Butter Cake

Our playdate with cousin R was postponed so we decided to make some vanilla butter cake for tea.  A simple and quick recipe which turns out really good every time we bake.  The kids volunteered to help out in the kitchen. 

Measuring the flour

 Whipping the egg whites

  Beating the butter, sugar & egg yolks

  Mixing flour into the batter

  Into the oven for 45 minutes

   Butter cake fresh from the oven

Jonathan & Cheryl did a great job helping out.  They listened to instructions and kept the kitchen table top quite clean.  I always enjoy baking with them.  Cheryl finished 4 servings for tea.  The 9-inch square butter cake was gone by the following morning.  

Trip to the Singapore Zoo

After spending six years moving from Taipei to Tokyo and then to Hong Kong, we finally returned home to Singapore in December 2012.  It was a wonderful experience for us living overseas with the kids in tow.  Relocating back home is much easier than moving to a foreign country.  Thanks to my parents and in-law's help, the kids settled down quite well. 

 

Unbeknownst to them, mummy had a little bit more stress to handle. Besides providing for their daily needs, I had to juggle between packing and unpacking, settling of house matters, school matters, etc. while papa was still working in Hong Kong for another six months.  Now that he has returned, I have finally gotten to a more manageable routine. 

 

So it's time to bring the kids out to explore Singapore!  And also set aside some time to blog, of course!

 

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This week we made a trip to the Singapore Zoo.  We decided to wait for all the attractions to be ready before going to the River Safari.  The zoo hasn't lost its charm though and it's wonderful to be back here again since our last visit when Jonathan was six months old.
 

Flamingoes in the background

 

First stop was the Treetops Trail followed by Tiger Trek to see the White Tiger.  Justin wanted to see the Frozen Tundra exhibit.  En route we spotted a flock of pink flamingoes sun bathing.

Frozen Tundra Exhibit

 

 

We saw Inuka, the locally born polar bear, at the Frozen Tundra.  Inuka was out of the ice-cold cave and having a dip in the pool before lazing in the sun.  There was also an igloo where children crawled in and out of.  The kids took a picture with the icebergs.  Jonathan looks as if he is freezing but tough little sister seems really strong in the 'cold'! 

 

 

Picture taken from the raised platform

 



Feeding carrots to the giraffes

 

 

The three kids had a chance to feed the giraffes two carrots each.  The giraffes had long black tongues - the longest tongues in the animal kingdom.  I am glad that they were very gentle with the kids and no excessive slurping occurred.  We walked around the Wild Africa section and saw the rhinoceros, zebras, African lion and meerkats.

 

 

 Tram Ride

 

 

After that we hopped on to the tram for a ride around the zoo before stopping at Ah Meng restaurant for early lunch. 

 

 

Cute painted elephant sculptors at the Boat Dock

 

 

With full stomachs, we were ready for our next destination - Kidzworld.  This was undoubtedly the kids' favourite place to be. There is a wet play area for kids and adults so bring an extra set of clothes to change.

 

Goats and pony

 

 

The kids headed for the Rainforest Challenge.  Cheryl was happy to maneuver between the poles on the balancing logs while the boys tried out the pulley-raft crossing challenge.

 

Cheryl having fun with

the log climbing obstacle

 

 

Justin happily tugging away

 

 

Spot Cheryl with papa

 

 

A challenge where team work matters. The aim is to tug the rope to get the raft from one end of the lake to the other.  It might sound easy but it isn't according to papa.  He was flexing his muscles hard to help pull six children and himself across the other side of the lake.

 

 

Happy Visitors

 

 

Funny pose

 

 

It was an enjoyable day with the kids.  We spent more than an hour at Kidzworld and the boys still wanted to play more.  Another time, perhaps.

 

 

Zoo Staff with Mr Chimpanzee waving 'goodbye'

 

 

Breakfast - Flower Sausage Bun

A cheerful smile from Justin on a beautiful Sunday morning.  I made the dough the night before, got up this morning and decided I had enough energy to make flower sausage bun instead of foccacia bread.

Fresh from the oven

Sausage bun with pork floss

Dinner at The Peak

 The Peak Tower

I just realised that slide.com has been decommissioned.  This means that all the slide photos on my previous blog entries have disappeared.  Geez!!

It's been a long while since my last post.  Busy, busy, busy.  Everytime I want to sit down and sort my photos, one of my cuties will ask (or scream) for my attention.  It's not easy with three kids but I feel very happy when I hear their laughter and giggles.

