It's been a loooong while since the last post as I've been swamped with work and birthday prep...

One of the projects that I had the privilege of helping out with during this busy period is Superhero Me, this wonderful craft project that was commissioned by the Lien Foundation and created by the team of Logue and In Merry Motion. 

In a very brief nutshell, 15 children from the Care Corner Child Development Centre at Leng Kee participated in this values craft project over 10 sessions and through guided activities, designed and created their own superhero costumes. And as amazing as the costumes look, the even more fantastic thing is how participating in such an activity helped them to discover themselves, gain confidence, and learn skills and values. 

Little superheros with great ambitions

As a mom, I really love this project for how it encouraged the children to think outside the box. It wasn't just about being a mini version of their favourite Avenger, but helping them create a hero of their own and recognise how their strengths and what they like can be used to help others. 

 Elvis the Eagleboy has big wings to protect himself and others - 
My fav superhero (also because the little boy was really friendly with me)
 (Photo credit: Jean Loo & Lien Foundation)

Please do read up more on this project at superherome.sg, watch the video and be inspired to do this as a little project for your own children. The Logue in Motion team have created a guide with downloadable worksheets and templates to guide you through the whole process. 

I'm hoping to do a compressed version of Superhero Me! with Josiah's class (compressed because I have only the 2 days after their grad concert and before we leave for our hol to do this), and have gotten the okay from the principal to do so. Will certainly not be able to complete the costumes but excited to get the kids started on their superhero journey! 

*UPDATE: Design your own Superhero Cape Kits for Josiah's farewell gift for his K2 friends

*Superhero Me! is part of the Lien Foundation's StartWell Initiative 

So in the final installation of the room revamp, we're featuring the bed! And the wall it sits against.

The kids have the ikea kura bed, something we bought a while ago before Joanie was born, but barely used. When we moved to our current place, the bottom bunk of the bed was pretty much used as storage space and eventually, the top of the bed got pretty cluttered too. And if we wanted Josiah to move to his own room, the bed was probably the most important piece of the puzzle!

The room revamp actually started with the bed, I started with painting the frame white (lazy me only painted the outward surfaces) and got the ikea trofast unit to serve as 'steps' up to the bed. I bought the pine trofast unit (and painted it) rather than the white one because I wanted something sturdier for the kids to walk up and down on. The trofast unit also displays some books (easy access for Joash especially) and holds their cooking and supermarket toys, which they play with everyday.

Since the ultimate goal of the room revamp was to transform it into a fun, creative space, I chose to place a fake grass carpet (from Taobao) on the floor of the bottom bunk, and also got a colourful foldable floor cushion made (inspired by this, but instead of buttons, I used a zip)

(Left) The kids having a picnic in their 'garden' 
(Right) Cosy reading corner

Because the one light in the room is positioned such that the bottom bunk of the bed doesn't really get the light at night, I put in an LED lighting strip (the Ikea Ledberg) under the bed. Lanterns from Ikea complete the garden party feel!

 

Nap time!
Although not exactly the purpose I'd intended for the foldable floor cushion, the kids enjoy sleeping on it and Joanie has spent quite a few nights and nap times 'camping' in their 'garden'. :)

The final touches for the wall where the bed lies against was to cover it with a self-adhesive blackboard wallpaper (for more creative play!), bought from none other than Taobao again...and a black Ikea Ribba ledge to hold Josiah's night light and some other knick knacks (possibly some photos and prints too in future)

Blackboard wall! I wanted to cover the whole wall but the hubs said he prefers it like this, with a border of sorts. I think he was just trying to save me the extra effort...should I cover the whole wall?

And with this, the room revamp is finally done! We've had moderate success in moving Josiah out and he's 
slept in his bed 75% of the time since it was ready. Yay! :)

*On a side note, I was at Ikea and saw them training (what I think was) a group of new employees about the Ikea kura bed. The employees were told that the bottom bunk was NOT suitable to be used as another bed, as once a mattress is placed there, a child's head could potentially be caught between the mattress and the bottom rung of the ladder. I think many people use it as a bunk bed though, and I will still be using it as a bunk eventually, but it's good to take note of the potential danger.

Our kids have a lot of stuff... So with the room revamp, it was a definite priority to introduce more storage space in the kids room.

For the longest time, the top bunk of the kids bed had been used as storage, and that was clearly not ideal. We also had a variety of ikea storage solutions - a low billy bookcase and 2 of the shallower stuva shelves... but they were simply not enough! They were also open storage, which meant that any mess was very visible.

I was looking for storage that
1) made use of full height of the wall as much as possible
2) clean and simple look
3) not too deep

And once again, I turned to trusty ol' Ikea for storage solutions. I was deciding between the billy and the besta series and finally decided on the besta because I preferred the flat doors. Also, the extra 10+ cm in depth would allow me to store more toys, and it was wall mountable (which means I can clean under it).

