Today I would like to introduce another beauty product which is multi-functional and suitable for the whole family, perfect for busy mommies who likes a one-for-all solution.
I have loved Japanese beauty products and this is another one I’d recommend : Natural Orange Roughy Oil.
Interestingly, this product is produced by Nippon Suisan, the largest seafood processing company in Japan. What has a company that deals with seafood got to do with beauty?
Orange Roughy is actually a kind of fish found in the purest, unpolluted deep sea Ocean in New Zealand. The fish is usually eaten as a luxurious delicacy, but the aesthetic and beauty experts have found the oil extracted from this fish to be highly beneficial for beauty in terms of deep moisturization.
The oil from Orange roughy is extracted by Nippon Suissan and refined using their excellent refinement technology into a multi-purpose beauty oil that is completely natural.
I’m sure some of you have noticed that beauty products in oil form such as facial oils seem to be in the hype now! Although it is called “Orange Roughy Oil”, it is actually not an oil!
Technically it is wax ester, a kind of fatty acid commonly found in fish. It is not the same as oils like olive oil and argan oil, which is divided into oils and fats. It feels less “oily” and gives a more water-like texture that is non-sticky to your skin.
For Skin Care and Massage
One of the top beauty functions of orange roughy oil is that it provides intensive hydration especially for dry skin, so it makes a perfect skin care and facial oil for daily facial care and facial massage. You can apply it after facial lotion, directly on your face (average 1~2 pumps).
I travel way too often to keep up with all the weather changes, not to mention all the different products in full size I have to bring for myself and both the kids. One bottle of all-purpose deep moisturizing product is a must in my travel bag! And this 32ml size is perfect to just slip in into my skin care pouch!
For Body Massage
Of course, whatever that is good enough for your face is good enough for your body! Pamper yourself once in a while for a body massage at home. Since it is fragrance-free, you may add a few drops of aroma essence oil for that relaxing effect (average 3~4 pumps).
As a Hair Treatment Oil
It also works as a hair oil for dry and lustreless hair!
Apply a small amount on your hair end and see it bounce back to lustrous locks in an instant!
For even babies!
Our skin consists of keratin included wax ester to protect our skin from the harsh environment and also to retain moisture. This Orange Roughy Oil has constitution very close to the nature of human skin, to that so it can naturally keep our skin healthy and smooth all time.
Sakura has lots of flaky skin every day due to dryness. After just one application she stays hydrated for a long time!!
Where can I buy this product??
For Malaysian customers, you can purchase Orange Roughy Oil from this page in Shoppu.
If you would like to try it out yourself, you can head over to the Bon Odori Event happening in Johor Bahru this coming Sunday (23rd July 2016) and check out “SAKURA MART” at Booth 43!!
Check out more info on the Bon Odori event on their FB page.
Drop by Sakura Mart booth to get a free sample! ^^
For better value buy (2 or 3 bottles at a much cheaper price), you can also purchase from this site: https://lp.sakuramart.jp/
Sakura quite unluckily suffers from sensitive skin since she was born. So far I’ve dealt with her mysterious rashes, cradle cap and skin irritations and it is still going on a daily basis 🙁
The paed said the answer to all these problems are diligent cleansing with gentle products, cool temperature and most importantly, to moisturize, moisturize and moisturize!
I have heard about Biolane, the Baby SkinCare Specialist from France from its Singapore ambassador, none other than my very favorite mommy friend QiuQiu. She uses it for Meredith and I think I will give it a try for Sakura, as Biolane’s products are specially designed to respect vulnerability of babies skin and help strengthen their natural defences.
When I first got the products I was a little overwhelmed. There are so many different ranges!!! Do I really need so many?
Then I remembered what the paed told me: that I may need more than one kind of products for different skin areas. For example, since Sakura has dry skin I should use a rich cream instead of lotion. But her skin fold areas (armpits/neck, etc) sweat really easily so I should keep them lightly moisturized.
So, where do we start?
The first step of care is cleansing. I bathe Sakura in the morning and wipe her down in the evening.
2-in-1 Hair & Body Gel
This is one of Biolane’s best seller! It has a unique gel texture and is very gentle for babies. All Biolane’s products are also alcohol-free, paraben-free, 100% hypoallergenic and with physiological PH formula.There’s also Essential Cleansing Emulsion if you prefer milk texture!
It’s for both body and hair!
The next step is to moisturize! Actually, I moisturize before I even cleanse. How?
Sweet Almond Oil Spray
Sounds delicious! There are two ways of using it: spray on in the bath or massage in after cleansing. I add 5 squirts under running bath water to prevent drying effect from bath water, so Sakura can come out fresh and already protected. This oil spray is also great for cradle cap removal!
