A new shopping experience

I was recently invited to the opening of Zalora's pop up store at ION Orchard and guess what?!

Wait, don't guess. Let me just tell you!

I was really excited and super stoked because Zalora has always been my go-to website since two years back! Whenever I need a new blouse, dress, shoes or even make-up, it's the first site I visit. 

Crossed-my-fingers-and-hope-to-not-get-my-favourite-on-sale-item-if-I-lie.

Imagine my delight when my favourite website finally opened its first store! I can finally feel and touch those items that I've been saving in my shopping cart and even get to try them on before I make an actual purchase!

How awesome is that!?

The offline store with a digital shopping experience.
Absolutely.

This image is credit to Zalora FB page.

I got right down to business, put my game face on and these blazers caught my eye!

Material Girl
Colour Block Meshed Sleeved Blazer

 

River Island
Black Blurred Floral Print Blazer

Neon Rose
Clueless Check Blazer

Dorothy Perkins
Black Boyfriend Blazer

There're a lot more designs so go grab some blazers! Blaze hot while staying warm in the chilly weather!

The pop up store is located at:

ION Orchard B2-04/05 and opens daily from 10am to 10pm

It will close in January 2015! 

PS: Go take a look see now and get a S$10 voucher when you sign up for their newsletter! While you're at it, use my voucher code ZBAPPpe* during check out for additional 15% off!
*valid only for new customer

PPS: This post has been brought to you by Zalora.

The Help

I once watched a film called Paris, je t'aime in 2006 which consists of several short stories all somewhat interlinked to one another. But a particularly short story that really got me which I am able to recall till this day (which in itself is also particularly somewhat incredible given my goldfish memory) was that of a young mother and her child.

In the opening shot, she was cradling her child getting them ready to head out. And the next scene was that she was handing her child to a minder and when her child cried, she turned back and was seen patting her child to sleep while humming a lullaby.

When she made sure her child has fallen asleep, she thank the minders and left. And the following sequence showed her commuting to work by taking the bus, subway and then finally walking to her employer's place.

Only her work place was actually a house and her employer had a child of her own and this young mother was the nanny.

Oh the irony.

This story always gets to me. Perhaps I can resonate with it as I'm a mother now but back then? It's weird.

And the irony is that I'm also getting a helper whom's a mother of two herself and she will be helping me to look after my own kids.

On one hand I'm sure she will miss her own children terribly yet on the other I'm also hoping that she will look after my boys as she would as her own. Because we're both working mothers and we know how it feels to be away working and missing our kids.

Only this time she is the one far away from them. What a double edged sword.

Honey Creme

This.

This was the most happening, hipster or hippening that I ever did on a weekday night.

I joined in the craze yo!

Eh not quite though as my friends and I happened to be in the area after dinner and she mentioned that it was nice, so we decided to give it a shot. Was supposed to share with a friend but I ended eating most of it. #whatdiet

Verdict?

While I'm not really a fan of soft serve, this was quite all right as it was really soft (duh!) and didn't had the milky after-taste that I dislike. And the honey comb makes up for it as it was the right amount of sweetness and doesn't taste that artificial.

But it cost $6 for a small cup and after thoughts were "Meh-I-most-probably-will-not-buy-it-again-but-the-boys-might-like-it-so-most-probably-will-buy-it-just-for-them" #thoughtsofamother

The Incidental House pet, or not

So.

It turns out we have 2 house lizards living happily in the corner of our living room. How do I even know there's 2?

Because lizard 1 is the fatter and bigger sized one and lizard 2 is the slimmer and smaller sized one. Talk about double team eh?

And! They certainly make their presence felt whenever they make those lizard sounds and scrambling for cover when we open the door whenever we get home.

So much so that I've told my boys that they're our pets for now.

And my smarty ass pants 4 year old actually quipped this when we got home one night and found lizard 1 scrambling for cover, "Mama, your pet says welcome home!"

Thanks kid, just thanks. If you boys clean up after your meals and not leave crumbs for them to feast on, then perhaps they will just leave us alone?!?!

And who knows I could probably missed them. Or not.

If you have one and you know it, put your hands up

I never knew eating was a torture till Jeb came along. No scratch that, he brings a whole new level to torture eating.

To him, eating is simply not in his vocab. This guy lives on nothing but air and maybe sometimes, just sometimes, actual real food. And only when he wants to, which is..... rarely?