I got 2 of the besta 192cm x 60cm units and 1 38cmx120cm extension, and the besta vara doors. All in white.

The final product and the kids playing with the lego wall. 

The base plates for the lower 2/3s (within reach of Josiah) are stuck on with industrial strength double sided tape, and the 2 at the top are stuck on with 3M Command picture hanging strips, so they can be removed when the kids want to use the base plates on a flat surface.

You can see from the photo that they stick out a bit...

To complete the look, I added some leaves using scrap book paper, and a bird wall decal leftover from a project at our previous place.

I also made a birdhouse clock using scrapbook paper and the clock mechanism from the $1.90 ikea rusch clock. For now, the clock is mostly a design feature for the kids since I didn't put in any numbers.


Project #2 complete! Books and toys hidden from sight, a new lego wall and white board wall for the kids to play with and space to store more :)

Sometime in March this year, my nesting instinct kicked into overdrive at the realisation that Josiah was going to Primary school next year (OMG!)! So began my project to transform the kids room which has mostly been a big mess since we moved in :/

Requirements:
- unisex
- a fun, creative space
- a design that is adjustable as he gets older
- bright
- closed storage solutions
- use existing furniture where possible

It's taken quite a while from planning to implementation, and the room is now almost, almost done.

Project #1 was to transform the existing built-in wardrobe, something we 'inherited' from the previous owner. There was nothing really wrong with it, but having decided to use white as the primary colour for the room, the wood grain laminate and frosted pane had to go.

Before...

I decided on a white/grey brick self-adhesive wallpaper, and with a few nights of work after the kids have gone to bed, plus some time in between to order a second roll of wallpaper, transformation #1 was completed!

Materials used:
2 rolls of 10m x 45cm white brick self-adhesive wallpaper (about 7.5m left over) 
    --> costs about $7 per roll from Taobao, inclusive of shipping (Taobao ships by weight, and I shipped                these together with other purchases. If you're only buying the rolls, shipping costs will be higher)

Tada!

After!

Am pleased with the results! The self-adhesive wallpaper was relatively easy to apply, and if ever I feel like a change again, I just need to peel it off! Easy peasy :)

Made some prints for the new 'wall' too - something for the boys, and something for the girl. The wood coloured frames and flowers are slim enough for the sliding doors to open and close with ease. 

Credit for the sister print here and the others were done by me (inspired by pics found online). 
(For downloads - Big Brother, Give thanks, Don't Quit, Do it)

Said Josiah, "why did you say it's better to be a big brother than to be a superhero? It's so much                   better to be a superhero!
Hmmmm...

More room revamp pics to come!

Come sometime in mid July when Joash turns 18 months old, I plan to stop breastfeeding him. It would be quite monumental for me...for the first time in 6 and a half years, I would be neither breastfeeding nor pregnant! Woot! 

Yup, I've certainly been kept busy since Feb 2008 when I conceived Josiah. And I'm very much looking forward to weaning Joash off and taking a break so that I can finally get my lasik done! Did you know you can't do lasik if you're pregnant or breastfeeding? However, If not for the fact that we're planning a 4th (and I've another baby to look forward to), I would probably feel a lot more sentimental about this. 

Breast and formula

When a friend asked me if I thought breastfeeding advocates were being unfair to formula feeding mums in response to this post who in turn was referencing the negative feedback to this post that compares breastmilk to formula, I approached it with caution. This is a topic I tread lightly around because it is something very sensitive and deeply personal. 

Personally, I love breastfeeding and I readily acknowledge the fact that I'm very blessed to be able to breastfeed all 3 kids. Even though Joash currently treats me like a water bottle, I love the closeness that I feel when breastfeeding him, and feeling like I'm his favourite thing. This is not to say that you can't develop this same closeness if you don't breastfeed of course.

But being aware of the sensitivities, when I talk about the benefits of breastfeeding I usually talk about cost-savings (breastfeeding is free!), convenience (feed in bed, don't have to boil water, sterilise bottles etc) and the benefits to mum, like calorie-burning (see comic strip below...I do love em' Baby Blues!) and lower risk of getting breast cancer, and not so much about the health, brain, developmental benefits that breastmilk is supposed to provide over formula milk.

This section has been purposely titled 'Breast AND Formula' and not Breast vs Formula, which is, unfortunately, how it is usually perceived. Breastfeeding advocates, in all their passion and conviction, sadly tend to end up being viewed as unfair because I believe most mothers want to be able to breastfeed their children, and most mothers recognise that breastmilk is more beneficial than formula milk, but not all mothers are able to breastfeed their children...So this naturally becomes a prickly topic. For the mums who want to breastfeed but can't, and are guilt-tripping (unnecessarily) for their inability to, any type of 'breastfeeding good, formula bad' type of propoganda will understandably feel like an attack on them. 

