Our ABC Soup (Carrot, Potato & Tomato Soup)

ABC soup? But there are no letters A, B and C "swimming" in the soup, you may wonder.

Our version of ABC soup consists of carrot, potato and tomato. There are many variations of ABC soup, most recipes include onions, while some recipes include pork ribs, or chicken, or sweet corn. 

Back to the question, why is this soup called ABC soup? I can think of two reasons.

Reason #1: The nutrition in the ingredients

Carrot - Vitamin A

Potato - Vitamin B6

Tomato - Vitamin C

These vitamins are important for children's growth. Vitamin A is essential for healthy skin, eyes and immune responses, while Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C are important for maintaining a healthy immune system.

Reason #2: Preparing this soup is as simple as ABC!

Even lazy cooking mama like me find the recipe super easy!

Ingredients (serving 4):
2 carrots
3 medium size Russet potato
2 tomatoes
2 litres of water

Instruction:

1. Peel carrots, cut into chunks
2. Slice each tomato into 4-6 wedges
3. Peel potatoes, cut into large chunks. Do not cut potatoes into small pieces, as the potatoes would become very soft and would be fragmented if they are cut into small pieces. You may consider peeling and cutting the potatoes last, or put the potatoes chunks in a bowl of water. This is to prevent the potatoes from turning brown (oxidised).
4. Boil water.
5. Put all ingredients into the boiling water, simmer over low fire for 30 minutes.

However, Pei Pei and Hao Hao did not really like the taste of tomato! So I would consider using sweet corns next time!

Panda Bento

Though we didn't visit the pandas Jia Jia and Kai Kai at the zoo yesterday (as we went there specially for the Rainforest Kidzworld), Pei Pei and Hao Hao still remembered the two pandas they had seen during the previous visit.

So they have Panda bento for lunch today!

Family Friendly Restaurant - Ikea Restaurant Tampines

Ikea Tampines is one of our favourite places to visit, because there is a FREE carpark, a FREE indoor playground, and the store itself is also a big FREE playground for Pei Pei and Hao Hao!

Recently the restaurant has undergone renovation, and it is now even more family friendly!

First of all, there is a special "Family Corner" with round tables. There is a  label on the table. 

It is really a nightmare to lug along two kids to search high and low for a table in a crowded restaurant, I need three eyes - keep one eye on Pei Pei, one eye on Hao Hao, and one eye to look out for a table! So as a parent with two young children, I definitely give thumbs up for this idea! (But again, some people without children would still fight with families with children for tables in the area. Probably they don't notice the sign, it must be the haze!)

Next, there is a new children's play area next to the Family Corner. The play area has different toys - 5 kitchen sets, magnetic train and track, abacus, rocker and so on. 

Playing in the area serves as a reward for Pei Pei and Hao Hao to finish their meal! It is also a reward for us to enjoy a cup of coffee while they are playing!

Updated in July 2015:
The restaurant has undergone some renovation, and now the play area is changed.

Water Playground in Singapore Zoo - Rainforest Kidzworld

This is Pei Pei and Hao Hao's third time visiting the Singapore Zoo this year. We spent only a few minutes saying hi to the animals, because we were there specially to have fun at the water playground - Rainforest Kidzworld!

We reached that at 9+am, it was not too hot (yet) and we were the first family to reach there! 

To parents who are taking photos to capture the special moments: Look out for the overhead buckets! Water is poured out once the bucket is filled! I nearly got myself drenched while taking photos! 

Poor Hao Hao had a head-on water pour, and he was so angry that he bashed up the pole!

In celebration of the zoo's 40th birthday, there is a promotion of 40% off admission for the month of July 2013! The tickets for adult and children are $13.20 (U.P. $22) and $8.40 (U.P. $14) respectively! Print the coupon before you go!

Singing Bone Hello Kitty Bento

I am not a big fan of Hello Kitty (but am a big fan of her friend My Melody), but Pei Pei and Hao Hao like Hello Kitty. Yes, even Hao Hao likes her.

I didn't queue for hours to get the Singing Bone Hello Kitty.

Do you spot something missing?

I forgot about Hello Kitty's whiskers and the heart!

Both Pei Pei and Hao Hao "picked" Hello Kitty's bones first! And they finished up the meal very fast!

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Making Spelling and 聽寫 Fun!

Pei Pei's teacher informed me that the school is going to start spelling test and 聽寫 in July, and explained to me the rationale is to condition the children to the academic environment in formal schooling. The teacher also highlighted to me the choice of words in the spelling tests. For English, those are sight words, while for Chinese, those are words that they have learnt from their reading programme.

