Gyming ~ Cupcakes

Last Friday, my sister in law attended a Cupcakes baking class at Shermay’s cooking school. The Aces family has the honored of sharing the “cups” of her labour. On Sunday morning, we had cupcakes for breakfast and they were delicious. I simply love the Nutella cupcakes.

Also on Sunday morning, Adrian went with my PIL’s for Qing Ming Prayers to our grandparents. He brought home the famous Tanjong Rhu Bao, fruits and drinks. So we had the minis叉烧包 and 肉包 at breakfast too... : P

After a good breakfast, we decided to bring Anthea and Anders to the Kid’s gym at Safra Toa Payoh. Adrian had mentioned this gym a few times whenever Anthea and Anders played at the Macdonald children play area. He said the gym is much bigger than Macdonald and true enough, it was BIG. Anthea and Anders had so much fun at the gym. The price is very reasonable at $4.00 per child. It can be used for the whole day during opening hours.

While the children were at the kid’s gym, I took the opportunity to go to the Energy One gym at the club. Adrian is a member and he has some Complimentary guest passes. The gym is also very big and had many types of equipment. I had a good workout.

After our gym sessions, we left the club and went to the Macdonald Drive Thru to buy Happy Meals for the children for their lunch.

In the afternoon, the children had their power nap before meeting my PIL for dinner. We had dinner at Jumbo Seafood by the River walk. My youngest BIL - Terence and his GF, Cherry joined us. During the dinner, there were so many discussions on their upcoming wedding in May 2008.

It is a BIG family affair and Anthea is looking forward to being the Flower Girl for the wedding march in (if there is no change in the plan...hee : )

Terence had suggested for Anders to be their Rings bearer but I have reservation on this request. I know Anders is a shy boy and he may not be able to perform to the task. Now they are considering another alternative or may not even has one... : P

Gold Coast - Ultimate Theme Parks Trio

We are back from our Ultimate Gold Coast Paradise experience. It has been a very enjoyable and wonderful family holiday. Many 1st times experience for our family and also we learn a lot more for our travel pattern.

Now it’s time to do our Aces family ATR (after tour review) and hope that it will be a good sharing experience with our family & friends.

Day 1: Good Friday, 21 March - Singapore → Brisbane (QF 52) Dep: 2105 / Arr :0655 hr

This is my 1st time travelling on Qantas flight and I must say – the service was very good. The air stewards were very friendly and served with sincerity. The service crew was made up of about 90% male and 10% female. It was a 6 hours flight. There was a menu cum journey planner given to all passengers. It indicated the schedule for the 6 hours flight and also the supper and continental breakfast menu was provided. Both Anthea and Anders had child meal requested for the flight.

The children enjoyed the In-flight entertainment which had all their favorite movies – Enchanted, Mr. Bean, Disney Playhouse and games as well. Luckily they managed to catch a few hours of sleep on the plane.

Day 2: Saturday, 22 March - G’day Brisbane → Sea World

Upon arrival at Brisbane International Airport, we proceeded to the Coachtrans counter for our seat-in coach transfer to our hotel, Courtyard Marriott. It was about 10 am when we reached the hotel and the room was not ready. So we decided to do our SeaWorld tour. As we had the 5 days Super Pass, we had unlimited door to door coach transfers to the Theme Parks and unlimited use of the local Gold Coast bus network. We got directions from the hotel concierge and we were on the bus to Sea World.

In Sea World, we managed to watch the Fish Detective Sea Lion Show. Anthea and Anders also saw Dolphins swimming in the Dolphin Nursery. Then we went to the All New Sesame Street beach for all the children rides.Both of them enjoyed the different rides. Then we took the cable car to the Aquarium and see the Dugong. We had 3 hours of fun at the park and then returned to the hotel for our check in.

Courtyard Marriott is centrally located along Surfers Paradise and there is a main shopping mall by the hotel. Hard Rock café is also located by the hotel.

The room that we had was very spacious and we had 2 queen sized beds in the room. Every room had a private balcony. Noticed that all hotels and service apartments in Gold Coast come with a Balcony, I reckon people simply love the sun and the sea.

After checking in, the children had a short nap before we headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, we took a walk along the street and I am quite surprised and pleased that shops in Surfers Paradise do not closed at 5pm, like those in Perth & Melbourne. Matter of fact, there are so many 24 hours conveniences stores and also late night pubs.

