Ingredients of a nurturing family

“Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible – the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.”

- Virginia Satir

Ingredients of a nurturing family: 3 cups of love, 2 cups of appreciation, 2 cups of open communication, 1 cup of patience, 1 cup of understanding, 1 cup of forgiveness, 1 packet of doing things together, 1 cup of kisses, 1 cup of laughter, 1 cup of generosity. Mix them altogether, stir frequently with tenderness and sprinkle freely with kindness and serve daily to your family.

"I'm not able to talk yet, but when I do ..."

~ "I'm not able to talk yet, but when I do, I will tell you how much I love you!" ~

"To bind by respect & gentleness”

“It is better to bind your children to you by a feeling of respect and by gentleness than by fear.”

- Terence

Children who live in fear will grow up with fear thus viewing life as bleak and dreary. They may not dare to try new endeavors for fear of failure. Children on the other hand, who are brought up with respect and in a trusting environment, will grow into confident beings that have a zest for life and a positive disposition.

"Rediscover joy, excitement & mystery”

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.”

- Rachel Carson

~ Princess Chelsea having a jolly good time! ~

~ Prince Christian holding on for dear life ~

Elephants feeding w/ Mervin @ the Zoo

Every time Princess Chelsea visits the Zoo, she has a new experience, and that should be the reason why she is such a fan. Mention the possibility of a zoo visit to her, and she would be feeling so excited.

On the other hand, mention the possibility of a zoo visit to Daddy Tiong, and he would be showing a look of protest. No doubt, as it would be a day of sheer hard physical work.

This time, Princess Chelsea experienced the feeding of bananas to elephants. She was so amazed at the size of the elephants’ nostrils.

~ Princess Chelsea with God-Pa Mervin ~

~ Getting ready to feed the elephants ~

~ Actual feeding ~

~ “Come on, come and take the bananas!” ~

~ With all respect to Ah-Meng ~

~ Getting a kiss from the friendly sea-lion ~

PS:
This visit was made possible by God-Pa Mervin, who so kindly balloted for the Corporate Zoo pass. Thank you, Mervin!

Blame it on the heat, perspiration, itch

Certainly not one of Mummy Eliz’s proudest moments.

Not too long ago, consumed by anger, Mummy Eliz flared up at Princess Chelsea for spilling drinks on her for the third time in a week.

Yes, Princess Chelsea is only 2 years old, but Mummy Eliz is only human. So the heat, the perspiration, and the itchy skin get the blame.

Nite Safari’s Creatures of the Nite show

With a super wacky host, who reacts brilliantly to situations capturing the audiences’ full attention, the Nite Safari’s Creatures of the Nite show is certainly a most enjoyable show.

Now Mummy Eliz can finally understand why the Nite Safari is among the top 10 most visited tourist attractions in Singapore.

Our second visit stretched a long 4 hours, reaching at 8pm, and only leaving at 12am. This is the first time we ever visited a place till mid-night, and what’s more with two little ones in tow.

~ The sister-brother pair w/ Uncle John & Lu ~

~ Princess Chelsea admiring Lu ~

~ Family picture w/ dearest Meiway ~

~ Enjoying herself w/ Lu ~

~ Princess Chelsea w/ Uncle John & Lu ~

~ Family picture taken at the entrance of The Nite Safari ~

PS:

Greatest appreciated extended to Mummy’s Eliz long-time friend, Auntie Meiway for letting us have such a wonderful experience. Meiway is certainly the best customer experience personnel the Nite Safari can have!

"Playtime, an essential part of daily routines”

“A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routines.”
- Anonymous

Parents can certainly learn much from children’s sincerity of being “joyful”; looking at everything through the lens of wonderment and exploration.

Outing to Hay Diary Farm w/ Mabel's Family

Goats' milk is generally considered the second-best milk, inferior only to breast-milk.

Goats' milk is a great substitute to those who are allergic to cow’s milk, and human babies are able to absorb goat’s milk better than cow’s milk due to its unique snowflake structure.

A discussion on the AsiaParents forum, which resulted in the conclusions above inspired this visit to the Hay Diary Farm located near Kranji.

Everyone had a great time feeding the goats. The only regret is that we missed the milking session which is from 9:30am till 10:30am.

~ Princess Chelsea feeding the goats with purchased Hay ~

~ Princess Chelsea stroking the goat kid with lots of tenderness ~

~ Prince Christian also wants a slice of the action ~

~ With Daddy ~

PS:

Thank you so much, Auntie Aileen, for planning this trip, and also ferrying us there. We really appreciate it a lot.

“The Big Adventure in the Stomach”

Princess Chelsea really enjoyed the animation movie “The Big Adventure in the Stomach” with Biffy & Lacto.

Lots of questions were asked, and she requested for the story synopsis to be read to her at least thrice during the tour, and another twice when we reached home.

A screening of the movie was done at the start of the Yakult Factory Tour that we went on with our usual informal playgroup friends. The whole tour lasted about 45 minutes.

Princess Chelsea requested to go back there again, thus one can tell that she enjoyed the tour.

~ Waiting for bus no. 856 to bring us to the Yakult Factory ~

~ Princess Chelsea squeezing in for a picture with smiley Auntie Annabella and son, Anton ~

~ Group photo ~

~ “Thank you Mummy for bringing me to the Yakult Factory!” ~

~ The two Yakult-selling Ladies, any one willing to buy Yakult? ~

~ “We LOVE Yakult!!” ~

PS:

Extra thanks to Auntie Aileen for taking the effort to coordinate the outing.

"To reach for the sun... ..."

“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.”

- Joyce Maynard

“I want to be a fire-fighter... ..."

That was Princess Chelsea’s response when being asked the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

That answer certainly has a lot to do with our recent visit to the Bishan Fire Station, with our usual group of playgroup friends on a hot sunny Saturday afternoon.

It was an eye-opening experience as we went on a tour around the station, got lifted up to more than 7 storeys high, and saw for ourselves the only Ventilation Vehicle in the whole of Singapore.

As souvenirs, we took home fire-fighters’ hat, some educational children’s activity book, and of course, great memories!

~ Princess Chelsea onboard the fire motorcycle ~

~ Now it is our little Prince Christian’s turn ~

~ Our family of 4 ~

~ Princess Chelsea trying out the Super Spray ~

~ The kiddos onboard the fire engine ~

~ Group photo ~

PS:

If you are thinking of visiting the fire station, do check out the Central one, as it also features a free museum. We would certainly check that out one day!

"Gratitude.. a continuous attitude."

"Gratitude should not be an occasional incident but a continuous attitude."
- A signature of a member of the free-cycle group.

Mummy Eliz found the about statement very thought-provoking.

Chelsea's HOT! Date w/ Daddy @ The Zoo

On a hot Saturday morning, Daddy Tiong brought Princess Chelsea on an excursion to the Singapore Zoological Gardens.

Mummy Eliz arrowed Daddy Tiong to use up the last complimentary zoo ticket, and his task for the day was to ensure Princess Chelsea experienced the Elephant Ride.

Half a day later and armed with the following 2 pics, Daddy Tiong proudly announced that he had successfully completed his task, and a satisfied Princess Chelsea declared that her Daddy is the best Daddy in the world.

~ Princess Chelsea enjoying her ride on a pony ~

~ With Daddy Tiong onboard an Elephant ~

PS:

The Singapore Zoo is getting pretty commercial these days, despite having complimentary entry, Daddy Tiong still had to part with tens of dollars just to get his hands on the pictures.