A few questions came to my mind - shall I prepare her for the tests or shall I stay "bo-chup" (ignore it)? If I chose to prepare her for the tests, how shall I do it?

You may say, "Hello, she is just a K1 child, let her have childhood!" 

Of course, I also don't want to give her pressure at such a young age! I feel that the it is not the result of the tests that matters, it is the process of learning that is important. 

Since Pei Pei likes to pretend play as a teacher, teaching and reading to her soft toys, I pretended to be her pupil. 

First, I put up the spelling lists on the wall. Then I pointed at a word from the list, for example "you". 

"Teacher Pei Pei, what word is that?" She is able to recognise some of the words as she has learnt from her books.

Then I made a few sentences using the word, she also joined me in making a few sentences using the word.

"Teacher Pei Pei, can you teach me how to spell 'you'?" On the first occasion, she looked at the list on the wall, and showed me how to spell by writing on the paper.

"Teacher Pei Pei, can you teach me how to spell 'you' one more time?" She wrote the word again, this time, without referring to the list.

"Oh, Teacher Pei Pei, you have taught me how to spell "you". Y-O-U. Thank you!" 

She gave me a big smile, and volunteered to teach me another word!

We have also tried to make spelling interesting through lapbooking.

What are your thoughts about having spelling test at Kindergarden 1? What are your strategies if you have been preparing your child for the spelling test?

DIY Birthday Party Favour Tutorial

When Pei Pei and Hao Hao were younger, I would settle the birthday party favour for their classmates all by myself. Now Pei Pei is turning 5 and Hao Hao is turning 4 this year, so I decided to include them in the preparation of the birthday party favour. After all, it is their birthday, the day to commemorate my effort to deliver them, I shouldn't be doing all the work myself, right?

Here it goes.

I am in-charge of purchasing the materials, while Pei Pei and Hao Hao are in-charge of the production line.

We could have used Washi tape to decorate the paper bag directly, but I think it is too easy for Pei Pei and Hao Hao.

So they had to produce their own tape!

On the colour paper, they drew lines, or stamped patterns on the colour paper.

Then they cut the paper into strips and pasted on the paper bags.

Once the paper bags are ready, they put the goodies into the paper bags.

Yeah! The birthday party favours are ready to be distributed to Pei Pei's friends!

Important notice: Don't throw away the packaging box and the lovely paper bags!!

Here is the tutorial to what can be done with the packaging box and paper bag - making a pen / handphone holder!

Step 1: Cut away the top of paper bag, about 3cm from the top

Step 2: Cut away the folds on top of packaging box

Step 3: Place the box into the paper bag, fold down the two sides, press

Step 4: On the reverse side, fold down the two sides, press

Step 5: Press the triangle at the bottom

Step 6: Fold the triangle up and secure with tape or glue. Repeat for the other side

Step 7: Tuck the excess part of paper bag into the box

Step 8: Press the edges gently

Done!!

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Honeysuckle Flowers and Chrysanthemum Tea (金銀花菊花茶) to Combat the Heatiness

It has been very hot recently, and the haze makes us more uncomfortable. In order to combat the heatiness, we prepare Honeysuckle Flowers and Chrysanthemum Tea 金銀花菊花茶. It is very simple to prepare!

Ingredients:

75 grams Dried chrysanthemum flowers 

15 grams Dried honeysuckle flowers 

3 litres Water

Honey rock sugar - your own preference, we used about 20g

You can obtain these ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine shops or markets.

Instruction:

1. Boil water
2. Rinse the flowers
3. Add the dried flowers into the boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes 
4. Dissolve honey rock sugar
5. Sieve the tea using a strainer

As the honeysuckle flowers have a bitter taste, using honey rock sugar makes it more palatable for the children.

It quenches our thirst and brings about cooling effect to our bodies! 

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Indoor Fun when it is Hazy Outside

Pei Pei and Hao Hao's school is closed today for preparation of parent-teacher conference tomorrow.  I thought I would have a headache to think of activities for them to do at home when PSI is 400 outside. Somehow, they seemed to have a lot of plans in their minds!

Activity 1: Birthday party for Bear Bear

They organised a birthday party for Bear Bear, and invited all the "children" (the soft toys) in our house to attend the party! They used the pot to cook a big cake for Bear Bear!

Activity 2: Reading time

Pei Pei teacher read to Hao Hao and the "children". Hao Hao was the most engaged learner. Look at the naughty children who were not paying attention as they faced away from teacher!

