Summer Fun

It is getting chilly at night, guess that's a sign Autumn is approaching. This is great as mummy loves Autumn and also partly cos' my darlings can't stand the summer heat. We have not been going for our morning walk for a while and guess we will be able to resume that very soon.

Nonetheless, we had a great Summer time too.

Fishing fun and sometimes soaking in the pool when the weather is hot.

My darlings love playing with "playcorn", a Korean product which is styrofoam-like and will stick together/melt when in contact with water. It can be compressed into brick or cut with a kiddy knife provided. Then you can use it to make different 2D and even 3D characters. A great creativity-stimilus for kids.

My Cutie (above) is showing us her ice-cream on a stick.

Mummy made an ice-cream on a cone for my Sweetie.

My darlings had a lot of fun playing with their blocks which are often transformed into guns, cameras and Building 63 (haha... my Cutie says so as she remembered our trip there). Here's my Cutie with her 7-11 stores (each set of red/green represents 1 store).

My Sweetie also came up with a great idea to play with her birthday present. Guess standing is too tiring, so she got her chair and attached to it. Hee... now this is what we called a real scooter.

Of course, we got some outdoor fun too when the weather was fine.

See how fascinated my Cutie was, with the flower in her hand.

R & B (Mix) Concert

After listening to the "Sorry, Sorry" song (by Super Junior, K-pop band) so often, now my darlings are learning to sing like them.

Hope they will not be influenced by the latest hit "I Don't Care" (by 2NE1, another K-pop band). Hee... can't imagine asking them for help and then they replied "I don't care". Kekeke....

Partners-for-life

Been lazing at home since Daddy was unable to walk much (due to some bad pain on his lower back). Days passed by quickly as mummy and daddy were busy playing our nintendo DS (yes, have bougt another one as daddy was constantly hogging my old one).

Really enjoyed playing Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (I & II). It was a great game which involves a lot of wits and knowledge while taking on the role a defence attorney.

We had also watched one of the latest K-drama (The Partner) which is also about attorneys. Strongly recommend this show which will hee... make you smarter. In the drama, the character acted by Lee Dong-Wook (whom mummy finds him look like Pastor Prince of New Creation Church, haha... mummy's favourite pastor) is great in adding humour to the show.

Recently, had also read an article that questions the reliability of DNA. If there's the possibility of fabricating one's DNA, guess it is going to be harder for the defendants (or rather, defence attorneys) to prove their innocence in future.

From the game and show, think mummy has gained more brain power, many interesting "life experiences" and also learned to understand things better from different perspectives.

As having been a SAHM for a while, mummy has almost forgotten about the presence of "office politics" and power struggle. It's quite sad that many crimes had been committed due to one being a slave for money and power quest.

Had also managed to watch the popular Singapore drama "The Little Nyonya" on youtube. Now can understand why it had won such high viewership. It also presented a strong fight against the rich and influential. It's sad too that the children of the Nyonyas often have no say on their choice of marriage partners.

Whenever mummy looks at my darlings, I can understand why God loves the sweet innocent-looking little ones. Sadly, life seems to change as one gets older.

Mummy knows one day, my darlings will grow up and experience the real world. Mummy prays that they will be protected from the evil ones and enjoy good health and life. And of course, to find the right partners for life and live happily ever after.

On the left, are 3 pieces of ceramics that we had made on our visit to a kiln at Icheon Ceramics Village 한청도예 (only received the final products recently).

The 2 handprints record the current handprint size of my darlings and of course, the 2 piggies represent them together.

Mummy pray that these 2 sisters will be a partner for each other thru'out their lives.

Jimjibang

Mummy has been curious about the jimjibang (찜질방) in Korea after seeing it on the K-drama Hearts of 19 sometimes ago. It is actually a 24-hour bath house with a few other facilities for people to relax. It is a vey popular joint for the Koreans. So finally, after being homebound for days, we decided to visit one.

As it was quite a last minute decision and we have no idea the location of the jimjibang, it was almost evening time when we managed to find one. We paid about 40,000 won in total for a few hours of "fun" inside (including dinner). This is actually expensive as we didn't use the bath and sauna facilities, haha... maybe should have saved up the money and gone for an enjoyable meal at Din Tai Feng (鼎泰丰).

My darlings were very excited to change into the clothes provided for customers. Of course, they love the indoor playground too and also running around the spacious jimjibang. Mummy and daddy had fun at the fish spa too which brought back the happy memory of us at the Qianhu Fish Farm in Singapore about a year ago. Daddy also had a go at the massage chair.

After our dinner of 칼국수 (clams with noodles), we had a nap together on a mat. There's actually small individual cubicle for one to nap in peace, but mummy can't help but associates them with the kennel for dogs. Don't feel good sleeping in an almost "enclosed" cubicle too.

Maybe we were lucky that there wasn't really a big crowd in that early evening, so we actually felt peaceful and relaxed at the jimjibang. But to us, there's no better place than home. Nevertheless, that had been a fun and exciting experience.


The picture above was taken at the fish spa, gee... love their mickey's ears (hee... got the idea from k-drama).