I've tried many tricks and bribery to get him to eat. Because he really likes fruits, I've resorted to feeding him a spoonful of rice followed by a bite of fruit. This usually works on the good days. And the bad days? I've resorted to using gummies to get him to open his mouth just so I can spoon food in. And on seriously bad days? I'm ashamed to say that I've resorted to flicking and even slapping his mouth in the hopes that I'll scare him to quickly swallowed his food.

I did scared him alright. Just maybe not in swallowing though.

The thing is this and I'm sure most mothers would feel this way is this. It's really not about them not eating per se. It is really more about getting those nutritrients into their growing bodies that makes this feeding all the more exasperating. Put your hands up if you're with me.

Because as an Asian parent, a chubby toddler is a sign of eating and growing well. Not some gangly two year old who runs away at the sight of food. But you know what?

I am trying to Let.It.Go.

Keyword. Trying.

I guess its because I really do not want to stress the both of us out and also, I could tell he is growing in terms of height and just a little bit of weight. But the thing is this. I try not to worry so much any more.

I still try my best to provide nutritious and delicious food, maybe not so much in the delicious part, but whatever chance I've got to shove that piece of salmon or chicken or avocado in his golden mouth, mother here will do all she can to do it.

And recently, a friend of mine told me about this funny book 'You have to F@cking Eat' by Adam Mansbach that talks about his experience with feeding his picky daughter. But the highlight was a recording done by a British actor Stephen Fry that up the book notch.

Take a listen and together, let's put our hands up!

Oh, it is a little vulgar and crude. So if you're the prudish type, consider yourself warned!

The occasional indulgence for them, junk snacks and ribena!
What?!

Our weekends were made of this

We spent 2 full hours in the pool under the glorious sun, had a late lunch and everyone took an epic 3 hour nap after!

Which we woke up to a rainy cooling evening and headed out for dinner, took a short walk at the pasar malam near our place and I actually allowed the boys to stay up past their bed time on account of the long nap they had in the afternoon! 

It was just an awesome weekend where I didn't cook at all, allowed the boys to have pop corn and candy floss, there was more than enough fun and laughter in the house and best of all, it is free!

That's more than enough for mother here to be thankful for. 

Wife Solo

For most parts of the time, I solo parent my 2 boys. The husband had to travel quite a bit this year and while most trips were for a week, there were some that lasted almost a month. 

And those were some lonely days and nights.

I'm thankful that while we have a suitable arrangement for the boys to be at my mum's place to be looked after when the husband travels, it is not an ideal arrangement for us. For one, the boys will be apart from us and two, I'll be honest to say that sometimes I don't even go over to my mum's place for the night as I have to do the laundry and housekeeping at our own place. 

Oh and as I was saying, solo parenting.

It's really tough especially when the boys keep asking for their father though. It's even tougher when they are crying and asking for their father at the same time. Manipulation these boys.

On the flip side, I feel like a single mother. Not that I am, just that it really does makes me feel like one. 

I do however, enjoy my time with them very much though! They're more than I could ever ask for, especially that little guy right in front. Yes, that guy with that pout.

Horrible stories for happy children

Just so you know, I tell my boys bedtime stories sometimes before they go to sleep. I say sometimes because most times I'll be out cold before any stories gets told.

We don't read from books either and it's mostly made up stories told by me with the boys hiding under the blanket and going all excited about something.

I say something because to Jeb, it's all about hiding from scary monsters right now.

Our stories usually goes like this...

"Once upon a time there was a little boy. This little boy loves to eat chocolate. He loves chocolate so much that he eats it for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday! One day, as he was eating his chocolates, he sigh and thought to himself how nice it would be if he was a chocolate too! And it so happened that the next morning he really did turned into a chocolate! He was so happy that he ate himself. The end."

I only realise that it's had a morbid ending but to Benjamin he was happy that this story was all about chocolates. And most times, the characters that I made up were all based after the boys.

So obviously, this boy was based after Benjamin who really loves his chocolate.

Or another one based after Jeb.

"Once upon a time there was a little boy. This little boy loves to run, climb and jump. He can run and climb and jump all day long! And his favourite food to eat are bananas, apples, pumpkin seeds and broccoli. However he would keep the food in his mouth for a long time, until one day he realised that all his teeth dropped out as the food had rotted in his mouth! Thus he had no more teeth left to eat anything any more. The end."

I could be the next writer for the next series of the Grimm brothers fairy tale.

