The-Upperroom.com

10 great things of being a mom:

1. Sashay around with messy hair due to laziness but points the accusing finger at the baby and says HE messed it up!
2. Splatter food on shirt due to clumsiness but points the accusing finger at the baby again and says HE did it!
3. Get to see the little girl’s panties as “other peeptle cannot see!” declares the girl
4. Sing nursery rhymes at the top of my voice in public places
5. Bulldoze into the elevators with my pram
6. Play with neat little toys that I never got to play with as a child
7. Shop for the prettiest dresses even though I don’t really wear dresses
8. Get loved unconditionally
9. Get forgiven unconditionally too
10. Get to be called MUMMY! That is the bestest word on earth!

The first thing we were going to do was to visit a lighthouse on our way to Margaret River. We had a fiasco in the morning when Kev couldn’t start the car. The girl and I trooped off to play at a mini playground at the resort while he handled it.

Gee! Gotta get off the car as it wouldn’t start!

Maybe I should have a try at it!

We finally set off at about 10 plus and stopped at a beach at Dunsborough for the girl to chase some seagulls before heading towards Cape Naturaliste.

Don’t run away bird bird!

During the trip, the girl suddenly developed a fear for heights, she would be terrified even if she’s just on higher ground for instance when at the slides at the playground. I figured that its because she fell and hurt her chin back at the playground at home when she tried to scale the ladder. Anyway, she wasn’t too trilled to be THAT high up when on top of the lighthouse!

Lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste

Hugged the lighthouse for dear life!

After that, since we would on our route to Margaret River pass by this ice-cream place called Simmo’s. We popped by for some ice cream and found to our delight a huge and wonderful playground for the little girl.

Whoa! ICE CREAM!

I WANT!

The ice cream is sold in this cute little red house

Talia had a lot of fun at the playground! Oh did I mentioned she got a little homesick on her third or fourth day and wanted to go home so I told her Bishan was very far away and we need to take a plane to go back. When she saw the toy aeroplane at the playground, she told me “Let’s take this aeroplane back to Bishan!”

Me the pilot!

Me the acrobat!

And before we left, we saw this sign and had a great laugh!

Muahaha!

We arrived at Margaret River shortly after 5pm and checked into our apartment. We stayed at Central Apartment and was pleasantly surprised at how nice and modern the place is. We bought fried rice from Chow’s for Talia to share with me! She sure did enjoy her rice after not having it for about a week even though it was a A$16 bowl of fried rice!

The next day we set off for Sunflower Farm. When we arrived at the place and saw how basic the accommodations there were, I told Kev its a good thing we didn’t choose to stay there. Oops! poor little spoilt me!

The whole morning the little girl was kept busy feeding one animal after another!

Follow me! Follow me! Follow me!

I want to always see this look of wonder in her eyes when she beholds God’s creations!

Aww!

After spending the whole morning at the farm feeding animals, we headed off to Watershed, a winery for lunch. The lunch was fantastic, the place was set amidst miles and miles of green, the temperature was just right, it was totally memorable! After lunch, the girl played a while at the winery’s playground and dozed off after having her milk as we drove out. We went to another winery and Kev got out for some wine tasting while I read in the car keeping the girl company. After that I took over the driving and we went to another 2 wineries for the man to taste more wines!

Fantastic lunch at the Watershed!

Talia woke up at 4 plus and we ended the day at yet another beach. This time we saw surfers and were amazed at how they could do it in such cold waters.

Looking at the well stocked kitchen, Kev said it would be a pity if he didn’t cook! So off we dashed to the supermarket on our way back and bought ourselves beef and lamb steaks. They even have marinated ones so it was one yummy dinner and cheap!

Tomorrow we will head back to Perth.

My mummy gang is constantly on the look out for places to bring the kiddos to and we found out that SOL Cafe at turf city features face painting together with balloon sculpting during Sunday lunches. They also have a covered outdoor playground and a small indoor play area.

The children took turns to get painted on. The boys were more gungho and when the pirate and the spiderman appeared, we had such a good laugh!

Have you seen a sadder pirate or a more serious spiderman ever?

Even my little didi had to have a go at it!

Eeeks! a spider is growing on my arm!

Check out my spider!

Most of us brought our #2 along too. Even though they couldn’t join in with their elder siblings in the running and playing, they had a jolly time with all the mummies ooh-ing and aah-ing at them.

Smiley Jonathan, brother to the sad pirate!

The girls had lots of fun balloon fighting too!

AHA! finally got my hands on my jiejie’s balloon!

Well! the food is nothing to rave about and the toys could have been newer, but the face painting and the balloon and the outdoor playground more than make up for it. I think just for the novelty of it, would be fun to just at least visit once!

We recently got our hands onto 3 board games published by Hasbro - Monopoly Deal, Rummikub and Risk.

