National Day Parade 2015.. updated

All I can say that I'm very blessed to have bestie who keep me in her thoughts as at the 11th hour, she said she could spare us some tickets. And so we went to the Padang for the National Day Parade!

This is my first time watching the National Day Parade (NDP) live. 

What a memorable event for me really.

And of course we know that it is not recommended to take public transport so we took the MRT and alighted at Raffles Place MRT which was the nearest to our entrance for the NDP.

And after exiting the MRT, there was sufficient signages and many volunteers who gave verbal instructions on where we should head to.

And so we walked..

and walked..

And finally when we thought we were near..

Just had to take a jump shot.

I was never good with jump shots till I gotten my hands on iphone6.

Anyway here we were, seated on the stairway of the South gate. Ya ya.. on the stairway but who cares right. So by the time we gotten thru the security checks and the long wait, we were finally in and the parade had actually started.

Really very thankful for the amazing aerial display by the RSAF. 

The kids just went wow non stop.

Cool vintage soldiers matching forth. Indeed a salute to our Pioneer Generation for helping build our country. 

Me and my mini me. Though she was a little distracted but I'm so glad she behaved herself thru out the show and I could see she really enjoyed the show so much. Only the first few fireworks scared her a little bit but soon after she overcame them and keep telling me "the fireworks are so beautiful!"

And yes we were sitting on the stairways thru out as instructed by the ushers. Rather they say we could only sit on the stairway. I think nobody wants it this way as well. I don't blame anyone because we all knew we came for one reason. 

Towards the end of the show, all of us were still hyped by the song singing and cheering.

Happy birthday Singapore! 

Majulah Singapura and may more good years to come!

And of course not forgetting thank you Mr Lee for everything.

Day 2 of Jubilee weekend.. Staycation..

A very unexpected staycation.. Even though if it's jus for one night. Any time spend together with my folks is always good. 

And this time, we had 3 of them to test the bed. Nah we are not so adventurous to have all 5 of us on a bed. Isa was very game, he "volunteered" to share the bed with my parents so there was only Dora with me since I request a cot for lil I.

See how happy he is with his new place to explore! Ah.. Actually he was literally shaking the cot and it made him so excited and he fell and hit his head several times. I really don't know whether to cry or to laugh.

All I can say he is quite an adventurer.

Any takers to guess where we are having our staycation? 

Cheers. Kids are asleep. It's time for Ray papa and I to chill for the night. 

A much more exciting post awaits tmr.

How have your weekend been so far? Hope the wet weather didn't dampen your mood much.

What is your plan for this Jubilee long weekend?

Here is how we started our long weekend!

Now it is not very difficult to guess where we went right? More on the next blog post and have fun over the weekend! 

Advance birthday wish for my country for I am very proud to be a Singaporean. :)

More on next blog post..

Our first visit to the Istana Garden..

Just over a week ago and in collaboration with SAF50, the Istana Garden was opened to the public. Despite one had to book a slot to go in, it was not difficult to get. 

Not too sure if we overestimated ourselves or underestimated the supposedly picnic, all of us went flat tire after spending more than 5 hours there. Here are some of the few shots we took as my hands were really busy!

It was only Ray and me with 3 kids, a stroller, 2 haversacks and a cooler bag in toil as our helper was having her off day.

Though our booked time slot was at 1030 am, the queue outside the Istana was crazy. When we reached at 950am, the end of the queue was actually in front of Atrium at Orchard. Estimated queuing time was about 1 hr 30 min. WHAT!!

So this very nice duty officer told us we could actually try to enter by the Sophia Gate (which is the back gate of Istana) and he said there was not much queue there. When we first heard, we were shouting a quiet yay in our heart. But what was not expected was this..

The Mt Sophia stairs. 

 Dang!

So we walked up the stairs. There was no turning back.

This very cute boy behind us was actually counting the steps. Hmm and he said there was about 130 steps.

If you do your math, 130 steps is almost equivalent to climbing up 8 storeys.

Don't ask me how I waddled  walked the next day ya.

There was a kind lady who offered her help with my stroller as poor Ray papa was carrying Dora up the stairs. Oh ya, I was carrying lil I with the stroller in one hand. Dont-ask-me-how-I-do-it but somehow I managed.

But all well ends well. So we conquered that loooooong flight of stairs, after about another 600 metres, we were in the premise of the Istana Garden!

And this was lil I's maiden picnic session!

Hmm didi.. you cannot eat this piece of leaf. 

I just had to plonk myself on somewhere to rest and catch my breathe.

Did I see 3 kiddos on the see saw? The kids had so much fun.. bouncy castle and mini playgrounds. Really good for them to channel all their energy when I dont have much left.

Us with lil I sleeping in the baby carrier.

Love it when the kiddos were all wearing matchy matchy tees.

We wanted to queue (again) to take a look at the selected function rooms in the Istana building but again there was a (one hour) queue. So we gave up the idea and made a U turn instead. 

Soon the sky turned cloudy and we knew we had to find alternative. There were lots of tentages area with many SAF exhibitions.

Since it was a collaboration with SAF50, sure there was lots of chance to have photoshoot too.

how can we miss out taking pictures of the kiddos wearing uniform?

The kids were very sure of which set of uniform they want.

Read more what happened to Dora here during the photoshoot.

And I definitely want to take more pictures of my not-so-toothless littlest!

