doesn’t tired or bored cos she can do this all day long.

  

By the time she can walk, she’ll be having loads of fun with the rest of the kids!

Oh by the way, her 1st tooth at the lower gum is inching out soon! It’s not out yet, but you can spot the whitish tooth embedded in the gum waiting to come out! How exciting. =D

Baby Jayne Is Growing Up!

But that’s only expected right? =D

It’s just that I cannot accept the fact that my little baby has become this big and will soon walk right out of my house to conquer the world. Oh well, maybe not that fast, but still.

Babies have a special kind of smell and you can’t get that kind of smell no matter what concoction you mix together. It’s a lovely scent made up of their body smell, milk and saliva. It’s like the most amazing smell of the world.

Of course you can’t expect the lovely smell to last forever. It basically dissipates by the time the baby hits 5 or 6 months, and all you are left with is the smell of sweat. +:+

Baby Jayne is 9 months old now and she’s growing up so fast that it’s making me depressed. I’m torn between wanting her to grow up faster so that I can regain back some of my freedom and wanting the growing to slow down so that I can enjoy every moment of babyhood.

She’s already at the stage where she’ll crawl towards something, hold on to it and pull herself up to standing position.

 

It’s a really cute stage because the moment you put her onto the floor, you can see that she has only one goal in her head – To crawl to somewhere and stand up! Very focused.

She’s not exactly walking along as she holds on yet, but that would be the next inevitable step. She would have to do that well before she will even take her first step unassisted. =) I can’t wait, such a critical milestone in her life!!!!

Sisters Are For Life

 

I envy my girls sometimes.

Because all I ever had was a little brother and I’ve always wanted a sister when I was growing up. Not that my brother was detestable, but I’ve always thought that having a sister meant we could buy pretty clothes and share, go shopping, gossip, do manicure together. You know, awesome girly stuffs.

So whenever I see how my girls ‘talk’ to each other and have fun playing together, I can’t help but go ‘awwwwwww’. It is such a sweet thing to have a sister! IT IS!!!!

I really shouldn’t be harping on this sisterly-sisterly thing between the girls, since I’ve also mentioned it n times in my blog before. You’re probably sick of hearing it. But I can’t help myself.

And why?? Because I didn’t have a sister myself! I am so deprived of sisterly love, can you see???

These were taken when Joey first saw her sister.

You know, I actually remember how it was like when I first saw my little brother. Interestingly, I had no memories of my mum being pregnant. I only remembered one scene where I was brought to the hospital by my dad, and I tiptoed to see a little baby sleeping in the cot, and I was told he was my little brother. =) It happened when I was 4 years old and although Joey had her experience when she was barely 3 years old, I was hoping she will have memories of it. This blog might help! =D

 

Just recently when I made a trip to Malaysia to visit my relatives during the Chinese New Year, I again witnessed how close my mum and her sister are. Throughout my growing-up years, my mum will always tell me how her sister took good care of her and always let her have the good food and good toys first. My aunt was a very selfless sister who loved her sister lots. My mum always acted like a little sister when she’s with her elder sister. It was weird for me to see my mum behaving like that, but it reinforces the notion that sisters are for life.

And I’m glad my girls have each other as companion for life. They will go through life’s ups and downs, sweetness and bitterness together, and have each other’s love and support forever. How sweet. =)

City Harvest Church New Building

This is such a wonderfully touching moment that I HAVE to blog it here even though it’s not related to my girls!

Finally, after year of praying and seeking, God has heard our cries. After going through 26 different plots of land, my church has gotten our land finally!

Through it all, some principles became crystal clear to me:

1) God answers prayers.

2) God does exceedingly above all that we can ever imagine or ask for.

3) When God gives, He gives THE BEST!