Life lessons for boys, from boys

Because my four year old talks wayyyyy too much for his age and for his gender, most of the complaints I've been hearing are pretty much one sided.

"Mama! Jeb Jeb poked my eye!"

"Mama! Jeb Jeb tell me to go away!"

"Mama! Jeb Jeb hit me with his toy!"

"Mama! Jeb Jeb take my train!"

"Mama! Jeb Jeb never finish his food!"

"Mama! MAMA! MAMA!"

While poor Jeb might not be able to vindicate himself based on his brother's complains due to his limited vocabulary, my poor ears has not been given a break since Benjamin discovered talking either.

To be fair, I do know that Jeb tends to snatch and shriek and scream when things don't go his way, I do however try not to get involved when the boys fight. Why?

For one, it is highly amusing to watch them quarrel. One talks and the other grunts. Entertainment for me, exasperation for Benjamin.

Number two. Why should I? It's their battle, let them fight it out and may the strongest win. All's fair in toys and games.

Number three. Isn't fighting part of a childhood? You fight, you cry and you made up. Brotherhood bonding for them!

Number four. It's about not taking sides. Okay, this might be stretching a little because we all just want a little peace and quiet in the house right? So while I'm not proud to admit it, but I do tend to ask Benjamin to give way to Jeb. Just because.

Number five. So long as no one is injured, by all means fight. Perhaps the ones that do are most probably the toys. 

"I got my iron grip on kor kor! Muah hahaha!"
Jeb, 2 years old and grunting

Sayings as it goes

Just the other night, I had my birthday dinner albeit tooooo belated, like a month belated.

Better late than never, they always say.

I also say.

My group of girlfriends kept asking how I wanted to celebrate and all I could think of was to have some real good Korean food. And so, after several consultations with Dr Google, we finally decided on Togi Korean Restaurant.

Free flow of side dishes.

Bean pancake.

My favourite! Jajjiangmyeon

Seafood Stew.

It was a great night spent just chatting, laughing over some nice Korean food. We stayed till they were closed and credit to the staff for not actually chasing us out too!

As the saying goes, "Nothing like good food and girlie friends to warm my belly"

This, I anyhow say.

Start of The Terrible Mother Series

Okay the title does not mean that I actually did something terrible to my children but rather its a series of blunders that I've made when it comes to my boys.

And this latest episode shall kick-start it.
 

I went home early on last Friday night as I was feeling feverish so I asked the husband to picked the boys up from their grandmas. I was fast asleep when they come home so when the husband told me that Jeb had another baluku* (again?!?! which is the umpteenth time) at the exact same spot on his forehead, I went into the other room to get the ointment to apply for him.

So.

The next morning when I wanted to apply the same ointment for him again, I realised it was not his baluku cream (Hirudoid). 

It was..... wait for it... fungicort cream!

Meant for fungus growth. 

I actually thought it smelled a little different from Hirudoid but thought it might be due to my blocked nose when I kissed his forehead, haha.

And has any mothers ever witness an actual swelling of baluku? I have and it swells in the exact same manner as you would blow a balloon. You're welcome.

*Baluku: a local term for an angry bruise resulting from a fall.

What's yours?

I work in a fairly casual office environment whereby I do not have to dress up in a typical office get up of shirts, pants, skirts and heels. But that does not mean I do not like dressing up for work!

I do fret every night on what to wear and although I do like to think I have a fairly nice dress sense (though the husband would tell you otherwise *rolls eyes*), it still does not deter me from dressing up for work!

That's why I'm really pleased that Zalora has some really pretty blouses online that fits my style and most of all, affordable!

Some blouses that fits my style...

Dorothy Perkins Black Floral Long Sleeve Top

MDS Summer Floral Sleeved Top

Zalia Long Sleeve Blouse with Bindings

Zalora Raglan Lace Sleeve Blouse

There are many other established brands like Mango, Esprit, New Look to local brands like MDS, Dip Drops and Little Match Girl. There's a blouse for every occasion for everyone!

And to leave you with some very wise quotes...

PS: Go take a look see now and get a S$10 voucher when you sign up for their newsletter! While you're at it, use my voucher code ZBAPPpe* during check out for additional 15% off!
*valid only for new customer

PPS: This post has been brought to you by Zalora.

Fits so right

I think I've found it.

This pair...

Please pardon the horrible photo shop editing and just focus on my jeans.