Well to these mums I say, FLEE, flee from reading all these articles that you know will only get you upset. To be fair to the breastfeeding advocates, their articles are probably not targeted at those who agree that breastmilk is more beneficial than formula milk, it is not aimed at the mother who "wanted to breastfeed, but was unable to", it is certainly not written to tell formula feeding mothers that they are 'bad" or "lousy" (which they aren't). But rather, I think the breastfeeding advocates hope to educate and perhaps change the minds of the mothers who are able to, but purposefully choose not to breastfeed; those who have bought into the sales pitches of the formula producers hook, line and sinker and fail to see the benefits of breastfeeding. 

If you don't try, you will never succeed...

What I would personally advocate for though, is for all mums to TRY. Don't give up without really giving this breastfeeding thing a shot. Don't write it off without even trying because you think it's too troublesome and inconvenient. 

If you failed with no. 1, try again for no. 2. I take my hats off to a friend who couldn't get her first child to latch on, but nevertheless persisted with pumping and feeding for 10 months. She succeeded with no. 2. 

Don't give up on breastfeeding too soon...It gets better, really it does

My personal journey with breastfeeding had a painful, bloody start. How can a little suckling creature inflict this much pain, I wondered. And Josiah was supposedly quite good at latching on (I can't imagine what it must be like for those with babies who couldn't latch). Josiah was our first, so breastfeeding was a completely new experience then. The milk took quite a while to come in, and for 2 or 3 days after we returned from the hospital, Josiah had pink coloured urine, or urates in his pee. While in hospital, we were told that this could indicate that the baby wasn't getting enough milk. He was, however, drinking every 3 hours throughout the day, for about 30-45 minutes each time, and knocking out into a milk coma with each feed...so I persisted. It helped that I had the reassurance of my husband, we hadn't bought any formula milk for 'backup', and there was no one nagging me to supplement the breastfeeding. 

The milk finally came in after a week. By this time, my nipples were already blistery and in pain. So when Josiah had a 5-day long growth spurt at 3 weeks old, feeding every 1.5 hours throughout the day and night for 30-45 minutes each time, it was torture. I was sleep deprived with nipples cracked and bleeding. 

I eventually decided to get the nipple shield (kudos to the husband who immediately went to the departmental store and bought them for me). Anyway, maybe a month plus into breastfeeding, everything finally normalised -  the nipples stopped bleeding, the milk supply was more or less regulated. You do have other little crises to deal with down the road, like waking up to rock hard, feels-like-they-are-gonna-explode-soon boobs, or when baby starts teething and treats you as his newest teether... but the pain does go away, the milk does come in eventually, and for the most part, the milk will be enough for your baby. The best part, breastfeeding will be sooooooo much easier with baby no. 2.

Listen to yourself and your body

We are never short of well-intentioned people in our life giving us unsolicited advice and making disparaging remarks, so it'll be good if we all learn how to just tune them out. My point here is that you shouldn't allow yourself to be 'bullied' into doing something that you don't want to. It is ok to feed on demand and not follow a schedule. It is not odd, or an indication that you're not producing enough milk, if your baby is hungry again 2 hours or less after feeding. If your baby can't latch on, it's ok to pump and feed. And if after trying, you are simply unable to breastfeed while maintaining your sanity, it's ok not to.

Ultimately, if you're satisfied that the decision you made is the best possible for your child given your circumstances, find peace with your decision. 

 

We didn't get to do much museum visiting this school hols with the kids getting chicken pox right after our trip to langkawi, but a pic of Joanie and I from our children's season escapades last year was used for ACM's publicity this year! Cheap thrill...haha...but saved here for posterity 

The night we returned from our short holiday, Josiah developed a fever. This turned into something more serious when we discovered spots on his neck and body the next day...and unfortunately, our worst fears were confirmed! Chicken Pox! Joanie's spots appeared half a day later and the two have been 'quarantined' in the study for the most part since last Friday. 

Mind you, both kids were vaccinated, and while we were aware that the vaccine is not foolproof, you tend to expect that they won't get it. How wrong we were. Josiah has it worse, with lots of spots, especially on his body and neck. Perhaps it is because it's been a while since his vaccination (He took it when he was one) and also because he started on the acyclovir (anti viral medication) only a day after his spots appeared. 

Joanie, on the other hand, only has a smattering of spots (a good thing, since she would be less able to stop herself from scratching). She started on the acyclovir a few hours after her first spot and it's only been a year and a half since she took her vaccination (when she was about 2). 


Key learnings...

We should have let our kids take TWO shots of the vaccine! We were told that the second jab was optional (which it is) and that it doesn't make their protection against chicken pox foolproof either, so I decided not to bother with it. Big mistake! I think it would have made a difference at least to the number of spots/severity of the chicken pox, and perhaps Josiah wouldn't be this spotty if he had taken a second one. 