Quite frankly, there were many speculations about where our land is. Many people guessed that it could the Indoor Stadium, Marina South, Sports Hub etc. My own guess was one of those as well! Who would have guessed that God would give us a land that is RIGHT SMACK in the centre of town with lots of good food, shops, shopping, and a place that could house a 12000-seater auditorium?! If you have not heard it yet, City Harvest Church will be at SUNTEC CITY from March 2011 onwards and we are co-owners of Suntec City!

This is our land.

What makes it even more exciting is that this is going to the church where my girls grow up in!

I have no doubt that the Children Church area is going to be massive with lots of inflatables, play gyms, toy cars & bicycles, etc. I’m sure church will be such a fun and spiritual time for my girls! It’s so exciting! =D

2 or 3?

Many people have asked me before whether I want a 3rd kid.

Frankly speaking, I love kids and I think children are really gifts from God. But if you have kids yourself, you know how busy they keep you. As a mother, I have to make sacrifices to my personal time, interests and likes. I may have to do things I hate to do, simply because it’s in the interest of my kids. I may have to make extra effort and money to ensure my kids get the best coaching. And I haven’t even gone into the time spent on them and of course the frustrations that come along with the cuteness when they refuse to listen.

Actually when I was still young and unmarried, I always thought I would like to have 3 kids. Having just 1 was never an option because I’ve heard enough about how lonely an only child would be. Now that I have 2 kids, the natural question would be whether I want to have the 3rd one.

I have friends who used to have strong convictions about having the same number of children as a soccer team. Most of them have changed their minds by now. 2 is enough, they would say. Because the dad and mum each goes after 1, just right!

Of course, if you have a maid, you are entitled to an extra pair of hands, thus you can go for the 3rd one. =)

But that’s not the point.

Currently with 2 kids, I feel that the balance is very good. Of course, baby smells and giggles always make me melt, and nothing beats the satisfaction of cuddling a newborn baby who just entered the world out from your body. And I always think that a big family is fun. But… I am hesitated to step out of my comfort zone now. =P Already as it is, when Joey and Jayne takes turn to fall sick, I feel so overwhelmed. I cannot imagine having to deal with 3. The thought is very daunting.

But of course, I also have friends who have 3 or 4 children, and they say it’s a piece of cake. I never fail to be amazed at their level of patience, capacity and ability to juggle. They are just plain amazing.

We’ll see. =)

Her Fashion Sense…… *:*

While I know I ought to give my kids ample room to develop her creativity, it’s getting harder nowadays, believe me.

Her obsession with the Disney Princesses is getting on my nerves, slowly but surely. Every book she wants me to read to her involves one of the princesses (usually Snow White); Every DVD she watches involves one of the princesses too (Cinderella or Snow White), and now she even insists on wearing this everyday. And I mean, EVERYDAY. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

See the air of confidence in her when she’s wearing her fav dress?

This is just a very simple one-piece pink dress with all the princesses printed on it. Incase you do not know, they are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel!

Don’t misunderstand me – I didn’t buy this dress because I like it. In fact, I thought it’s hideous. Any attire with cartoon characters on it is hideous. But what to do when my kid loves it so??! We were walking in the market (Yes, market!) and passed by this shop that sells all kinds of  cartoon character tees and dresses. Ekkks! Since it only costs $7, I bought it for her seeing she liked it so much.

From that day onwards, she’s insisted on wearing that dress every moment when she’s at home, and even when she’s sleeping! My MIL had no choice but to wash it and dry it everyday so that when she comes back from school everyday, she can wear it. =.= By the way, it used to be this Dora T-shirt that Gerald & Kristie bought for her.

She’s moved on since.

Now, if she wears it at home and she likes it, there’s no problem about it at all. The problem comes when she wants to wear that dress to church!

You should see Papa Isaiah’s expression when he heard that.

Haha! He immediately marched Joey into her room, made her take the dress off and put on something decent for church. Funny!

Thank God Papa Isaiah doesn’t like it too, because I cannot imagine bringing her to church in that dress. Too hideous for me. I won’t know where to hide.