On the way back, we even had Baskin Robbins ice cream and the children simple love the kid’s cone. Then we went back to the hotel to rest for the night.

Day 3: Sunday, 23 March - Gold Coast → Paradise Country Farm

We had booked a morning tour to the Paradise country farm. After a sumptuous hotel buffet breakfast, we were picked up by the coach to the Paradise Country farm. At the farm, Anthea and Anders had the chance to see Koalas and hand fed the Kangaroos. They even had chance to feed milk to the baby sheep’s via the milk bottles. It was a lot of fun for them. Then we saw farm shows – Billy tea making, stock horse, and sheep shearing and finally boomerang throwing display. Lunch was included and we had BBQ steak and chicken. It was indeed a “Paradise Experience” for the family.

After the 3 hours tour of the farm, we returned to the hotel. The children had their power nap before heading to the swimming pool for a quick water play. The sun in Australia is very scorching and sun block is a must.

Dinner was Japanese noodles at a noodle outlet very near to the hotel. Then we bought some supper back to the room to enjoy life. We had pizzas and chicken burgers. There is a pizza outlet that sells pizza by slice and each coast AUD$2.80. Consider quite a good deal and there were many selections. There are many fastfood outlet around the hotel, so getting food is not a problem.

Day 4: Monday, 24 March - Gold Coast → Movie World

After a good hotel breakfast, we went to a designated bus stop to wait for our coach to Movie World. This is a day of Action packed fun. We started with Batman Adventure – the Ride 2. Anthea and Anders had so much fun with the simulated ride and were all geared up for more. Then we watched Shrek 4D Adventure show. It was a real thrilled for the children to watch 4D shows. Then we went around the Kids Fun zone and they both had fun going on the different rides.

We had lunch in the park and for a kid’s meal that we ordered, we had a Batman mask.
After lunch, we watched the Street Parade and the children were so happy to see all the familiar characters up close and personal – Batman, Wonder Woman, Sylvester & Tweety, Bugs Bunny and many more. What a Treat for the eyes!!

After the parade, we carried on with a few more adventure rides before we ended our day and returned to our hotel. They went for a quick swim before we had dinner in the room. The children slept early after a full day of fun.


Day 5: Tuesday, 25 March - Gold Coast → Dream World

This is supposed to be our Free & Easy day, so we decided to go ahead with a tour to the Dream World.

Upon arrival at the Dream World, we took a ride on the train to the Australian Wildlife Experience. Anthea and Anders had chance to see Kangaroos and Koalas at this place. Then we headed to the Tiger Island and saw some white tigers. We had lunch at the theme park. After that, the children had some fun on the rides.

We ended our tour around 3pm and returned to the hotel. Children went to the pool again before dinner. I managed to squeeze in some shopping time for my MIL’s shopping list. I bought back some chocolates for my colleagues and Adrian bought some for his collagues.

Day 6: Wednesday, 26 March - Gold Coast →Brisbane → Singapore (QF 51) Dep: 1345 / Arr 1930

Our coach picked us to Brisbane International Airport for our Qantas flight. We had a very good flight home. Upon arrival, Anthea and Anders were happy to see yeye & nainai waiting for them at the arrival hall.

It was Home Sweet Home.

It had been a fun 6 days for the family and there are things that we learnt from this holiday. I was quite glad that we did not follow guided tour as original planned. I think F&E still suits us better.

Gold Coast is indeed a Surfers Paradise and definitely a good option for family with children to visit. Mainly because of it theme parks. Otherwise, it’s also a good place for people who love the Sun, Sand and Sea.

I do hope that we will be able to visit Australia again and perhaps does a farm stay on our next holiday...hee : p

We are OFF.

Quite thankfully Anders fever had subsided and his temperature is back to normal. I am keep my hopes high that he will be well to enjoy Gold Coast.

We are now all packed and in about an hour time we will be making our way to the airport for our Qantas flight to Brisbane. This is our 1st time taking a "Red-eye" flight and i do hope that the children will be able to sleep on the plane..hee. Being a mommy, it's natural that we worry of this and that...hee : P

Last night, Adrian even went over to my BIL place to pick up a Travel Medical kit, it has everything inside and along side, i packed along paracetemol and Ibufen (i hope that i do not need to use them...)

