You know your kid is really sick when she sits quietly by herself and stares listlessly into the air.

Last week, Baby Jayne came down with fever. No other symptoms except a hot forehead, but she was very listless and kept lying down on the bed, not uttering a word - Definitely a sight that broke my heart. Thankfully, she's very cooperative and allowed me to feed her medicine, stick the cooling pad on her forehead, and tuck her into bed earlier than usual. Even though her fever took a couple of days to fully subside, she was almost back to her usual jovial self the next day. Stay healthy, babe. Mama doesn't like you to be sick!

Linking up with:

The truth is, I am really not a very kiasu mum.

I mean, if I compare myself to my friends who started doing flash cards with their babies from six months onwards and those who sent their kids for enrichment classes from 18 months onwards, I'd probably score a 9 on the heck-care scale of 1 to 10. It might be a potent combination of laziness and nonchalance, but the reality is that I have not done educational activities of any sort with Baby Jayne at home. Some friends gasp in disbelief especially after hearing that she would only start preschool next year when she turns four.

The reactions of the people around me made me a little paranoid, quite frankly. I may not be a kiasu mum, but I sure am easily wavered by opinions. =P So it got me thinking seriously about kicking start some form of education at home, just to get Baby Jayne warmed up to a lifetime of learning.

I read from some websites that three-year-olds typically cannot read yet, but some can recognise their names or perhaps just the first alphabet of their name. So I thought a good way to start is to get her to start recognising ABCs. She can sing the ABC song (sometimes missing some alphabets here & there, but generally alright), but she cannot recognise them yet. Thank God for a friend who passed us her kids' series of ABC booklets - It became a good starting point for me.

The booklets are all very short. There is a booklet for every alphabet, and inside each booklet, there would be colourful pictures of different objects starting with that alphabet. The rest of the pages would be a short story using those words, ending with a short poem or interesting passage on the last page.

I started reading the ABC books to her as bedtime stories - 3 booklets every night. For a while, I would just read through everything and she would repeat after me sometimes. Then recently, I started to get her to recite the alphabets after me, and I would test her again and again to see if she had started to recognise them. At the beginning, she couldn't remember anything! Even if I had said the alphabet 10 seconds ago, she still couldn't remember. Weird thoughts crossed my mind ("Does she have dyslexia??", "Is she even paying attention to me??"), but I kept reminding myself that she's just a three-year-old kid, and it's bedtime for goodness' sake! My own brains stop working when it's bedtime!

Finally one of the nights last week, she managed to recognise two of the alphabets when I pointed it out to her! Looks like this method is working! Slowly but surely, she is beginning to learn something. And I am glad that even though she may not have started school yet, she is picking up knowledge night by night in the bedtime stories.

While I do get concerned about Baby Jayne's learning milestones here and there, I've learnt from Joey's learning journey that there is really nothing to worry about. There was a time I was so worried that Joey couldn't read that I contemplated sending her to expensive reading classes! But within a month, it all turned around for good and she improved leaps & bounds thereafter. Seems like it's true that every child has his or her own timing - We really cannot rush them into something they are not ready for. Eventually, everything will work out fine in its own time. When I get anxious, I remind myself of that and feel a whole lot better right away. :)

Sponsored Review

Fisher-Price sent over one of their top-selling toys for my kids to fiddle with. It's called the Learning Kitchen, and it's a toy that's suitable for kids up to 3 years old. I had thought that Joey would probably find the toy too childish, but turned out, both girls liked the toy. Must be because of the nice songs it plays.

The Learning Kitchen is entertaining enough. Open the refrigerator door to see the light come on, learn about opposites, or hear a song. Inside the fridge, there's toy food and shape sorting fun for the kids to do. Flip the page on the flip book to hear about foods and learn about shapes and colours. On the other side of the kitchen, the kids can flip the light switch on and off, turn on the faucet, open the oven door, or roll the roller on the clock. A total of more than 15 songs and tunes can be played!

My girls are experts at pretend cooking, so they got right into action with the Learning Kitchen. Putting the frying pan on the stove creates a sound of sizzling hot pan, and pressing the tap will play a nice melody as well.