Our family has always been a fan of board games and not just the usual ones but the Euro ones. We have Settlers of Catan, Citadels, Ticket to ride, Puerto Rico, Ark of the Covenant and St Petersburg. Euro games are very different from your usual American ones. It normally needs you to strategise, downplays luck and conflict and is highly interactive. Board games are such a great way for a family to spend time together. Anyway back to our three new games, we thought we will give Monopoly Deal a try first.

Monopoly Deal

It wasn’t nothing like monopoly at all, I mean monopoly isn’t really the most exciting game to begin with but monopoly deal is a lot more fast moving. Here’s how you play. To win, collect 3 complete property sets. Each player starts with 5 cards and you draw 2 more cards when its your turn. Then you can play up to 3 cards by either putting money/action cards into a personal bank, putting down properties, and playing action cards from your bank into the center. There are a lot of action cards. Some examples are steal an entire set, force a property swap, force rent, double the rent etc. This would be the perfect little game to bring with you when you go out for a picnic or even on a trip.

Next we tried Rummikub! Oh boy! this one is even more fun. It involves a lot more thinking though. There are many tiles of different numbers. To win, you have to throw out all your tiles but you can only throw out your tiles in a set of minimum 3 tiles and rules are the if the numbers are the same, they must be different colours and if they are running numbers, they must be the same colours. To throw out tiles for the first times, all the tiles must add up to at least 30.

The fun begins when you start to mess up and reshuffle the tiles already thrown out so that you can somehow throw out one or two of your own tiles,

We played and had such a good time! And we were glad that these games were as fun as the Eurogames that we loved to play.

(Kevin: That was Talia’s little hand in the last pic, picking up a ONE for daddy )

Day 3’s itineary is to explore the city centre a bit in the morning and then collect our car.

All set for what looks like a really hot day!

The girl woke up with a bit of sniffle so we gave her some meds and that resulted in her dozing off as we pushed her around in her pram.

London court at the City Centre

The shopping at the City Centre wasn’t really interesting and at 11am we picked up our car and was ready to set off. One thing that I am supremely thankful for is that Kev has an inbuilt GPS system inside him (while I am on the other hand completely useless when it comes to directions). So with a very basic map given by Budget, he was still able to navigate his way out of Perth and went Northwards towards the Whiteman Wildlife park.

When we entered the Park, this sign completely freaked me out! CHECK out that SNAKE at the bottom! I am VERY VERY afraid of these creepy things, and cannot even bear to look at them on TV or books! Anyway, Kev reassured me and said, “LOOK! its says “PROTECTED”, meaning to say they are rare and we shouldn’t stomp on them when we see them!” EEKS! I wasn’t at that convinced really! and it was with some trepidation that I entered the park.

The sign that freaked me out!

We parked at the visitor centre and each had a snitzel chicken thingy (only food available) while the girl had her beef, beetroot, portebello mushroom, broccolli and carrot porridge.

There was a meet-the-animals session when we went inside the wildlife park and the girl met the wombat for the first time!

A ginormous wombat!

It was so fat and ugly that I hesitated to touch it but the girl had no qualms touching it though. She only hesitated to touch this huge lizard with a bright green tongue! *shivers*

There were other animals in the wildlife park too but really the highlight was the huge kangaroo enclosure. I have never seen so many kangaroos in one place and although many were lazing around, there were many who were hopping around!

Saying hi to an albino kangaroo

And then the girl went on a feeding frenzy! She fed and fed and then fed some more and we were like standing there waiting for her to be finished for closed to 2 hours! She would feed them and then ask them to go to sleep, then lumber up to another one who is lazing around to WAKE UP and eat and then after feeding, ask it to back to sleep again! and she was dashing around the whole enclosure!

Would you like to have some food!

Surrounded by the hungry kangaroos!

Have more!

We left the park at 4 plus and headed back to Perth. Then we saw Koorong! We drove in but they were just closing at 6pm so we decided we will come back the next morning on our way out to Margaret River.

Day 4!

Koorong bookshop! Our favourite Christian Bookshop!

Koorong has a really nice covered playground and the girl had to have a go at it!

Playground!

Weeeee!

got a bit hot after playing for a while that we had to remove her jacket!

After Koorong, we drove Southwards and we stopped at this town for lunch which I can’t remember the name now. I had some grilled fish thingy while kev had a grilled chicken dish. The girl had beef porridge again with sweet potatoes but Kev added a wee bit too much water this time and it was like beef soup. So she shared my fish with her soup!

We walked around (well the town only had one main street) and spent some time in a big toyshop with the girl admiring a rather nice toy train set and playing with another boy who was there.