Activity 3: Camping

They built a tent using the table and blankets. They hid inside the tent to keep away from the haze. They told me that the tent also functioned as a ship. Was that the Noah's ark to ship them away from the haze?

Now I realise that I should not underestimate their ability to entertain themselves!

Protect Our Children from 雾锁南洋 (Hazy Singapore)

Pei Pei: MaMi, why the sky blur blur one?
Me: Our neighbouring country has fires, the wind blows the smoke here.
Pei Pei: Why you never call fire engine?

"So smelly!" Hao Hao covered his nose. Smell of barbecue, but not the type that makes one drool.

This is 雾锁南洋 version June 2013.

Instead of STI (Straits Times Index), everyone is now talking about PSI (Pollutant Standards Index). For the past few days, it has risen to the "unhealthy level". As parents with young children, we are concerned about this.

A few days ago, I almost rushed out to the nearby shopping centre to grab an air purifier. However, a Facebook status of a friend stopped me - it was sold out!! 

What should I do to protect my children from the effect of haze?

An infographic from Singapore General Hospital's Facebook page gave me some ideas!

Let's check...

Breastfeeding... not applicable to us, as my milk factory has closed long long ago.

Stay indoor as much as possible... we are not planning any outdoor activities until the PSI has dropped to healthy level. I have stocked up some art and craft materials, so we will stay indoor to do crafting. Alternatively, we will visit indoor places like library, or go shopping for an air purifier.

Avoid smoking or smoker... I "smoke" occasionally in attempt to answer some of their challenging questions e.g. where is the bar of chocolate that I bought? So no smoking for the time being.

Practice good hygiene... checked, that is our usual practice. 

So far they have not shown any sign of effects due to the haze (*keep my fingers and toes crossed). We keep reminding the kids to drink more water. We also give them chrysanthemum tea which has "cooling" property. In addition, we close all the windows and doors, and switch on air-con since we are unable to get an air purifier.

Haze haze go away, little children want to play (outdoors)!

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Project Toilet Paper Roll - Owl, Butterfly and Panda

DaDi is a karang guni man an environmentalist, whenever we have waste plastic bottles, cans, newspaper, he would put them in his recycling basket in the store room. Once in a while, he would deposit those materials in the recycling bin near our house.

Pei Pei learns from her DaDi and puts the empty toilet paper rolls into the recycling basket. Before she puts them there, she would remind me, "MaMi, this is for crafting!"

Steps to make the owl:

1. Wrap the roll with construction paper
2. Cut two semi-circles from the top of the roll
3. Wrap with Washi tape
4. Paste the beak and wings made of construction paper
5. Paste the googly eyes

Steps to make the butterfly:

1. Wrap the roll with construction paper
2. Cut two butterfly-wing shapes from construction paper
3. Decorate with dot stickers, Washi tape, colour pencil
4. Paste the wings on the back of the roll
5. Paste half of the dot sticker as the mouth
6. Paste the googly eyes
7. Cut two thin strips of paper (the blue ones in the photo), wrap around a colour pencil to curl them. Paste on top of the roll as the feelers of the butterfly

Steps to make the panda:

1. Wrap the roll with white paper
2. Cut the 2 semi-circles (ears), 2 big ovals & 2 small ovals (eyes), 1 very small oval (nose), 4 rectangular stripes with one end rounded (hands and feet), and a rectangular stripe (body) from black paper, and cut two circles (eyes) from white paper, paste on the roll.

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Farewell to Ms Sofa

Ms Sofa has been with us since year 2006. She had an elegant design - a black frame with maroon suede cushion. Other than making the house looks more trendy, she offered a comfortable place for us to watch TV, read,  have meals, and sometimes, sleep.

Ever since our children arrived, Ms Sofa had taken on more important roles - to train them sit up, and to provide a cosy place for DaDi and MaMi to play with them or read to them. Ms Sofa was also Pei Pei and Hao Hao's favourite place to jump, play toys and drink milk. It also provided additional function as a slide - they moved the cushion with one end on the sofa frame while the other on the floor! 

Ms Sofa also had a hard period of time. When Pei Pei and Hao Hao were babies, Ms Sofa had suffered from their 3Ps - pee, poo, puke! 

Time flies, Ms Sofa has grown old, with scratches, bits of food, stains of 3Ps, and probably tons of bacteria and bugs... we don't have a choice, but to bid farewell to Ms Sofa.