Thanks Louis & Eve for your thoughtfulness !! & Aces Family wishes:

"Happy 1st Birthday to Faith on 23 March 2008. May our little niece has a wonderful day with her LOVE Ones. "

Okie dokie...Aces Family will be signing off from now till next week. As the famous quote "I (WE) will be BACK!! "

Cheerios !!

FEVER !!

The flu season is back…sigh!!

On Monday morning, I received a notice from the childcare that the centre had 2 cases of HFMD and the children were from Anders class. *FAINT*FAINT*

I was in panicked mode but since I had to work, I had no choice but to leave them in the childcare on Monday.

In the evening, when I fetched them home, both Anthea and Anders were still fine. Then later in the evening, when I checked their temperature, I noticed that Anders had low grade fever – 37. 6 degrees. Immediately I fed him a dose of paracetemol. Then I called my mom and arranged for her to look after the children on Tuesday, hopefully, this will reduce the contact with the virus in school.

On Tuesday, Anders was ok during the day but when I brought them home, his temperature went up again. So I gave him medication again, hopefully it’s just the fever virus and nothing else; otherwise, we may need to cancel our holiday.. : (

On Wednesday, I was given a day of MC by the GP for my throat irritation, so I tend after the children at home. I brought Anders to the family GP to seek for professional advice. The GP mentioned that there were no rashes on his hands & foot, there was one ulcer in his mouth but she can’t confirmed it’s HFMD as the ulcer could be due to heatiness. So her advice was to monitor him for the next 2 days for the other symptoms, which I hope will be negative.

Today is Thursday and this morning his temperature is back to normal, I hope it will remain like this. I check his hands, foot and mouth – all look normal. Now I am keeping my fingers all crossed that he is back on the recovering track and tomorrow we can make our way to the airport as planned.

Wising all a Happy Easter Holidays!!

Happy 4th Birthday to Anders

March is a month of birthday for our families – my mother in law, myself, my niece and finally, it is my son's – Anders 4th Year old birthday.

Anders actual date of birth is on 22 March but since we will be going to Gold Coast for holiday, we decided to have an early celebration for him.

It was a simple celebration over a dinner gathering with the families. I was very happy that my parents and eldest brother was able to join us for the occasion. We brought along 2 bottles of wine (one red/ one white) to the dinner, courtesy of my youngest BIL, Terence.

I booked a table for 13 people at Zhou’s Kitchen @ Far East Square.

The restaurant was considered quiet for Sunday and we had an enjoyable meal.

Needless to say, the most important part is the cake-cutting ceremony. Anders was very happy and he wanted to cut his cake. The main reason is the Uncle Terence said he can open his present after he ate his cake... : )

I ordered a Disney Car cake for Anders; he had made his own cake choice via the Bengawan Solo cake catalog. He was very happy when he saw the cake.

After eating his cake, he quickly went to his presents and open up the wrappers. Boy, he just can't wait…hee.

We left the restaurant around 9 pm and when we reached home, the children were so excited with the presents that they started to play with them.

Many thanks to people who had made Anders a Happy Birthday boy on this special day :

1. Ah gong / Ah po & Da Giu – for their ang pows and also presence to the dinner.



(anders with ah gong/ah po and 大舅)


2. Yeye / Nai nai – for their ang pow and also effort to bring Anders to buy his present.

(ye ye & nai nai with the 3 grandchildren)


3. Uncle Louis / Aunty Eve & Faith mei mei – Transformer AutoBot


4. Uncle Terence/ Cherry Jie jie – Transformer Off road Iron hide.

Without all your blessings, Aces family will not have such a memorable celebration for our dear Son. Thank YOU!!


Dear Anders,

Happy 4th Birthday to you and May you grow up, always happy and be strong in your emotion!!

Luvs,
Daddy, mommy and Anthea jie jie.

Beachside Birthday Party

In celebration of my niece 1 Year old birthday, my BIL made dinner reservation at this beach restaurant located on Sentosa Island – Café Delmar.

We reached Sentosa around 6pm and since we were early, Adrian brought Anthea to try the Luge which I highly recommended him to do so. Otherwise, we will never come to Sentosa.
While they were at the ride, I brought Anders to the restaurant and when I reached the entrance of the restaurant. I was totally shocked and speechless…hee : P

The restaurant set up was similar to what I always see in CSI Miami and there were loud music playing by the in-house Deejay. The place was full bikinis babes and board short clad dudes. (I was thinking to myself – I am too aunty for this kind of place...hee.)