I've always had this irritation with my jeans that after a few wears, they tend to ride down and sag at my bum and the most unglam thing to do would be me having to hike it up while you know. queuing up for the bus or even while walking!

You know what I mean right?! Or am I the only one facing this problem?

So I found this pair of jeans at a H&M in Tokyo and best part of it was, ON SALE RACK.

On first look, I was sceptical if I could even fit in it because well, mother here has flabby thighs and flabby tummy and it was a skinny. But! Never say no to a pair of ON SALE RACK jeans.

Went to the fitting room to try it on and when it went past my calves, I was like wondering if it would wriggled past my thighs and when it did, I wonder if I could even button it up and when it did, *throws confetti and cue angels singing Hallelejah!*

So mother here has been wearing it for the past three weeks. Hey no judgement here because I don't wanna screw up our relationship by washing it.

That's the exact relationship my husband has with the shower.

Sleeping with 3

So.

I alternate between the three of them. 2 on the bed and one on the floor. All cramp into MY bedroom when there is a spare room just waiting for them to sleep in. (Ironically, they have no problems taking their naps in it, so I have really no idea why can't they just do the same for night time?!?!)

Life works in mysterious ways.

Yes.

Four years down the road and two kids later, we're still co-sleeping.

Well, in the beginning the reason was there wasn't enough space as my in laws were staying with us and now with them shifted out, I have no reason to not chase the boys into their own rooms right? Right.

One night I asked Benjamin how long does he intend to continue sleeping with us, and he replied,"When I'm twenty years old!"

Oh god no.

In between sleeping with a serial tosser and a grown man on a Queen size bed and sleeping on a kiddie mattress with Jeb on the floor, it has taken a toll on my back and neck. They're really not as nimble as before. Sad.

I did tempt Benjamin with the idea of having his own double decker bed when I showed him a picture of it in an Ikea catalogue though. He does seem a little receptive but his only criteria was that I have to sleep with him.

*cross-my-fingers-and-said-yes-but-its-just-to-molly-co-doodle-him-only*

I guess he did start young.
This was when Benjamin was 10 months old?

Dude, I want my bed back.

He takes pictures

Benjamin often asked for my phone to take pictures. Nah not really. He actually just wants my phone to play games and watch videos.

While he has cemented his position as the #selfie and #mostposer position in the family, sometimes as I scrolled through my phone to delete the hundreds of endless pictures of himself and his trains, occasionally I'll come across this...

And I see myself through his eyes.

A mother that feeds them, makes funny faces and of course, mama is more beautiful with a Thomas train right smacked on her nose.

Different strokes for different shots

Any parent with more than one kid could probably attest to this.

Going out IS a big event.

It doesn't even matter how small or big an outing is, so long as it involves strollers, bags, snacks, water bottles, diapers, lunch, dinner, toys, books and not forgetting the kids themselves. It is one huge logistics and planning nightmare. It's just planning, planning and more planning.

And the day of the outing itself, all the preparation and cajoling the kids to get dressed, washed up, packed up their toys would have already drained up all my energy before I even step out of the house. And I always, always contemplate not going out at the last minute, because all I want to do is to lie down and close my eyes.

Admittedly, an MRT station is just a walking distance away from my house and I try to plan my outings to be as near as possible and most importantly, accessible. And since the boys are bigger and older now, so its not that bad anymore. I'm more experienced now I guess?

crt + c all the way

These 2 couldn't be any more different.

October's end

I've turned T-H-I-R-T-Y T-W-O! Few weeks back that is, not today.

And I feel 22? Haha...

To sum up my October, I would have to say its a bitter sweet one.

Here goes...

We found out in early September that I was pregnant again and while the initial thoughts of "You gotta be kidding" and "You gotta be f***king kidding" churning in my mind, it quickly gave way to happy thoughts.

Both the husband and I were really truly happy at the thought of a third kid coming along and had even thought of some names for a girl (he just badly wanted a girl after 2 boys), and in the midst of all these while I was solo parenting while he was travelling for work, I guess somehow it didn't turn out to be.

And I guess I somehow had a feeling about it when during a visit to the gynae, he remarked that the yolk sac seems a little small for the gestational age, we just thought it could be due to my irregular period that causes it. So while a subsequent visit was made after 2 weeks, I began to bleed the following.

And again, I guess it was because I had some bleeding during my first pregnancy, I brushed it aside thinking its normal. What's not normal was, I continued bleeding and it became heavier. And perhaps it was already too late because the following visit showed that there was no baby at all.