Review: The Fisher-Price Learning Kitchen is an interactive toy that is more suitable for younger kids. I would recommend it for 6 months- 3 years old because the music and lights would attract their attention more than it would for older children. My six-year-old showed interest in it, most probably because of the novelty. It is too simple a toy to entertain her, or help her in any learning. My three-year-old enjoyed pressing every button and switch to hear what sounds would come out of it, and sang along happily when a familiar song, such as the ABC song, came on. The shape-sorting portion of the toy would help build motor skills for the very young toddlers as well. Overall, a colourful toy that plays lovely music.

Early Learning Fund Campaign

Fisher-Price has launched an Early Learning Fund aimed at helping parents give their children a head-start in life. The Early Learning Fund campaign kicks off with a three-month promotion and gives parents the chance to win S$10,000 cash scholarship when they purchase Fisher Price toys. In addition, 12 winners of a weekly draw will each receive a Fisher-Price Learning Hamper worth S$1,000. The more products that you purchase, the higher your chance of winning the grand prize.

Taking part in the Early Learning Fund Campaign is easy!

1. Simply spend $20 on any Mattel Fisher-Price products, excluding Thomas & Friends products.
2. Submit the contest form with the purchase receipt by post or email, or upload a photo of the purchased item together with receipt on the Fisher-Price (Singapore) Facebook Page to qualify.

For more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/FisherPriceSingapore.

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GIVEAWAY!

Fisher-Price will be giving away a set of the Learning Kitchen (Retailing at S$119.90)  to one of you! If you would like to win a set for your kid, follow these simple steps:

1. Like The J Babies facebook page (Optional but greatly appreciated if you enjoyed reading this blog!)
2. Share this blog entry on Facebook (and tagging Klessis Lee)
3. Answer this question: "What does the Early Learning Fund aim to do?" by leaving your answer as a comment on this blog entry, or by sending me an email at .

Closing date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012

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UPDATE: This Giveaway is now CLOSED. I'm happy to announce that the winner for this giveaway is ALICE (chosen by random generator), who has been contacted on the prize collection. Thank you to everyone who participated! :)

It was my first time dining at Brussels Sprouts after hearing my boss and friends rave about this place. I was looking for a place to celebrate a dear friend's birthday, and thought that it would be nice to do it there, mainly because KIDS EAT FOR FREE during the weekends with any order of selected mains! Now, that's really a pull factor because we've got 3 kids in our group. Plus, there're good reviews about their speciality mussels & clams (with free-flow french fries, OMG!!).

We went to the outlet at Playground@Splash at East Coast Park, and I like it that it's alfresco-style with good ventilation and high ceilings with wooden beams & clear windows. The place reminded me so much of laid-back Australia! On a Sunday afternoon, it was really nice to be able to have lunch with good friends in a quiet place. :)

Kristie, the birthday girl in red! :)

We ordered chicken wings to share, and they were so crispy, light & yummy! =D Definitely a must-order.

You can get a free kids' meal with every main ordered, so we ordered pasta and sausage+fries for my kids. The meals come with free flow drinks & a scoop of ice-cream as well. Portions are considered very small as compared to other restaurants though. They go at $9 each on the menu (Quite expensive eh? Thankfully we got ours for free!)

Ordered a pot of mussels to share! They were SO GOOD! Coming from someone who doesn't appreciate mussels, you have to take my word for it! The good thing is that you can choose from 20 different flavours! Click on this to see the full list of flavours available. We opted for Brussels Sprout Special (onion, parsley, butter, celery, black pepper). Love the sauce. And doesn't it look especially appetizing served up in a pot like this? :) [S$40 for 750gram pot]

Hubby ordered beef stew pasta, and it was really yummy. The beef was so soft and tender, and I love that it was super well marinated. Definitely a comfort dish, but a tad expensive I feel. Their pastas go at S$25 each on the average.

Halfway through our meals, a balloon guy came over to our table and offered to make balloon art for the kids. He was not dressed in special costumes, so it took me a few seconds to realise that he was a balloon artist engaged by Brussels Sprouts to entertain the kids. Thoughtful service. :)

The ice-cream served at the end of the meal for the kids were good quality ones, a little to my surprise. Usually the ice-cream that comes with kids' meals are not gelato standard, but these were.