不认老都不行了！！

My BIL booked 2 tables for the families and also invited relatives. Drinks and food were ordered and they were served promptly. Service was good but I find the price a bit on the high side, considering it’s on a beachfront and not some Hotel setup. Well, I guess everyone had a great time with the food & drinks.

After the cake cutting ceremony, we left the place around 9pm.

(ps: I did not manage to take any photos because my head was “pounding”so heavily with the in house music, I can hardly even move myself around..: P , think I have been out of touch with techno music for too long..Sigh)

Happy 1st Birthday to Faith Tan!!

You’re Invited!!

In less than a month time, Anthea will be celebrating her 6th year old birthday. As this will be her final year in K2 and with this childcare. I planned to let her celebrate her birthday with her classmates.

She has a few good girlfriends whose names I hear almost everyday. They are the Winx Club “fairies” – Lydia, Claudia and Huda. Of course, not forgetting her new found “boyfriend” – Han Yong.

So I thought it would be quite meaningful for her to have a small celebration with all these good friends, whom I think she may or may not get to see after they all graduated and go to different Primary Schools.

There were a few options that I considered but finally short listed one that I believe most children will Love / Adore. It is the McFun Party organized by McDonald. I contacted their Ang Mo Kio outlet and gathered all the information.

My original intention was to have the Party at the McDonald outlet. Last week when I asked 罗 老师 for the class name list to write the invitation cards. 罗 老师asked me when / where is the party. When I told her it would be at the restaurant, she asked Anthea: “为什麽 不要在学校庆祝，老师也可以和你庆祝？

Then I started to ask Anthea if she would like to have the Party in her school since her teachers would like to celebrate this special occasion with her. She said OK.

I had sought the Principal permission to use the school Multi Purpose room for the 1 ½ hour party and she had agreed to it. The party is set for tea time from 3 pm to 4.30 pm.

Last week, I went to pay the McDonald outlet to pay the deposit and collected the invitation cards. At the same time, I will prepare a spread sheet for the child’s parent to select their Happy Meals.

Hopefully all her classmates will enjoy the Party and my Princess will be a Happy Host on 08 April 2008.

Easter Holiday In Down Under

On Friday morning, I had an appointment to consult an orthopedic for my hip issues. I was referred by my company clinic to go to Changi General Hospital and I am happy to be able to have an early appointment for the review.

The orthopedic review my X-rays and asked me a few questions concerning my exercise routine. It was confirmed that I had a muscle strained and I was advised to stop my yoga sessions. Most importantly, he gave me the “GREEN LIGHT” to go ahead with my holiday plan….yippy.

We had planned to go for a family vacation to Gold Coast, Australia. Our travel dates are set for 21 – 26 March 2008. The main reasons for going for a holiday during this time is because comes 2009 onwards, we will need to follow school holidays for our family vacation as Anthea starts primary school next year…: P


On Saturday morning, we went to the travel agent – Jetabout Holidays to collect our tour tickets & vouchers. We had booked our F&E package through this agent. Originally, I had planned to go on a packaged tour but it seem like most of the agents do not have a confirmed groups departure on 21 March 2008. So we had to make do with the 2nd best alternative.

We booked the Gold Coast plus Warner Village Ultimate Theme Park Trio from the agent.

I guess going on an F&E tour would be better for Anthea & Anders, so they can spend all the time in the Theme Parks, which is our main target. As for farm stay, we will try to do it in our next family vacation. (I got good tips from my Blogger Twins – LZ mommy of the theme parks, I know Anthea and Anders will enjoyed the parks.)

After collecting our travel details from the agent, we had lunch at Crystal Jade Kitchen in Takashimaya. Then we headed to Tangs to shop for present and shoes for the children. Anders was totally engrossed with the Transformers toys while I shopped for both their shoes.

We had a fun time shopping and after getting what we wanted, we went home to rest. In the evening, Adrian brought the children for dinner with the extended families while I rested at home. I had simple meal of porridge with some home cooked chickens that my mom brought over.

