A meaningful NIE project!

Despite our busy schedules in NIE days, we are expected to complete a project in our respective pre-arranged groupings as part of our overall assessment. Yesterday was our big day! Our group has produced a book under our tutór's guidance, through our hard work and effort and finally, our book named 'Perry the Pangolin Loses His Way'has been produced!



We chose to work with a student care centre and conducted a lesson with the adorable kids. We made the learning interactive through ice-breaker games, engaging the kids in the story activities etc. Of course, not forgetting the games in the nearby void deck area and thanks to the wonderful sponsored happy meals whch made the kids thrilled. Finally we ended the session by presenting every kid with a goodie bag and a Pangolin badge.



Jovin went along with me as she has always been interested in such story-telling sessions. It was a right choice indeed to bring her for the session. She soon made accquaintance with the new friends and was friendly to the uncles and aunties too (my NIE friends hehe). My tutor even commented Jovin is a mini Jacqueline, haha!



It was a wonderful experience indeed. I believe we could have done it better if we had more time to accomplish this mission. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the experience and team spirit was definitely within our Group 42. 3 cheers for Group 42!

Jovin's another love - Barbie!

Our dear princess is a hard core fan of pinky items. Apart from Disney princess characters, she loves Barbie dolls too, simply because she's PINK! On Wednesday evening, I pre-arranged with mum and brother and brought Jovin and Jerad for the Barbie show at Junction 8. I was there earlier, thus started queuing up for the kids to ensure good seats for the kids. Brother soon brought the kids to the show and both happly sat down in the second row, having a clear view of the performance.



Before the show, there was a simple Q and A session with the kids and our dear Jovin was very bold indeed. She rose her hand and was chosen to go on stage to answer a question. On the stage, Jovin was calm and there was no stage fright! Guess this is really genetic.....So, she won for herself a free Barbie toy! Jovin was thrilled!

The kids realy enjoyed the Barbie show and me too as I was busy taking video of the show. This was my first time watching the show but according to my dear princess, the scenes were exact replica of the DVD 'Barbie-Like a fashion fairytale' which she has watched countless of times at home. The Barbie performer was really a beauty and all girls let out their screams and whistles when she appeared in her shiny pink ballroom dress. This is the latest Barbie doll which Jovin has been pestering us to buy recently too, especially when she can inter-switch her costume and there's a blinking heart on her dress.

It was a truly enjoyable session for Jovin and we forsee bringing the kids to HI-5 show next week. Bet Jovan will love it :)

Happy Grandparents' Day!

Last Sun, we had a wonderful time at the zoo and what's more, admission is free! My quick-witted sis responded quickly once the publicity news on grandparents' day celebration was announced and so, all of us managed to secure free tix! It was the first time we went to the zoo as an extended family, so all of us were very excited, especially the little ones.

Our little 'J's woke up bright and early at 7a.m. I wole up at 5a.m to prepare home-cooked porridge for my little 'J's so that they could still enjoy nutritious lunch in the zoo. We met up with brother and had breakfast at the nearby Chong Pang market before we arranged to meet sis and parents at the zoo. The crowd was expected, but the registration queue was still manageable.



Dear and brother went to collect all the 13 goodie bags while the rest of us stayed outside busy taking photos, experimenting the shooting with our new Canon camera :)



Soon, goodie bags were all collected and we put on our wrist bands, all ready to go! Alas, before we could even start, it started to drizzle but fear not, we were well-prepared and the kids got their rain coats and ponchos, umbrellas ready and we started to venture.....



It was really exciting as though we were tourists in a foreign country. The 5 kids were so happy and Jovin was just like a tour guide. She led the rest of us and shouted " Everybody come, there's girrafe, there's zebra etc." Jovin was always so cooperative in posing beautifully for me. This time round, with my new camera, I managed to capture more decent shots of Jovan as I set it at kids mode which is very suitable for capturing shots of Jovan who couldn't keep still. Though this was alreayd our 3rd visit for the year, it's always an entirely different feeling each time we visit, especially we are here to mark grandparents' day celebration!



We saw many animals and watched animal shows but there were so many people, so could only stand. When afternoon was nearing, I took out my love porridge and mum fed the kids. Under such cooling weather, it was indeed a luxury to enjoy such warm and nce-smelling food. As for the rest of us, my mum had prepared lots of bread, yakult drinks, tidbits etc to ensure we do not starve. Mummies are always so caring :)



Jovan soon fell asleep in his pram and the rest of us continued with the walk. As mum rest in the KFC restaurant with Jovan, we brought the kids to the playground where there was a river cruise, and the kids played mini flying fox! It was really fun but too bad Jovan was sound asleep. Jovin was intially apprehensive but daddy accompanied her and she was soon able to overcome her fear and did it alone too!



Our next shelter was at the central stage where there were some traditional games like five-stones, marbles etc. and live programmes too.



Intially we wanted to leave when the programme ended but thunderstorm soon arrived and we had no choice but to stay put in the shelter. In the end, we happily took photos and the kids played musical chairs, dog and bone games!



We stayed in the zoo till around 3p.m and left as it started raining again. We decided to go Northpoint and have our early dinner at the japanese food court. Perhaps we were all starving,so all of us ordered so much food yetr we finished all haha!



Ah-gong and Ah-ma were thrilled and all of us had fun too. I always love such family gatherings and we promised to participate in every year's grandparents' day celebration too since it was such an enriching and positive experience. Looking forward to our family chalet on 26 Dec. Bet there's going to be loads of fun as well!

Countdown to 3 weeks hols!

Finally finally,another day nearer to my 3 weeks break after the hectic academic schedule. Though not travelling overseas, many exciting upcoming events to motivate me to complete rest of my assignments haha. Here's a peek at the upcoming excitement that I'm looking forward to.....

18 Dec - SMU X'mas Gathering
21-22 Dec - Stay at Fullerton Hotel
24 Dec - CLDDS X'mas Eve Pot-Luck
26-28 Dec - Family chalet @ Aloha Loyang
31 Dec -New Year's Eve Countdown

Of course, looking forward to seeing how my dear Jovan would fare on his first week of school. 4 more weeks to go before enjoyment yippie!

Early X'mas!

I finally got my new digital camera! My early X'mas gift haha! Was already on the lookout for a new one to replace the existing one. Though it's still working, but it tends to malfunction at times and 'throws tantrums' ocassionally. Ever since the birth of our little 'J's, camera becomes a necessity so that I can snap all the cherishable moments of them.



We decided to visit the IT and Electronics Fair by Audio House at Suntec on Sat evening. Together with the kids, we were immediately 'attacked' and 'aimed at' by a lot of insurance representatives. Haha but my clever dear managed to shake them off easily. We swarmed through the crowds and finally reached Canon counter. Without much deliberation, I set my eyes on one red model costing $499. Well, not the latest model though but meets all my requirements :)



After securing the purchase, we brought the kids and had fun taking early X'mas shots with the decor at Marina Square. Jovan was not as cooperative as usual. He loves to pose but always scrams off when we wanted to get him to pose. Jovin was totally opposite. She posed so beautifully in all the photos and trust me, I really didn't teach her how to pose. Dear and I were amazed at her skills in posing, haha!





The kids had fun at the indoor playground and using ice-cream as a bait, the kids willingly left the playground and off we went to enjoy our Macdonalds ice-cream!One dollar ice-cream enjoyed by the whole family and we really loved it. The kids took turns in feeding us and we fed each other! It was a terrific weekend spent. Amidst the piles of assignment which I have to handle, this is indeed a great stress reliever, especially when I'm with my dearest 'J's :)