Goodbye Ms Sofa, you had done a great job!

p.s. A guideline on buying sofa to those who intent to have children : please think twice before you place your order on a sofa with fabric or suede materials. When 3Ps happen, you will need to wash up 3 things in this order - your baby, yourself, your sofa!

Love, Hate, Love Carrots

Yesterday when I came home from supermarket with Pei Pei, as usual, Hao Hao would dig the carriers for treasures. Unfortunately, much to his dismay, he found a pack of carrots.

"I don't want carrots." 

When Hao Hao started solid food at 6-month old, he took carrots quite well. Too well to an extent that he became a carrot - he turned a bit yellowish after consuming too much carrot! Since then, we seldom offered him carrot.

Now he does not really like carrot.

One strategy that I used, was to cut carrot into very small pieces and blend into porridge, but it was detected by clever Hao Hao, and it took a while to convince him to finish the porridge. Anyway, it was fortunate enough that he didn't request me to pick out the carrots, bit by bit!

For lunch today, I used another strategy called "Show Hand"! Show Hao Hao the carrots!

Presenting.... Carrot Blossom!

Do you notice, Hao Hao's favourite fish balls are surrounded by carrots? 

Now he is more receptive to carrots. When I was cooking dinner, Hao Hao asked, "May I have the flowers? The lunch one."

Pei Pei also gave thumbs up to what she called "the flower rice"!

The Most Awesome Daddy Award

Pei Pei and Hao Hao were very busy this morning.

They were busy preparing the Most Awesome Daddy Award!

Other than this, they also presented DaDi their works from school.

No More Bacteria Party in the Shoes!

[Sponsored Review]

Our two energetic duos love to run around. As age is catching up with me, I can't catch up with two of them, especially when one runs towards the east, while the other runs towards the west.

Sometimes they run across the grass. Sometimes they step on mud. Sometimes when they are unwell, they puke on their shoes.

That is how "clean" our shoes can be!

As I jog once in a while, though I try my best not to step on grass and mud, I guess my sweat from the socks probably can fill up a cup!

My shoes are not much better than theirs...

The thought of cleaning the shoes make me feel like.... roarrrrr!! No matter how hard I scrub, the shoes still look dirty.

Pei Pei's favourite pair of shoes has turned from pink to "dark pink", and my sport shoes start to emit some "fragrance". As I was wondering how much force in newtons I should apply to scrub the shoes, I received an invitation to a service trial at ColorWash. Phew!

Ms Gemma Gil, the founder of ColorWash attended to us. As a mother of two, she truly understands the need to take stock of hygiene standard of children's belongings. She also shared with me some interesting facts which make me stunned! 

Do you know how much perspiration can your footwear absorb from your child's feet on a daily basis?

All footwear can absorb up to one pint of perspiration from your child's feet! One pint is 473.176 ml which is more than one can of coke!! Can you imagine the bacteria having a party in your child's shoes? Isn't it a big bane to our children's hygiene?

As I told Ms Gemma that I attempted to wash the shoes myself, she highlighted that professional cleaning has an advantage of providing additional hygiene standard by using ozone process to disinfect the shoes. Oh yes, she is right, I don't think I can do that at home! 

When Ms Gemma noticed Hao Hao was wearing Crocs shoes, she gave me special tips on how I can clean his shoes: Soak in warm water with a drop of Dettol for half an hour, then scrub the shoes - do not forget to scrub the in-sole areas!

Can you spot the difference in Pei Pei's shoes?

They are so much cleaner now! 

ColorWash also shared with me their special products - Soft Cleaner Wipes and Protecting Cream Wipes, which serve to salvage our bags or shoes during accidents! This would be especially useful when the children accidently spill milk, paint, etc on their own / their parents' bags and shoes! The wipes are gentler as compared to the usual wet wipes, so they are suitable for cleaning up dirts on leather goods!

If you are now squatting in the washroom, staring at your children's dirty shoes and school bags that have accumulated tons of dirt, then this may be a good news for you!

[School Holiday Specials:  from now till 30 June 2013]

ColorWash is extending 20% off on all cleaning services for school bags and all children shoes, usual prices are SGD30 and SGD15 (for canvas school shoes) respectively. 

http://www.colorwash.com.sg/promotions.html

ColorWash also specialises in cleaning leather bags and shoes. Do check out their website and Facebook page for more details!
Webite: http://www.colorwash.com.sg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColorwashSGP

Disclaimer: We received a complimentary trial cleaning service for Pei Pei's canvas shoes and my sport shoes, a packet of complimentary soft cleaner wipes and protection cream wipes. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are mine.

