(a little note: about the part on the rattlesnake, coincidentally, an episode of The Pink Panther was shown after we’d read this a few times together, where the panther accidentally stole a basket containing a baby instead of food during a picnic scene and in an effort to pacify the said baby, now crying, he’d removed the end of the rattlesnake’s tail to give to the baby as a rattle, and i guess this left such an impression with the kids that they associate it with this particular rattlesnake every time.)

(also, another note: they will inevitably ask the same question in every story with illustrations – “where’s the daddy/mummy/baby?” not sure why but there’s always a concern for the whereabouts of a missing family member in the story.)

we went for a ‘thematic approach’.

we spelled, counted, measured, talked about what the ingredients did, passed around the vanilla essence for everyone to smell….

we scooped, stirred, broke eggs, took turns, resolved conflicts…

we rolled dough, created shapes, sprinkled rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips…

and with the smell of cookies baking in the oven, we did some storytelling… bilingually, too.

and of course, we tasted the fresh, warm, home-baked cookies, nevermind the dubious hygiene level of the cookie-makers, lol. they tasted pretty good, actually, despite the fact that we didn’t follow the ingredients too closely (seeing how things kept spilling).

we balanced tea time with fruits and nuts and then it was free play…

and we got hungry again at dinnertime, so we made some pizza. the little chefs were actually more interested in piling stuff on the dough than eating the final product, though they did collectively run to the oven every few seconds to peep through the oven door. so the ones who eventually ate were the adults, who also got creative and designed their own satay pizza (izad’s family are in the satay business, so it’s a staple at every function – the satay and peanut sauce are awesome.)

inspired by the success of this playgroup session, we’ve assigned the daddies to take over the next one. something less domestic and more outdoorsy… though it’d be interesting if they could conduct, oh i don’t know… origami or scrapbooking, maybe?? :p

had the mid-year parent-teacher-conference with aniq’s teachers last saturday. nothing much we don’t already know, really. basically that he CAN’T KEEP STILL (his hands and mouth are always moving!), very expressive, not shy, and gets along with everyone… and no, he still doesn’t read, like 75% of his class (i asked!) but recognises most alphabets (though still gets some of them mixed up). and i suppose there IS improvement in those slightly legible chicken scrawls… lol. i know i’m not supposed to worry TOO much, and shouldn’t be comparing, and he IS a december baby, so tendency to have to catch up with his cohort… but he likes schooling and learning enough to not complain or whine about it at this point, and loves getting us to read to him, so i guess that’s good enough for now. (but dammit, off to phonics class you go to, little boy…)

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brought not two but three kids who were excellent company, with nary a whimper or complaint despite the slightly schizo weather and long, snaking queues.

20- to 90-minute queues for 3-minute rides! we ended up on most of the kiddy rides, as you can see.

we had the most fun at Shrek’s Far Far Away land, especially the 4D show. and what’s with everything going 3D these days? saw a whole set of fairy tale books at Times the other day with 3D glasses, i mean, what’s next, assessment books in 3D?!

anyway, aniq and adam had their first taste of the rollercoaster. a junior one, short but thrilling nonetheless – and i think they were fairly traumatised. no tears but a little dazed at the end, and when asked if they wanna go on a rollercoaster again, they unanimously went “DOWAN!”. dem wussies, i tell you.

so we were wondering, with the current hype on Shrek 3, all the wonderful details in Far Far Away land, and obviously a lot of money poured into building it, will our Universal Studios be stuck with this theme forever after? the Jurassic Park theme already feels dated, the last movie was what, almost 10 years ago?, and even the merchandise weren’t so compelling (except for that $15 dinosaur tumbler thingy we bought – with our free voucher of course – similar to one my parents got me when we went to Universal Studios in LA a loooong time ago! #relivingmychildhood).

look, Gingy and 2 donkeys! (Gingy’s my favourite character, btw. he just looks… delicious.)

Ancient Egypt, where i could not help but ogle at the model on stilts with perfectly smooth and sculpted washboard abs, and OH, that pelvis (if it were a Greek theme, he’d be Adonis). the other highlight was the Revenge of The Mummy ride, which was the only adult ride izad and i managed to go on while the kids were in another queue. tip for mums and dads – strategise your rides!