Then we are off to Bunbury to try and catch the dolphins. When we reached there, it was already 3.30pm and the dolphin centre was already closed. (They are opened till 3pm) We hanged around for a while at the beach and amazingly, we spotted the fins of a pair of dolphins! But only twice though and not sure if the girl saw because they were so fast! On our way back to Perth 4 days later, we stopped by Bunbury again and was told by the people at the dolphin centre that we were very very lucky because sightings after 3pm is very rare and that is why they are closed at 3pm. (hmmm, really? is that the reason why they are closed so early? anyway…)

Having some fun at the Bunbury beach!

The girl was also fascinated by all the seagulls and were attempting to chase them!

A lone seagull.

That night we stayed over at Dunsborough at the Bay Village Resort and Spa, the place was ok I guess. And the next day we will go to Margaret River proper!

 

Kev and I brought the little girl to Perth for 10 days in the early part of May. We left the boy at home but it wasn’t an easy decision at least with my heart. But my head won, bring him and all four won’t have an enjoyable holiday or leave him at home and three pple will have a relaxing time and he gets no disruption to his schedule and undivided attention at home. So with that reasoning, I left my little boy at home, covered him with lots of prayers, gave precise detailed instructions for what to do in all sorts of situations and left. But a part of me was left behind too.

The flight was uneventful. The noodles on Qantas were not the greatest so the girl only ate a bit but right after we gave her her milk. She had fun chomping on her biscuits and watching Dora for a while on screen before falling asleep and staying asleep until we landed! It was nice that Kev has a cousin living in Perth so she arranged for us to stay at her boss’ vacant apartment. It was at Mt Lawley and just minutes away is Hyde Park. After dumping our stuff, we were all ready to explore Perth. We took a big detour to see the shopping/food district at Mt Lawley and then ended up at Hyde Park just before the sun set.

The girl was delighted to see so many ducks in the pond at Hyde Park

I guess this is one of the many perks of living in Australia, nature so close to you.

Pretty pretty ducks!

It became dark at 5pm and we trooped off to have dinner at one of the Italian places at Mt Lawley.

The next day’s target was to take a train to fremantle. I borrowed a mini thermal pot to cook porridge/soft rice for the girl so that she could at least have one homecooked meal for lunch when we are on the run and that turned out to be a good decision at least when we were outside the city, sometimes we would drive for miles and there is nothing suitable for the girl to eat at all and I would whip out my pot and feed her in the car as we drive towards lunch.

Coming back to Day 2 in Perth, we had dim sum at Jade Dynasty at Northbridge. It was a recommendation from a colleague who studied in Perth and he sure was right. The food was delicious!

Yummy dim sum!

We took a long stroll from Northbridge to the train station. The girl was having a good time too people watching from the comfort of her pram. I would liken Perth weather to desert climate. It is extremely extremely dry and the sun is scorching hot. But when you get into the shade and you get the wind blowing at you, it can get quite cold. Anyway, the journey to Fremantle was rather fast, took us about 40 mins I guess.

Reading the train guide as though she understands it!

Fremantle is beautiful. The buildings and quaint little shops there were a delight and because it was a Sunday, it was bustling and such a contrast to the quiet Perth we have seen so far. We ate lunch at this place called the Mad Monk. The pizza that Kev had was tasty albeit a bit too salty, he had a sneaking suspicion that it deliberately done that way so that they can sell their beer better? He definitely enjoyed his beer that I know. I had a pork dish with apples, yes! cooked apples and that was delicious! See how my food was already eaten halfway even before he could whip out his camera!

A must visit place in Fremantle is the Fremantle Market. It has one part selling fresh produce and one part selling all sorts of knick knacks. By then the girl has fallen asleep and we pushed her around shopping.

Interesting stuff sold in the market

There were quaint corners everywhere we go that makes exploring Fremantle lots of fun!

A nice corner where we sat and people watch for a while

The trip was really one with minimum agenda and a relaxing itineary. We bought some fruits from the market and plonk ourselves at a grass patch somewhere and ate while the girl slept.

In lala land

When she woke up, it was already 5 plus and already dark, we made our way to a famous fish and chips place near the wharf called Cicerello. Kev came back after he ordered and sheepishly told me how he nearly embarrassed himself just now. At the counter after he paid, he was handed back his change on top of a round coaster-like thingy. For a while he thought it was for tipping and was thinking perhaps to leave some money on that before that guy shove the whole thing into his hand and told him to come and collect his food when the “coaster” beeped. Muahaha! that was actually a pager of some sorts.

Anyway, that pager did not beep in the next 50 minutes and that was because they missed our orders. Grrrrr! anyway the fish and chips we ordered was nothing to rave about and soooooo oily! I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone! (Kevin Added: Never to return)

We walked back to the train station and reached Perth at about 8 plus. After settling the girl and putting her to bed, it was already 10 pm. My second night away from my baby boy! I got sms updates on him and was told he was sooo happy at home and have started clapping his hands to songs and pushing his toy train with one finger! Aww! I missed him so much! But it was better than the first night away so I guess it should just get better! We would get our car tomorrow and drive out of Perth. Looking forward to Day 3: Whiteman Wildlife Park and Kangaroos feeding frenzy.