I had braced myself for it and perhaps I already knew during the bleeding that it was not meant to be, I wasn't really affected by it.

But I guess it did affected me after all.

It just feels so strangely normal to me that while I was going through the miscarriage, I had to continue looking after my 2 boys. Mornings were spent preparing their breakfast and lunch and the afternoons were spent sending Benjamin to school, prepping Jeb for his nap, getting ready for dinner, picking Benjamin up from school, getting them ready for bed... and the same thing would continue again for the next day and the next.

And throughout this period, I had requested for leave to stay home to be with them and at the same time the gynae gave me some hormone pills to try and stabilise the pregnancy. So in between taking the hormone pills and blood tests, I was just being on auto pilot mode. Just doing my things and being with my kids.

So when the final scan revealed that there was indeed no baby, I decided to have the D&C to clear away the remains of the pregnancy. I had thought of going through with a natural miscarriage, that is waiting for my body to naturally expel it out, but I guess I had enough of all that blood. All in all, I was bleeding for close to a month.

And so, I went for the surgery on my birthday itself. Everything was pretty quick. All I remembered was falling into a deep sleep and then waking up in the recovery room. No pain or discomfort at all.

Aftermath?

Getting back into the groove by going on a holiday with the husband and heading back to work and sometimes I find myself feeling like it never did happened.

Do I feel pitiful for myself? No.

Regretful? Perhaps.

Am I considered strong? Not really. Because I did had a good cry and was feeling vulnerable and lonely without my husband around.

But this reality happened and I chose to take it in a positive light because well, life goes on.

So this pretty much sums up my October.

PS: I am really okay and writing about my miscarriage is something for me to remember. And there's nothing for me to hide because I feel that this is something that people generally seems to sweep it under the carpet.

Or it could be just me *shrugs shoulder*

PPS: I am still able to look at cute babies and coo over them. This whole episode just makes me love my boys even more and even more so, treasure them much more as each child is indeed a champion and also, how fleeting life can get. As I always tell Benjamin, anything can wait but not hugs and kisses. So go hug them and squeeze them tight! Plant a million gazillion kisses on them!

First

Anyone who knows my first born aka Benjamin knows he is a cheerful and chatty little boy. He is also warm, sensible, easy-going and generally a happy kid. I had it so easy with him that when my second kid aka Jeb came along, I thought it was end of the world. #dramaticbuttrue

I just love hanging out with Benjamin. He makes me laugh, makes me happy and it truly makes me feel so thankful that he is in my life. There are trying times since he tends to be on the sensitive side and gives up too easily, but I always remind myself that his good always outweighs those.

One of the many that I'll remember are the times when I had to nurse a newborn Jeb in the room and Benjamin would just play by himself in the living room for an hour without disturbing us. An hour! Or the times when I had to bring Jeb for his sleep and all has to real quiet in case any tiniest hint of a whisper wakes him up, Benjamin would come in the room and before I could barely open my mouth to shush him, he would look at me and said, "Mama I will be quiet. I will play quietly, I just want to be with you." 

Cue rolling tears please. 

He'll be turning 5 real soon and he's so looking forward to it being an official big boy and attending K1 next year. And these days, all I hear from him is, "Mama when I turn five years old, you must buy me a big train ok? A big Thomas, a big Gordon and a big Emily. Ok Mama? Ok?"

Sigh. 

It is so true that children grow up wayyyyyy too fast and in a blink of an eye, they're all fully grown and that just makes me...... old? Haha..

I just wanna kiss his squishy cheeks forever and ever. Or as Mariah Carey sings it right on the spot, Always be my baby.

M is for Mi-mo-sa

If you're looking for affordable and trendy shoes, look no further than Mimosa on Zalora! They have over 300 designs to choose ranging from flats, wedges, booties, sandals, loafers and boots to boot too!

Some of the designs that caught my eye...

Alexis Chelsea Boots

Linnea Flower Lace Ups

Deviena Jewel Strip Flats

Alexis Chelsea Boots

 

Prices range from $19.90 - $46.90, definitely pocket friendly!

PS: Go take a look see now and get a S$10 voucher when you sign up for their newsletter! While you're at it, use my voucher code ZBAPPpe* during check out for additional 15% off!
*valid only for new customer

PPS: This post has been brought to you by Zalora.