[will try to put up a few more pictures later as unable to download pictures from my handphone at the moment].

Pappy

Give it a try. Call "papa" and "daddy" alternatively non-stop and see what you ended with.

Mummy has this problem last time while indecisive whether to call "papa" or "daddy" and thus ended up with "pappy". Recently, my Cutie also encountered the same situation. We had a good laugh over this as daddy can't help wondering why we seem to have the habit of calling him "pappy" (which hee... sounds like "puppy").

The other day, to our surprise, we heard Dora addressed her father as "pappy" in the show. Surprisingly, Pappy is, in fact, Spanish language for "father". So cute, really wonder did the word originate in the same manner as our situation?

Talking about this Cutie, here's a picture of her with her "DSLR camera" cos' recently Daddy has bought the Canon EOS500D DSLR (this camera has won a thumb-up from mummy) and this Cutie just loves to imitate what her daddy does, haha... with her toy. Below picture is my Cutie with her "oranges" (hee...actually basketball and balloon in netting).

This Cutie has, in fact, grown up a lot over the past few months. A great helper to mummy - to switch on/off lights, take things from another room, take things from the refrigerator, pack her toys and best of all, is to help to take care of and play with her Meimei.

In addition, this Cutie has improved tremendously in reading, not just simple words). Mummy realises this few months back when she asked me "What is Every Little Thing?" as she pointed to the words on television (which was then showing the MTV for J-pop band "Every Little Thing" singing "Sakurabito"). Mummy was quite taken aback that she could read them correctly. Last month, she surprised me again when we were at Everland. She looked at the signboards below and read "fruit bat" and "eagle owl) to me.

Yesterday, Mummy has bought a packet of roasted sweet potatoes snack and told her it is sweet potatoes when she asked. Then she looked at the wrapper and read "roasted sweet potatoes" and mummy was really stunned with what I heard.







Why is mummy surprised? Cos' I haven't been spending time to teach her reading and yet this little girl was able to do it herself. Guess her love for books is the main reason and also her phonics foundation helps too.


Her use of tenses is also improving. She knows when to use "found", "have eaten" etc. From this, guess that's how she can tell me she "has keepen" (has kept) her toys". If based on the 6 Developmental Stages in Reading by Jeanne Chall (an expert on reading development), my Cutie should be at the Grades 1-2 (Reading/Decoding) stage and my Cutie is only 3 years 4 months old now. She has surpassed the Prereading stage (birth to kindergarten).

Mummy is quite speechless and of course happy and proud of my Cutie.

Yeah, life is getting better for mummy - this great helper can to help to read stories to my Sweetie in future. *wink*

Seoul Trip (Part 4 - InsaDong)

During our tour to Insadong (인사둥), we went to a side alley while sheltering from the rain. And... we were surprised to find a 6-storey mall (Ssamziegil 쌈지길) behind this traditional street and *sigh* it has no lift. We went to a book cafe called "Between Pages" for some refreshment and browsed through the English magazines (no books to read cos' all are in Korean language). Gee... can you find my darlings inside the cafe in the 1st picture above?



The picture on the left was taken at the same time as the 1st picture above.



The cosy ambience and being surrounded by books and magazines, just energises one with the desire to read a book/magazine too.

And my darlings enjoyed their afternoon nap there as well.

We found this Korean cartoon character "Dalki" on the 1st floor. Then we bought the Dalki pancakes too and haha... 2 of the pancakes we got were in the shapes of "poopoo", hee... nonetheless it was still yummy.








During this trip, mummy was actually more interested in shopping for cosmetics/skincare products. Guess my darlings became bored and knew how to keep themselves entertained (hee... or rather others entertained) with their dance and songs.

My Sweetie has already mastered the art of belly-dancing, hee... at the age of 2. Guess she can be quite a good dancer in future.

Seoul Trip (Part 4 - Cheonggye Stream / COEX)

Cheonggyecheon (청계천) is a long stream that has been restored in downtown Seoul. It's a unique experience to enjoy nature in an urban environment. You may not believe that this stream was once covered up with a highway built over it.

The 1st picture shows the starting point of the stream where the fountain is. The breeze brought about by the waterfall was great in keeping us cool from the hot summer heat. Guess maybe that's the reason that draws many especially the locals to this stream.

We had a long walk down this stream, but we never got to see the end (cos' it's about 6km). Nevertheless, it's great to have a nice family walk along the stream and my darlings really enjoyed stepping onto the rocks while crossing the stream.

Another of mummy's favourites was shopping at COEX - a big shopping centre here in Seoul (maybe like our Suntec City). It is here where you can find more international cuisine, but the choice of food in Mache was a little disappointing. Really misses Singapore where the shopping malls are just a step away in any town. Haha... bet by now you know why we (mummy and darlings) love COEX... this is where the Hello Kitty Gift Shop is located.

Ever since we came to Korea last year, we had never had the chance to experience the subway. So this time, we had the chance to use the public transport. The picture on the left was taken inside the train. Thank God we didn't bring the stroller along, can't imagine going up and down the numerous flight of stairs with it (cos' most stations do not have escalators/lifts).