Whew! it has been a busy May especially when I was expecting a nice slow month where I would be resting at home before I start at my new job in June (I guess I should have known that is quite impossible with 2 babies at home, anyway). The thought of starting somewhere new is exciting yet daunting, new environment, new colleagues but about that later when I guess I would write about it when I officially start in June. We also went on a trip the early part of May to Perth, just the girl and us, and more about Perth also in subsequent postings I guess! Heh!

What I really want to talk about now is toilet training, for the girl and for the boy as well. The girl is diaperless at home now since about 2 months ago. She toddles around at home in her little panties and that is just so cute. Her toilet training started when we put training pants on for her and ask her to go weewee in her potty every hour! As for poopoo, since she was seven months, we inculcated the habit of getting her to go in the mornings while she get read to and that habit has stayed with her until now. However I went through a really horrid few weeks when she would refuse to wee in her diapers when she is out and oh my! let me tell you, its not that easy to find a toilet when you need it, and I have had urine drippling onto my toes a few times when I had to let her go at a “longkang” (drain)! Argh! I am now so grateful that when I bring her to the toilet, she would pee and if we can’t find one, she would pee in her diapers!

The boy is now 10 months old and we would try to catch his poo after meals by putting him on a potty. So far we have been successful a few times.

me and my sis on our potties!

I am in not great hurry to toilet train the boy as I have had heard so much about boys being slower to be toilet trained. But seriously it is so much easier not to have to wash backside when he poos in the potty. So as for now, its going to be a mad scramble for the potty if we ever hear or see the teeniest sign of needing to go!

Ever wonder how to explain to little children about Chameleon changing it’s color?

Now you don’t need to. Just bookmark this page.

Well, as kiasu parent, we went a step further. We taught the kids how to change their colors to match their surrounding. See pic below.

Thaddeus didn’t do it quite right, but it’s just lesson one. We’ll work on it.

# In case you are wondering…nope, a chameleon don’t change colors so quickly. It’s a RayBan viral video advertisement i.e. CGI. No chameleon or kids were harm in the making of the above.

I can still remember it wasn’t too long ago I was exploring some of the kiddie classes I can send Talia to and now the time has come for me to start scouting around for kiddie classes for the boy!

The July mummies-kakis organised a private trial for kindermusik. Talia went for one too when she was around this age too. So I kinda know what I am getting myself in when I decided to join with the boy. Another body building session for me to say the least!

Before the class, balls were unleashed upon the babies and they were fascinated!

Warming up with balls before the class started

And to add to the hoisting here and there, I had to do the shuttle run to grab the boy as he dashed around the room exploring!

Tata mummy!

The class involves a lot of carrying the baby and either hopping to the music (the mum! not the baby!) or swinging them to and fro or sitting in a circle with lots of singing and with actions to boot as well! The boy was generally able to sit through it except he was extremely vocal (I am not sure if its from pleasure or displeasure) with his loud exclamations! and when he got bored, he would be off scooting off somewhere again!

Honestly I am not too sure how beneficial they are for a 9 month-old baby! I mean there must be benefits in terms of exposure and socialising, but the other things like music and rhythm appreciation, I am not so sure! But I really think its a great way for the mummies to meet each other! *Grins*

After the class, we went to this new Japanese-concept food court called Ishi Mura at the ex-Paradiz centre (whatever its new name is now) and thought the place was pretty cool.

Nice decor, clean and new tables and chairs. The prices of food are foodcourt prices and I think the quality isn’t half as bad given that kind of prices.

Nice wooden decor with Japanese lanterns

Hey! this is bigger than me!

Ciao! See ya again soon!

I must thank Dr Seuss for his great book “Green eggs and ham”. If you have not read this book, its about this strange animal who wouldn’t try green eggs and ham offered by his friend Sam, perhaps it looks yucky!

“I would not, could not, in a box.
I could not, would not, with a fox.
I will not eat them with a mouse.
I will not eat them in a house.
I will not eat them here or there.
I will not eat them anywhere.
I do not eat green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.”

and Dr Seuss very cleverly weave in interesting phonics play about having it in a house with a mouse or on the train in the rain etc. Anyhow, near the end of the book, the strange animal (I can’t tell what it is) tried it and realised WOW! it’s yummy and he would have it any way, whether in a house or with a fox or whatever!

So now when I am introducing a new food to Talia and she wouldn’t try it, I would tell her about how green eggs and ham may look horrid but it’s actually very delicious and you have to try it first to know it! It works every time now!

Very gingerly takes a small bite!

Yummy!