2 of the Battlestar Galactica rides in Sci-fi City were down, which was probably why we were compensated with all those free vouchers. i’m quite a sucker for rollercoasters, so it was quite a bummer. but the kids loved this one, an updated version of the spinning teacup.

feeling New York…

and Hollywood…

the rides and shows end at 7pm, which was about the time we came back to the starting point. you’d think the kids would be pooped by now…

but nooo, especially when there’s a Hershey’s chocolate store outside. and the wonderful smell of Garrett’s caramel popcorn!

some points:
- i liked that most of the restaurants are certified halal, so we didn’t need to lug around a picnic basket, and with active and perpetually hungry kids, the food joints were convenient for a quick meal on the go or while waiting in queues.
- wish the rides were generally longer, but i suppose if they were designed longer, waiting time would double, and besides, sentosa’s too land-scarce as it is to build any bigger backlots. but perhaps they could do tram ride tours or something to ease the queues?
- i hear that you can enter from 7pm-9pm for $2 on fridays and saturdays, just to walk around, eat and shop. that sounds like a cheap yet fabulous date! coz it’s quite nice at night, lively and scenic.
- ouh, parking at the place itself, while convenient, was costly. goodbye $20 from our cashcard, lol. and that didn’t include the $7 entrance fee at sentosa. there are shuttle buses, of course, but we were too lazy to lug around the kids and stroller, etc up and down buses. SPOILT lor!
- i’d probably go again. maybe without kids the next time. :p

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sometimes it’d be kinda nice to have a mute button for the shrill “I WANT MUMMY! I WANT MUMMY!” (repeat x 18356 times) coming out of the children, and a delete button for their individual ways of driving me up the wall. or even a reboot button on exasperating days.

but oh well. am thankful nonetheless. srsly.

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i’d developed a ‘fascination‘ with the fairy tale classics in the recent months, having realised what a treasure trove of rather twisted, backdated values, ideals and morals they represented, as i re-read (and over-analyse) them as an adult. it made me question how relevant these stories are in our modern times, and whether they are worth being retold, being so far removed from that world – where characters lived in woods amongst preying creatures; where occupations were predominantly menial; where the females were mostly depicted as being vapid, preoccupied with beauty, and matrimony was the ultimate goal; and where the males were the overall archetypal saviour. there was so much going on in those stories that the more i read them, the more i baulked at the logic, but LOL-ed at them anyway because come on hana, THEY’RE JUST STORIES FOR CHILDREN, right? who cares if Father Bear and Mother Bear slept on separate beds, or whether Rapunzel’s hair could actually withstand the weight of a grown man, or why anyone would want to kiss a dead woman in a glass coffin unless he’s a serial necrophiliac?

but the moralist nazi in me says, all stories MUST have a moral, dammit! so i wrangle them out as best as i can after every “The End”. i mean, surely there’s value to these classics for them to be so time-honoured, however preposterous they may appear to such a sceptic reader. and i do get that the universality of the themes of these western tales serve the purpose of creating a kind of collective consciousness. plus, anything that promotes literacy and the love of literature wins points in my books any time.

so anyway, for me, the one story that stands out the most with its richness in symbols is the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. from the colour red, to the chasteness of the cloak, to the naivety of the girl, to the wolf’s nature and true intention…

man, i could go on, but i won’t! coz for now, let’s just focus on HOW CUTE the children at the fairytale party were, shall we?

let me introduce to you the characters who appeared:

here’s Peter Pan, who flew in specially from Never Never Land for the party.

Snow White, who took time-off from the slavedriving dwarves. (btw, she won Best Dressed for her mummy’s excellent effort in creating and sewing her costume from scratch. kudos! the non-domestic goddess me is still in total awe.)

I think Alice’s Queen of Hearts’ husband, the King of Hearts, came in his mommy’s best shawl and brooch.

Aye aye, Captain Hook! where’s ye eye-patch, matey?

The Wild Thing put on his best brandon flowers’-inspired guyliner for the occasion. “let the wild rumpus begin!”