Soon when we were about the leave, it actually drizzled a little so Ray papa just wanna make sure the kiddos were prepared to "dash" thru the rain?

Not exactly, I bet they had fun just wearing the provided ponchos.

Anyway we left once the weather got better.

Time check: 330pm.

And we survived.

The next best actor.. presenting Lil I..

From wanting to be carried to crying with tears to smiling upon when he heard Ray papa's voice.. 

I think I watched too much drama when I was preg with him.

Ho hum.

Maths Readiness Test for Primary 1..

2 years ago when I was registering Isa up for Primary 1, many thoughts and questions flashed in my mind.. and one of my main concern is his maths. Not sure if you remember but I had mentioned in my previous post that Maths used to be my nightmare.

Here were a few worrying questions that I had:

• I wonder if he knows his maths well? 
• Is knowing 1-10 enough?
• What do they test in Primary 1?
• What is the basic knowledge children should have before they enter Primary 1?
• How much is enough?
• Etc etc !!!

Do you also have the same concern as me? Well I have a solution to your worry!

Rayconniebaby is pleased to share with all you that we are giving away 

5 seatings for the above course by our generous sponsor Neuroscholars.

This 2 lesson programme will: 

• help your child develop the "right" tools to truly understand Math concepts through logical reasoning instead of memorization. 
• expose your child to challenging / tricky questions to help him/her become more exam smart 

This 2 lesson programme includes:

• 2 lessons, 1.5hrs each 
• Assessment of Student Readiness over 10 Key Math Topics 
• Personalized Student Readiness Report 
• Parent Feedback Session 
• A Set of Neuroscholars Math Tools 

------------------- GIVEAWAY -------------------

1. You wish to visit or like the NeuroScholars facebook page.
2. Share this post in your facebook wall. Please make sure your settings is set to public. Would be good if you tag Rayconniebaby or my personal facebook. Winners will be selected through the facebook sharing.

And yes it is that easy. Good luck!

Happy birthday to me..

34 and counting.

I'm technically not shy of my age. Neither am I scared of telling people my age cos I know I don't look my age. Haha.. 

Mayb my post natal figure might betray me a little but I'm still quite contented with my brood of 3. 

I guess along the way of every year we will all make some resolution of some kind. The trend seems to be more popular during the beginning of the year but I still prefer to pen down my thoughts and plans on my birthday.

If you know me, im not an ambitious person. I don't crave for riches nor fame. I'm a very down to earth person. Thus I just hope I will continue to follow my calling for my job. Working with kids always seem NOT easy but after such a long struggle and a few years wasted. It is quite obvious that this rice bowl is meant for me and it is meant to stay.

Other than that, I also hope to have more guidance back my faith. I'm still not very sure if I will return to church any time soon. But I know if I do, I hope to be more immersed and more involved.

One last and hopefully more possible target for resolution is to become a fitter me! I have not been actively exercising since I got preg which is Feb 2014 till now. So now is the plan. Any expert pls help me give me some pointers. Piloxing? Zumba? TCM? Any kind sponsors? Hmm and I don't wish anything for a present ok? Really. 

Well this is it. Anyway turning 30 is a new trend. To a more younger and happier me.

Cheers.

 

My second cake, handmade by a very dear friend of mine. Only she will know and remember my all time favourite.

Summary of our 2015 June Holidays..

Long story cut short. Here is a glimpse of what we had done for June holidays despite many last minute arrangements.

Week 1 - 5 days of Chinese enrichment class 

conducted in Mandarin by Apple Pie Language class. 

Venue at Blue Tree Education.

A very value for money course as the children were able recite lines in Chinese in 5 days!

Role play in 狐假虎威

Role play in 小河苗

And on the day of performance, I had to let Dora skip school and also bring lil I out for a little outing!

Overnight camp at Sentosa Underwater World - Living in the Ocean Program

Count ourselves lucky that Isa went for his first overnight with his mom!

Hurhur. Isa and his new found "girlfriend" that they held hands almost thru out the bus ride.

Week 3: media invite to Underwater World

More on my previous post

The way korkor shows his love for the lil sister. 

Hope she can see better if he carry her up.

Week 3: Jurong bird park (photos to be updated)

haircut and grocery

One of the weekdays when I can bring the kids to the nearby mall to have their hair cut as I have no school home work to vet or letters to sign. Even homework assigned for Isa was to be on a OTOT basis.

The little girl with Rainbow Dash sculptured balloon.

She always has her way with the barber who will always give her  a lollipop.

Another one of the weekday evening that I brought Dora for grocery and she said she wanted to help me carry the bags!

How blissful although the happiness was a short lived one.

Week 4: Art Science camp at Blue Tree Education

I am so impressed in a mere of 2 days, Isa learnt so much about Birds which was the main theme of the camp.

Teacher Liz: I think my son fell in love with your centre.

School has reopen! : adhoc Library visit and birthday invitations!

I feel very blessed to have good friends who live nearby and who is able to just squeeze out some time just to let the kids spend time together.

Birthday party for Daxton

It has been some time that the childhood kiddos meet and here we are attending baby Daxton's 2nd birthday party. How time flies.

I love to take photographs of the children cos it simply capture moments for us to reminisce when the kids grow.

Quite the whole lot.

ok this is the complete lot.

Love this shot of lil I.

8 mths+ and counting.

What a fantastic June holiday we had, yes?