The only complaint I have is they serve only soft drinks for kids' meals. It would be so much better if they offered fruit juices. Even if it was free flow, one cup of carbonated water was considered too much for the kids! =X

BRUSSELS SPROUTS - RQ
80 Mohamed Sultan Road
#01-12 The Pier @ Robertson
Singapore 239013
Tel: +65 6887 4344
Fax: +65 6887 4144
Enquiry: [email protected]

BRUSSELS SPROUTS - BS
902 East Coast Parkway
Block F Unit #01-27
Big Splash
Singapore 449874
Tel: +65 6346 4344
Fax: +65 6345 4144
Enquiry: [email protected]

Linking up

One of the places we told ourselves we have to visit in Tokyo was Asakusa. It was a place that got me interested because websites described it as a place where you can experience the ancient Japan and walk on the old streets. Plus, there were friends who recommended that we visit the place as well.

Getting to Asakusa is easy. Just take the Chuo Line to Kanda Station (10 minutes, 160 Yen) and transfer to the Ginza Subway Line for Asakusa (10 minutes, 160 Yen).

Saw this rickshaw man running steadily on the road. Asakusa can be easily explored on foot, but if you are feeling rich, you can pay these rickshaw men (can be found everywhere) to bring you on a guided tour. A 30-minute tour costs about 8000yen for two persons (S$123).

As we walked, we saw the Tokyo Tower in the distance! It didn't look as impressive as I had imagined it to be though. I had thought it would be a lot bigger.

After a short walk from the subway station, we saw the famous landmark of Asakusa from across the junction - This was the iconic Kaminarimon（雷门）, which was one of the two large entrance gates leading to Sensoji, a famous Buddhist temple built in the 7th century. The Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries, leads from Kaminarimon to Sensoji.

So many people were gathered in front of the gate, trying to catch a good photo of it. It was the first place in Tokyo that I felt like a tourist visiting a popular tourist attraction. Ironically, I didn't quite like the feeling. I preferred touring a country and experience it as a local would. Asakusa may have its ancient charm, but I was a little put off by how blatantly targeted at tourists it was.

Nevertheless, the place was really quite lovely. The intricate designs of the architecture were fascinating. The Japanese really have a way with design and landscaping.

The big red lantern that hung at the doorway.

This was what the streets looked like - Deep red buildings on both sides, selling all kinds of interesting Japanese cultural products.

Liked how ancient the shops looked side by side. It would be picture perfect if everyone wore traditional kimonos on the streets!

And we did bump into some of them ladies! They looked so elegant that we had to stop them for photographs, which they kindly obliged. :)

Lots of souvenirs sold here...

Bought some candies home for the kids. So colourful and pretty they were!

And I was delighted there were many shops selling little snacks too! I had to try some of them!

Many shops were selling this kind of pancakes with red bean paste, and I paid 100yen for two (S$1.60). They were still warm when I ate them!

Freshly baked and very yummy! :)

I also tried these crispy biscuits dipped in soya sauce. Tasted very similar to the 旺旺米果.

Passed by some restaurants with interesting facades. Don't you just love them Japanese statues on the rooftops? =D

Met this cute little Japanese boy in traditional men kimono, and couldn't help but snapped a photo of him!

At the end of one of the streets, I saw the Tokyo Tower again. :)

The rickshaw men were all very good-looking, muscular and super friendly men. =P I suppose that would entice more tourists to pay for their services?

Saw this drinking place and was reminded of so many familiar scenes in Japanese drama serials.

Hubby tried the mochi balls.. Tasted... bleh.

These rows of white lanterns were so pretty against the blue skies.

Reached Sensoji Temple!

You can pay 200yen for a chance to draw a lot for your fortune.

Many Japanese were trying to wave the smoke coming up from this joss-burning pot to their own bodies, believing in the blessings on their lives. I, on the other hand, was trying hard to shun the smoke. =P

Lots and lots of devotees at the temple.

Met another lady in kimono!

After a long walk at Asakusa, we decided to have our lunch finally!

Simple but very yummy ramen and gyoza. :)

Before leaving Asakusa, we took a stroll to the nearby Sumida Park, where we saw the Tokyo Tower in its entirety. Iconic indeed. =)