Mummy had to hold tightly to my darlings while waiting for the trains as most stations do not have the screen doors or even if have, the doors are usually left "open" throughout. The platform waiting area was also quite small (maybe cos' it's only for 1 direction). Really too dangerous for the little ones. What an experience.

Hee... the photo on the left is our famous Singapore Breadtalk recently opened at MyeongDong. But oh my, the cost of the popular Floss Bread was doubled that of its usual pricing. After some thots, think it's quite normal cos' things usually cost more after "flying overeseas". In fact, it's the same for the kaya toasts that we had at the Singapore Toast Cafe and also Yakun. Yet the kaya was so little thinly spread. Haha... not to worry, will be going back Singapore real soon and then we can eat to our hearts' content. Yummy, yummy.

Seoul Trip (Part 3 - Nami Island)

Namiseom (남이섬) is where the popular K-drama (Winter Sonata 冬季恋歌) was filmed. A great place for relaxation and beautiful scenery. Mummy was surprised that the place was crowded with people even on a weekday, can't imagine the situation on a weekend.

So, it's really quite impossible to capture the 2nd picture with nobody in the background. We were lucky that it had rained then and it was evening time when the rain stopped (ie. the crowd had left).

This is the riverside bench where the main leads made the snowmen and had their 1st kiss. Hee... my darlings were having fun with their Titanic iconic pose (really wonder where they got the idea from when they have yet to watch Titanic?). Oh, so romantic.

Daddy says this Sweetie looks like the lead actress "Choi Ji Woo". Haha... what do you think?

Seoul Trip (Part 2 - Daejanggeum Theme Park)

This K-drama (Jewel in the Palace 大长今 대장금）has great affinity with mummy and darlings. It was aired on television when mummy was pregnant with Cutie. Then, mummy watched the show again when Cutie was just born. Mummy got to watch it for the 3rd time when the show was aired again, this time when mummy was pregnant with Sweetie.

Mummy will want to watch the show again and this time round, with my 2 little princesses (hee... out of my tummy). Bet they will love the show too and may, in fact, wondering why the show especially the theme song sounds so familar, gee...

At the theme park, we were honoured to have "He Shang Gong" [ "He" pronounced as "her"] (not Cui Shang Gong or Han Shang Gong hee...) to serve some delicious food to my 2 little darlings. *grin*

It's great to reminisce the various scenes as shown in the drama, bringing back sweet memories of those days when mummy was preggy with my darlings.

This is the library with some "medical books" on display. My Cutie just loves flipping through the books.

This pavillion is where the young Chang Jin put the pine nuts thru the twigs. Next to it, we found the secret jar hidden by her mother and Han Shang Gong. Haha... very surprise to find "gold" inside.

After that, we had some fun playing with the bow and arrows at the venue where the king competed with Min Zheng Hao over Chang Jin. However, it was a little squirrel that wandered into the area that really got my little ones excited. Haha...

Free & Easy Seoul

Were away for a 8-day Seoul trip last week. It's really fun and enjoyable cos' it's free and easy. The week before that, we also had gone to Seoul on a 3-day group tour with the rest of expat families here.

Not that we do not enjoy the company of the other families, it just that it's too stressful to be on a group tour when you have 2 young toddlers to take care of.

First, on a group tour, we will have to wake up earlier. Then we have to carry the babies around while they were still in dreamy land. During mealtimes, we often have to try to finish our food fast so as not to keep others waiting (since the other half of time has been spent feeding our little ones). Then we have to bring our babies for toilet breaks etc etc. It is in fact, a stressful and tiring tour whereas we have to try to move/eat fast so as to keep pace with the tour.

Whereas during our free & easy, we can choose to wake up a little later, stay longer at a destination if we like and enjoy our meals with no stress and best of all, adjust our itinerary accordingly to what we want that day.

Haha... somehow food (rather than shopping) had become the main focus of our tour. We had specially gone to the Yakun Kaya Toast, Din Tai Feng, Breadtalk, Mache and the Kopitiam Kaya Toast - Singapore Toast Cafe (which we happened to bump by chance), in order to satisfy our tastebuds, gee... now truly understands why Eating is Singaporean's favourite pastime].

Yummy, yummy. (if you have been to Singapore, you will find the above places familiar. It's so common in Singapore, yet it's so rare here in Korea).

Amazingly, shopping at Itaewon, Nandaemun, Dongdaemun, Insadong and Myeongdong did not give mummy much thrills as expected. Rather, mummy enjoyed the trips to Nami Island (filming location of "Winter Sonata"), Daejanggeum Theme Park (filming location of "Jewel in the Palace 大长今") and Cheonggyechoen (stream) more. Will write another entry about these places soon.

Having been away from Singapore for a while, somehow we were very excited whenever we came across the Singapore's flag or anything with the name "Singapore" like the Singapore Toast Cafe mentioned above. Hee... the picture on the left was taken at the Nami Island which had an exhibition of stories all over the world.

In advance, here wishing Singapore a Happy 44th Birthday too.