Second key learning...don't dawdle on getting that chicken pox vaccination. Unfortunately, we haven't vaccinated Joash. Most people get the vaccine with the MMRV but we opted for the MMR for Joash instead because Josiah had a terrible rash after taking the MMRV, with plans to vaccinate him for chicken pox a little later. Sadly...later is too late :( While we're doing our best to keep him away from the other 2, it'll be a miracle if Joash doesn't catch chicken pox this time. 


Thankfully...

We are very thankful that Josiah only fell sick the night we returned from Langkawi. Would be a nightmare if we had to deal with this while on holiday...and wonder if we would have been barred from taking the plane? Chicken pox is a communicable disease after all.

Thankful that Josiah and Joanie have each other for company and that they are healing nicely. I think this shared experience has brought them closer and may just be what we need to convince them that it's not that scary being in their own room if they have each other for company :P

Very importantly and very thankfully, that this happened during the school holidays so Papa is around, and such a great help. I guess there's no better way to celebrate Fathers' Day than to be reminded of the important and absolutely essential role of dad as parenting partner. 

Lastly, I'm super thankful that chicken pox is once-off and Josiah and Joanie now have 100% immunity!

On a side note to those reading this, if your child is unfortunate enough to catch chicken pox, here's what we found useful for itch control:
- Zyrtec (oral medication)
- Tea tree oil 
- Aloe vera gel (we used after sun lotion)



Update - 26 June 2014
Joash caught the chicken pox exactly 2 weeks after Josiah. Poor baby has not been vaccinated and we were advised that acyclovir is not neccessary for him, so he's developed quite a number of pox on his body, face and scalp. It doesn't seem to really bother him as he's not scratching, so that's a good thing. Hopefully, it doesn't cause him too much discomfort.

Josiah and Joanie are well by now of course. Josiah recovered in a week but Joanie took longer because the chicken pox caused her eczema to flare up really badly. Her eczema was much worse than the chicken pox and even caused the skin inside her nose to peel (which led to bleeding). Luckily with tons of moisturising and nose drops, she's almost back to normal now. So watch out, if your kids have sensitive skin or eczema.

A friend gifted us with Leapfrog's Learn to write with Mr Pencil which is a pencil looking stylus that unlocks a free to download Leapfrog ipad app. A great idea since the kids enjoy any excuse to use the ipad (the use of which we govern pretty strictly).

While the toy is pegged for the ages of 3-6, it would not be a challenge for Josiah (5+) who has moved beyond writing letters and numbers, and following dotted lines (he still wanted to have a go at the app of course). But it is a fun way to help Joanie improve her writing skills, and reinforce her letter and number recognition. I will probably transit her to a slimmer stylus soon though as Mr Pencil is a bit too fat for her to get a good grip).

Pleased after completing a task

The app starts with 4 unlocked stages. Each stage has some letters, numbers and shapes. It is compulsory to finish all the writing activities in the 4 stages before they unlock the next few stages. 

Compared to other writing apps that we've tried, like iWriteWords, the leapfrog app is tougher (and I would also say better for teaching how to write properly) for the following reasons:

1) Where a line is meant to be written continuously, the app requires that it must be done in a continuous line, even for the shapes (square, rectangle etc), which is pretty challenging for a 3 year old. 

2) very strict about going beyond the letter's boundary with a small margin of error. You'll have to start all over again if you deviate by too much

It can get quite frustrating for Joanie though as she has to write and rewrite multiple times for the more challenging letters/shapes. But she also feels extra satisfaction when she succeeds. 

I like that the app teaches them the correct order of the strokes

The app keeps her engaged for a good long time, so it's a great activity to keep her occupied while Josiah is having his swimming lessons (and mummy needs to manage Joash). 

Thanks for the gift, Jasmine! We love it :)

I'd downloaded the apps for Easy Taxi and Grab Taxi a while ago and finally used the Easy Taxi app last weekend. And I was really pleasantly surprised!

Firstly, it is free! Yup, that's right, there is no booking fee involved. (Grab taxi follows the standard booking fee)

Secondly, it is really easy to use. I registered for an account and booked a cab within 5 min, standing by the side of the road with 3 kids. Compared to the booking platforms by the individual cab companies like comfort, smrt etc, the app is simpler to use, and the location detector seems more accurate.

Thirdly, I really like that you're provided with the driver's contact no., and a visual tracker of the cab's location. The estimated arrival time counts down too.

I've used the app 3 times since last Sunday, and expect I will be using it a lot more. It's been pretty easy getting a cab through the app thus far but I haven't tried it at weekday peak hour, so not sure how effective it'll be then. But all in all, highly recommended, and I'm a very satisfied consumer :)