The Three Blind Mice. See where they, err, hide.

2 out of the 7 Dwarves came with their chaperone. (along with 4 Giants.)

a little fairy who was supposed to be Puss in Boots (notty pussycat!) but i guess her footwear was sent for mending at the Elves and the Shoemaker’s.

the activities kept them busy…

attempt at group photo. call in the trolls!

Gingerbread Boys and Girls, thanks to Kak Chomel, esah’s sister. off you go, into the baskets, before the greedy foxes eat you up.

special thanks to Keatar, my SIL’s BIL, for making these masks with his own bare hands. (ok, i’m sure there were scissors and glue involved, heh.)

special thanks to Ayu aka Simply Cupcakes @justjetaime, for presenting us with the cake.

“and i’ll HUFF, and i’ll PUFF, and i’ll BLOW THE CANDLE OUT!”

to family and friends who came to share the fun, on behalf of auni – THANK YOU! we’ll make darned sure auni remembers this birthday for the rest of her life. she’s already said “i LIKE!” when we asked if she liked her birthday party. (we also just reminded aniq of *his* 2nd superhero party by showing him the photos as evidence of our equal effort – he kinda forgot but now he’s really pleased with his parents, so.. yey us? ha ha.)

ps: special mention to the Daddy for his kickass side dish of homemade mexican chilli beans in taco shells and wraps. (trivia: his original plan was to cook kachang pool and nasi lemak, but i convinced him otherwise – lol.)

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another thing we like to do is go “who wants to [fill in activity]?” eg. “who wants to eat ice-cream?” (“ME!”) or “who wants to go swimming?” (“ME!”) etc. the daddy thinks sometimes they don’t even hear what he’s suggesting, they simply go “ME!” coz they don’t want to lose out. so he tried an experiment by garbling his words. “who wants to grgmmbfyabbayabbabla?” “ME!!”

for the purpose of this photo exercise, i’d asked “who wants to eat popcorn later?”. guess the answer.

i don’t know how they can be so chipper in the morning. they came back late from a party last night (bad parenting, as usual), yet here they are, all ready to take on the world the next morning… while we adults are cursing away the monday blues.

and i better remember my popcorn promise later in the evening.

now, who’s going to have a great week ahead?

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the girl’s turning two in a month’s time, and yes, it’s time for another round of party planning. if you could help me think of a theme i haven’t already done, i’d greatly appreciate it. (and no, still NO pink/princesses please. she has at least eight more years of birthdays to decide that for herself!)

hmm. it wouldn’t be too crazy if we made everyone come as lady gaga, would it…?

[update: theme decided! ok go!]

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1. investing in a good string and spool makes a difference in the kite-flying experience.
2. expect false starts in the beginning – not all kites soar immediately, depending on its shape, size, material, the wind, your skillfulness, and luck.
3. there are a lot of kites up there and everyone’s competing for air space, but therein lies the challenge; solitary kite-flying’s just not as fun.
4. once your kite is up, let go of the string – slowly, or it’ll reel off uncontrollably; tug it or reel it back in occasionally so it’ll stay on course.
5. guide and navigate your kite with care, especially when you see it dip to the ground or about to get tangled up with wayward kites.
6. the easiest solution when strings become entangled in a confusing mess is to burn the knots and shorten the string; but untangle them patiently and you get to keep your strings intact.
7. let go as much of the string as you can, but keep the end tied tightly to your spool.

and most importantly,

8. never leave your spool unattended in a very young child’s hand – your kite is, more often than not, likely to fly away. far, far away. lol.

and that was what happened to our kite. i’d let her hold the spool, with the string at the end of its tethers, thinking it an exercise in trust and confidence for the little tyke, but unfortunately, the poor kite fell to its untimely demise upon a construction site some unreachable distance away from the field where we were at. oh well,

9. sometimes, kites fly away. you gotta just let go and move on.

10. we are SO not getting another kite.

coz the little boys, for whose benefit we went kite-flying in the first place, were more distracted by the open field of opportunities to run wild with their imagination and creativity (and causing general mayhem in the process). well, at least that’s free.

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