In her opinion, however, the dress is GORGEOUS & BEAUTIFUL. And she feels like a princess wearing all the princesses on her. Oh well.

As long as she doesn’t step out of the house in that, I’m cool.

P/S: Now Joey girl, when you read this post in 18 years’ time, remember to thank your mum and dad for saving you from a potential fashion disaster. You’re most welcome. :)

“Mummy, I Want To Buy This!”

The time has come for my retribution, I tell you.

I remember when I was a kid, every time my parents brought me to a shopping centre, I would bug them to buy me something, without fail. It can be anything – a toy, a pretty dress, a pair of shoes,a coloring book, whatever. As long as I get to buy something new. You know how irritating kids can be sometimes. Their rational’s kinda warped. =P

My parents must have felt incessantly irritated by my behavior, especially in a public place. Now it’s my turn to suffer.

We all know we cannot punish publicly, but alas, this has also become a loophole because our kids are so smart that they know how to take advantage of it. My Joey repeats her requests at least 10 times even though I’ve said ‘No’ the equal number of times. She knew that if I was embarrassed enough by her persistence, I would relent. I mean, I’m not exactly projecting a very good image if I am a mother who heartlessly rejects every of her kid’s request, especially when the kid is persuading with all her might and looked like she would die without buying it. =.=

As the days pass by, thankfully, my skin has gotten thicker and thicker. It used to be that I would be unable to tolerate Joey’s persuasion and just buy her something she wanted out of sheer embarrassment and attempt to just end the whining. Now, I have already attained the highest power level of saying a firm ‘NO’ without so much of a bat of an eyelid or a twitch of my facial muscle.

As a veteran therefore, I am pleased to announce that the most effective and best way to handle such situations is to WALK AWAY.

I mean, the first few times you try it, it might not work as well because your kids won’t really believe you will leave them there and walk away. But trust me, persevere on and do not give up. Every time you attempt the walking-away, make sure you really walk away. Do not turn back and look at them >> The moment you do that, BAM! you lost it. Your kiddo will come running after you in under 10 seconds.

At times, you might leave behind a train of ‘Nooooooooo!! Mummmmmyyyy!! I WANT TO BUY THIS!!!!!!!” but believe me, it’s well worth the effort. In any case, you’re walking away from that embarrassing situation, so yeh, it’s all good.

This, by the way, is the LATEST thing that Joey has been bugging me to buy for her:

She’s been forcing asking our neighbour’s son to let her play with his scooter everyday, and I tell you, watching her play makes my heart jump out! It’s so scary and if she’s not careful, she may hurt herself when she falls down. Should I even agree to buy her such an accident-prone toy??!

Well, it all depends on who gives in first! =D

She’s Born Photogenic

Plus she kinda enjoys taking photos.

You know how hard it is to take good photographs of kids right? They fidget so much and are always on the move that usually only 50% of all shots taken can be used. I once shared 8 tips on how to take great photos of kids here.

Thankfully I am blessed with a baby who always seem to know that I am trying to take her photographs and is willing to cooperate 90% of the time. The result is that almost every photo I took looks good and I can show off show them to you here on this blog. :)

I think she is one very photogenic baby (but maybe I’m biased, I don’t know!). And a friend once commented before that she actually freezes in front of the camera for several seconds just for me to snap a clear shot. Oh well.

I’m now going to bombard you with tons of photos just to prove my point.

Gosh, she has such an angelic face that’s always smiling. Haha!

This is my favorite of the lot! Her expression is so funny! Eyebrows raised, mouth pursed. Haha!

Towards the end, she got so bored her leg came up on the table. Haha!

Oh man, I can overdose on her cuteness. =D

Too sad that I am still using an average digital camera and I often thought that with my skills *ah hem*, I would do so well with a professional SLR. If you feel you have money to spare, you are most welcome to bless me with one. =P