While I was having my dinner, my mobile rang and Anthea was on the line – she was crying and I thought what had happened to her. Then she said: “I missed you, mommy…” Think my little girl is really starting to mature. I told her not to cry and I am fine at home.

On Sunday morning, I received a sms from my brother that my dad had made Bird Nest soup and asked us to go back and drink it. So in the afternoon, while the children were napping, I went back to my parents place to pick up the soup. My brother told me that he had booked a Vietnam package tour for my parents and himself. The departure date is on 21 March as well.

Wow….this Good Friday; we are all busy doing something or going somewhere.

In the evening, we had dinner at Vittles and I had an enjoyable meal with the families.

Looking forward to a good family holiday & "Howdy Mates!!"

My Special Day

Today morning when I on my mobile, smses started coming in:

"Happy 37th Birthday!” (From my long time good friend / 姐妹- Cindy)

“Happy Birthday : - * “( from another long time good friend/ same 姐妹幫 – Andrea)

“Happy Birthday! Need cosmetic/perfume?” (From my eldest brother who is in Manila for business trip and coming back today.)

I am really happy because on my special day, friends & family still have thoughts of me.

Yesterday afternoon, Adrian called me around 4pm and said that he need not report to work and is free for the evening. He went to buy a small birthday cake for a simple family celebration. It was a Mango Cake from Emicakes shop.

After dinner, we had the cake as dessert. Both Anthea and Anders were very happy. They sang the birthday song for me – English & Chinese version. I felt so happy, especially with all my LOVE ones with me.

The cake was very nice and Anthea loves the Mango fillings. She kept asking to have the mango... : )

No big dinner, no fanfare, just a simple celebration and it’s a very fulfilling moment for me.

Another year older and I look forward to another good year ahead. No special wish as I know I have what life wants me to have.

寶貝們, 謝謝你們為媽媽唱的 生日快樂 歌， 開心，我真的好開心！！

In the office, my colleague also bought a small cake for a simple tea birthday celebration. Really thankful for their thoughts... : )

“HIP” to be Square

Nope, don’t get me wrong, I am not doing some kind of hippy dance like those 65’s MPs : P

For the whole of last week, my right hip has been giving me some aching problem. I consulted my company doctor and was given some painkiller. I was referred for X-ray which I did on Saturday.

However, on Sunday morning, the pain got a bit too much for me to bear with, so I told Adrian to bring me to the A&E and we went to Tan Tock Seng hospital A&E. We brought Anthea to my MIL place and Anders followed us to the hospital. MIL volunteered to look after the 2 of them but we were worried as Anders could be a bit too handy for her.

We reached the hospital around 10am and while registering, I nearly fainted. The nurse in attendance immediately wheeled me into the room for the doctor to check on. The doctor checked and asked me some questions concerning my pain complaint. I was put on drip as he mentioned that my blood pressure was low. Then after that, I was brought for X-ray and then observation room while waiting for the result.

While I was at the observation room, Adrian brought Anders to have his lunch at the food court. After 2 hours of observation, the doctor came and advised that the X-ray was fine. He mentioned that the pain could be due to wear and tear of the bone, thus he is referring me for an appointment with the Orthopedic. I was given 2 days of MC for Sunday & Monday. The doctor also prescribed some painkiller and ointment for application to the affected area.

I think the cause of this pain may has resulted from my lunch time yoga as Adrian suggested, he think that I may have over stretch myself thus causing the muscle to sore. Anyway, I am now waiting for my review with the specialist to see what is happening to my Hip. Hopefully, this will not dampen my March holiday plan... : (

HAPPY BIRTHDAY To 奶奶 ！！

My mother in law celebrated her birthday on Saturday evening. We had a family dinner at Bar & Billiard Room in Raffles Hotel. Being a Raffles card holder, she had some certificates of discount, for this dinner, she get 50% discount off food. At the same time, we had a bottle of complimentary red wine for dinner.

It was a buffet dinner and needless to say, the spread was simply FANTASTIC!! I think it should be a Lobster theme cuisine. Every counter has a lobster item. There was a grilled section at the patio of the restaurant.

Anthea and Anders wrote a birthday card for 奶奶，wishing her Happy Birthday and anthea even wrote: I LOVE MY GRANDMOTHER.

We bought a small present for my MIL and hope that she will like it.

It was a lovely dinner.