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Dining in a Castle - King Louis Grill & Bar

[Sponsored Review]

Have you ever thought of dining in a castle?

"Huh?" You may wonder. Where can we find a castle in Singapore?

Let MaMi the Queen and Pei Pei the Princess bring you to Singapore's one and only one castle themed restaurant serving medieval cuisine - King Louis Grill & Bar at Vivocity!

When we entered the "castle", we were warmly greeted by the Knight.

The first thing that attracted MaMi the Queen was the scenic view of the harbour. A bonus for dining here at night - watching fireworks from RWS!

MaMi the Queen liked the Signature Mushroom Soup ($8.90++), which was packed with bits of mushroom. Pei Pei the Princess gave thumbs up for the bread.

After a while, the waitress presented us the royal feast - The Knight Lancelot ($87.90++ for 2-3 pax). Our first reaction was "Wow!"  The platter was very big!

There were Roasted Beef with Black Pepper Sauce, Marinated Boneless Chicken Leg with Onion Sauce,  Fresh Fish Fillet in Garlic Cream Sauce, Oven Baked King Prawns with Australian Cheese, and Sauteed Green Mussels with Fresh Chunky Tomato Sauce!

What MaMi the Queen likes about this platter - no need to de-bone! It is important for parents with young kids, no time can be wasted to remove bones!

MaMi the Queen personally liked the king prawns, which could be easily deshelled. The beef was slightly too well done for her liking. Pei Pei the Princess liked the fish fillet. Nevertheless, it was a really filling feast!

The Knight of Lancelot is just one of the signature dishes there. There are also salads and other dishes. Not forgetting about the children, there is also Kids Menu, each set comes with a cup of Ribena, a scoop of ice-cream and a Kinder toy.

It would be advisable to come in  a group, so that you can share the food and fun together!

So are you interested to have a feast at King Louis Grill & Bar?

[Giveaway](Closed)

We are pleased to give away one *$50 dining voucher at The King Louis  + one complimentary Gourmet coffee at Queen Victoria to one lucky reader! Just 2 simple steps!

1. Like PeiPei.HaoHao's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Peipeihaohao (Thanks if you have already "Liked" us)
2. Leave a comment on this blog (e.g. I want the feast!), and your email address. [If you experience difficulty in writing comment when you are using mobile, alternatively, you may email us at mami (at) peipeihaohao.com ]

The giveaway will be closed on 16 June 2013, 2359hrs. The winner will be announced and notified on 17 June 2013.

*Terms & Conditions

• Valid for dine-in only.
• Valid until 30 July 2013.
• Minimum spending of SGD150 is required.

Congratulations Dana's Mommy & Daddy!

[Promotion]
Oh, since Father's Day is around the corner, King Louis Grill & Bar has prepared a special banquet for the King of your household! Let the King enjoy a royal feast of Sauteed Fresh Scallops, Superior Clam Soup with White Wine, Honey Mustard Chicken, Roasted Striploin of Beef with Black Pepper Sauce, Gratinated Crayfish topped with Butter & Cheese, and Pan-fried Snapper coated with Garlics & Herbs!

photo credit: King Louis Grill & Bar

King Louis Grill & Bar

1 Harbourfront Walk

#03-07A Vivocity

Singapore 098585

Tel: 62760862

Website: http://www.thekinglouis.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thekinglouis

Disclaimer: We were invited by King Louis Grill & Bar to a complimentary food tasting session. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions and photos are mine.


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Instilling a Can-do Attitude in Children

One day, Pei Pei took out a set of 4-layered jigsaw puzzle from the toy cabinet. This was a gift from her grandaunt. 

"MaMi, I can't." She was stuck halfway.

For a moment, I felt like helping her to complete the whole puzzle for her.

But wait... somehow a force stopped me.

"Let's play a game," I suggested, "I'll put one piece, then you put one piece."

Pei Pei happily joined me in the game.

"Yay!" she exclaimed when the puzzle was completed.

"So you can complete the puzzle! Give me a five!" Her big five landed on my face by accident, but I was glad that the challenge turned into fun and a sense of accomplishment for her!

Failing is not a problem. Giving up is.

How you instill can-do attitude in your children?

Kindness is...

As a student N years ago, I noticed this phenomenon that I could not explain, and drew this observation.

Isn't it magical? An expectant mum can make everyone fall asleep on the train!

N years later, when I become a expectant mother, I had many opportunities to experience this!