This week is the start of school holidays and we decided to kick off Friday with dinner at Victoria Peak.  It was getting misty during sunset but nevertheless the view was still beautiful.

View of Victoria Harbour & Kowloon

(Taken by Justin)

We ended up having dinner at Pho Yummee at the Peak Galleria Shopping Centre.  The Pho noodles in beef broth noodles and steamed rice flour parcels were average, nothing to shout about. 

Walk along the KTM tracks

~~30 June 2010, the last KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) train left Tanjong Pagar Railway to Malaysia.~~

The Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will now be part of Singapore's history where KTM trains used to depart from and to Malaysia. Most of the 26km link from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands were still accessible to people till 17 July. From 18 July, only the 3km stretch of tracks between Rifle Range Road and The Rail Mall will be open till the end of the month.

We brought the boys to the tracks near King Albert Park for a Sunday morning walk. There were already many people by the time we arrived at 9:30am. We spent about an hour walking the stretch of tracks.

Hordes of people walking and snapping pictures

Ready, set, go!

Taking a break to take pics

Walking on the bridge
(across Bukit Timah and Dunearn Road)

The Other Side

Taking a picture of a rock on the track


Poor guy lost his phone


Heading back


Justin taking a shot of the bridge

Whoopie! Crossing it the 2nd time!

Bukit Timah Railway Station

(Station Master Office)

Station was closed and fenced up

Bukit Timah Railway Station - Signalling Room

And us!

Mommy's Chillout at Level33 MBFC

It's been a long time since my last entry. 5 months, in fact. Many things have happened since the Japan earthquake on 11th March, decisions and events that ocurred thereafter. For the safety of the kids, we decided to bring them back to Singapore while Papa continues to work in Tokyo.

For my friends and families who have been asking me for updates, thank you for reading my blog. You've been 'kicking my butt', so here goes my first entry after a long hiatus. I will be updating my blog from today. Will try to write the previous ones when I have the time.

I have been really tied up with the three kids without Papa. Thankfully, I have my mom and mother-in-law to watch over them when I need to run errands. Also, thanks to my sis-in-law for bringing the boys out during weekends.

Papa was in town this week so we decided to make a little escapade after the kids slept. We went to a micro-brewery, Level33, at the top of the Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1. Nice ambience with a slight breeze at the outdoor terrace. The view was beautiful. We could see the full view of Marina Bay area from level 33, from the Fullerton Hotel, Padang, Esplanade, floating platform, Singapore Flyer to Marina Bay Sands Hotel standing at 57 storeys high.

View from Level33 (double click for larger image)

It was a relaxing evening. Just what I needed for a mid-week break.

Making Shortbread

Justin's school assignment this week was to bake shortbread. To reinforce Math concept of estimating and measuring weight, he had to measure the ingredients used for making shortbread. He went about excitedly measuring the flour, sugar, butter accurately using the weighing scale. Jonathan was also curious and watched his brother prepare the ingredients. Once done, the ingredients were mixed together and the boys had a chance to roll the dough and cut it into different shapes. The school recipe was fantastic. The cookies smelt so heavenly in the oven and tasted really good, literally melted in the mouth. Yummy!!

Brothers' Love to baby Sister

I do remember writing a post on how Justin loves his little brother when he was born. Here is the link . It is very heartwarming to see that he loves his sister too. He says that she is very sweet and cute. Of course, Jonathan loves Cheryl as well. Both of them will come into the room, touch and plant kisses on her cheeks.

A picture paints a thousand words.

Loving the baby smell

Playing on the mat

Tiny fingers

Jonathan and Cheryl

Jonathan's Weekend with Gaspard

Gaspard has been spending his weekends with the children in Jonathan's class. It's finally Jonathan's turn to bring Gaspard home. When I went to pick them up from school, Jonathan excitedly held Gaspard up and waved at me when he saw my car. "This is Gaspard. He is staying with us until Tuesday. It's a long weekend..." He had to take pictures with Gaspard and paste it on the "Gaspard Adventures" book. So, here goes. His adventures with his new friend.

Day 1: First stop, to the department store to buy his school indoor shoes. We spotted a huge daikon and decided to take a picture with Gaspard. We had lunch before heading home.

The Enormous Turnip

Jon sharing his lunch with Gaspard

Day 2: We went to Shinjuku for lunch and they saw their favourite train at the level crossing.

Excited boys

Hope Gaspard isn't afraid of heights!

At night, Jonathan read his favourite "I Spy" books to Gaspard.

Before bedtime

Can you spy Gaspard?