I recalled an incident when I was pregnant with Hao Hao and was carrying Pei Pei in my arm on a bus. My tummy was big enough for Pei Pei to sit on. No one gave up their seat, until I shouted, "I am pregnant and am carrying a child, anyone can let me have the seat??"

Sigh.

However, I had received kindness by nice people who gave up seat to me then. But again, I observed another interesting phenomenon, people who gave me seat to me were mostly the elderly!!

Recently, I brought Pei Pei and Hao Hao out to town by MRT. Usually I drive if I have to bring both of them out, but considering the difficulty to find a carpark slot in town on a weekend lunch time, I dropped the idea of driving.

On a crowded train, a nice gentleman in his 50s (I think) gave up his seat to Pei Pei and Hao Hao, so they shared one seat.

A young lady from a few metres kept looking at us. 

A few minutes later, someone sitting a few seats away reached the destination and stood up. With the speed of light, that "keep-looking-at-us" young lady grabbed the seat.

I don't expect people to give up seat for us, but I just find it funny that lady behaved as if she was afraid that we would fight with her for a seat.

On our way home, another crowded train, an old gentleman looked at us, and said "坐吧" (Take a seat) and let his seat to us.

I immediately responded, "No, uncle, you sit!" But he walked away, signalling us to take the seat.

I noticed some youngsters sitting nearby. I really wonder what are their thoughts about this. Or they were busy burying themselves into their handphones and gadgets that they had no awareness of what happened around them at all.

Later on, we managed to have a seat of each of us. Pei Pei pointed at the sign "Reserved Seat" and asked me what the sign mean.

After a while, an elderly boarded the train. Without hesitation, I gave up my seat to him. Role modelling speaks louder than words.

A little kindness goes a long way. I just hope that Pei Pei and Hao Hao would grow up to be kind and show courtesy to other people.

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Taking a Flight of Fancy with Gardens by the Bay

[Media Invite]

We were reading a book about a little piggy travelling in a hot air balloon, and Pei Pei was interested about hot air balloon. It would be a big headache if I had to construct a hot air balloon to show her what it is. 

Just in time, we were invited to visit the new thematic floral display "Flight of Fancy" at the Gardens by the Bay. This solved my problem!

This is Pei Pei's second time visiting Gardens by the Bay (read our previous visit here). Instead of driving, this time we took MRT to Bayfront station. We were welcomed by giant pictures of flowers.

We had morning exercise by strolling in the Supertree Grove.

Upon entering the Flower Dome,  we were greeted by a number of hot air balloons. Pei Pei was able to relate what she saw to what she read from the book. Instead of the little piggy in the book, we saw little bears and human figurines.

Other than hot air balloons, there were also airplanes.

One interesting feature of "Flight of Fancy" is that there are little "Did you know" signs with flight-related facts. It was indeed an educational trip for children to learn more about airplanes. Make a guess: Which one was invented first - the hot air balloon or the airplane? 

Next, we visited Cloud Forest. Pei Pei was very observant. She pointed to me that there were kites above us!

Moth orchids were also taking their flight up there!

For parents with younger kids, do read our Survival Guide to Parents with Young Kids before you go! For parents with older kids, do check out this educational and fun-filled learning journey in this June holiday!

Good news!! In conjunction with the June holidays, kids will enjoy 50% discount on Local Resident Child Tickets to the cooled conservatories from 1 to 28 June. Yes, you didn't read wrongly. It is 50% discount!! Do enjoy the free activities such as "GB Kids Blast" and "Blow Wind Blow" with your children!

For more information, please visit their website http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg

p.s. This blog post is also featured on the Gardens by the Bay website
http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/garden-news.html
11 June 2013 Taking a Flight of Fancy with Gardens by the Bay.

Disclaimer: We received media invite with complimentary entry to Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are mine.

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To DaDi with Love

Dear DaDi,

Thank you for reading to us, even though you are very tired after long day of work.

Thank you for drawing with us, even though you don't really like to draw.

Thank you for cleaning the house, after we make a big mess by playing with Play Doh / water colour, or by dropping all kind of food on the floor. 

Thank you for carrying us, to walk from one end of the Zoo to the other.

Thank you for making breakfast for us on weekend mornings, as MaMi usually continues to talk to 周公 (zzz...) at 7am.

Thank you for approving MaMi to go on leave once in a while, so she comes home with a good mood and buys presents for us.

Thank you for telling us that you love us, after sending us to the notorious naughty corner when we misbehave.

Thank you for being a great DaDi!

Happy Father's Day!

With lotsa hugs and kisses,

Pei Pei and Hao Hao

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