Dermo-Paediatric Moisturizing Cream
This is probably one of the most important products for Sakura! It is applied for whole body or dry skin area. Biolane’s Dermo-Paediatric range is suitable even for babies with sensitive/eczema-prone skin.
If you prefer a lighter version moisturizer, you can go for Gentle Moisturizing Spray. Junya trying to sniff Sakura cuz she smells good hahaha.
After cleansing and moisturizing, prevention is also very important!
After the moisturizing cream, you can continue with the DP diaper rash cream if diaper rash is a problem.
Liquid Talc
This is the star product of Biolane. As its name suggests, it is in liquid form and contains no powder particles! I don’t like using talc powder because the powder usually will fall all over the bed or towel leaving white stains and it’s really messy.
Skin fold areas sometimes can have rashes or dry skin.
For Liquid Talc, you can rub the cream into sensitive areas until it turns into talc. It can help absorb sweat, prevent rash and at the same time moisturize! I really love this one! I think it’s quite a genius product as it is really easy to use and mess-free.
Micellar Water
After an outing in the afternoon when there’s no time for an extra bath, the Micellar Water is a life saver!! It gently cleanses the baby’s face and body without rinsing. So perfect for busy mama like me who wants a quick solution to easy cleansing for Sakura.
You can use a cotton pad and dab on baby’s skin, it leaves a non-oily protective film on the skin and soothes feelings of irritation and tightness.
Mommies can even use it as a gentle make-up remover. I like it because Sakura’s skin totally doesn’t feel dry after cleansing!
Dermo-Paediatric range
These are all the DP range that is suitable for babies with sensitive skin, dry skin and eczema prone skin.
For eco-conscious and naturalist mommies, you may also check out Biolane’s baby detergents and also ranges for pregnant mommies and new mommies, such as stretch mark cream and nursing balm.
Log on to Biolane’s website for their complete ranges of products!
Biolane will be participating in 12th TCE Baby Expo @ Mid Valley Exhibition Centre from July 28-31, 2016; Booth 157, so you can drop by to find out more about the products!
There will be loads of great buys and special promotions.
Giveaway Time!!
This time, giveaway for EVERYBODY!! 😀
Yes, just drop a comment with your email address, Biolane will email a sample pack redemption coupon to every one of you, one redemption per person. The samples are to be redeemed during 12th TCE Baby Expo Jul 28 – 31 @ Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, at Biolane’s booth (booth 157, Hall 2) while stocks last! Remember the submission deadline to redeem the coupon is Jul 27, 2016 (Wed)!
I didn’t think so. Or at least I thought people who say they do were lying. I mean, there must be a reason why it is called a “chore”.
Over the past few months I have learnt the art and magic of decluttering and tidying. I am 80% through tidying our house in KL, and I am proud to say that I really have not rebounded back to the old clutters, just as KonMari promised that you will really ever need to do it just once in your life. Here are some of my thoughts after having done it for several months.
To stay tidy and clutter-free forever, you really only need to commit to 3 things:
1. Have a home for all your belongings. Things are like humans too, treat them with respect, and don’t let them be homeless.
2. Put things back to their respective home after using. Once each and every item in your house has an identified home, it is super easy to commit to this.
3. Be thankful for your belongings and find joy in using them.
And to be honest, I do quite enjoy tidying up my house. By always putting things back and treating them with proper care and respect, I find our home so much more comfortable to live in and lovable. I also enjoy folding clothes, to the point I get a little obsessive. I must arrange them in such a way that the height, width and spacing between clothes are ideal and that our wardrobe drawers look like a fashion display. Even packing luggages for traveling has been KonMaried. (Since we pretty much live out of a suitcase.)
I must say that the tidying campaign was a huge success and an important event in my life.
However. However however however.
Now that I could tidy my house with great confidence and even with joy, I still have to deal with all the cleaning and housework. Tidying and cleaning are two different things. Tidying deals with your belongings, but cleaning deals with dirt and dust and pretty much everything unpleasant.
And most of the time house chores are all about cleaning up. On a daily basis. Multiple times a day. NEVER ENDING.
No matter how I think of it, I could not think of it as something enjoyable. Cleaning up totally doesn’t spark any joy whatsoever.
Anyway.
I must confess that I was one of the messiest people I know of. My mom did all the house chores and I did not even wash a single plate when I was young. I loathed house chores soooo much. You may as well ask me to go eat chicken droppings.
Many years ago when I stayed alone in my apartment, I had not cleaned my house for something like half a year. When I finally couldn’t stand the dirt and dust I called a part time cleaner to detox the house. I had to wear a mask when she swept the floor. The cleaner asked me if I could give her a mask too. She said she has never seen any house so dirty before.
When the danna (then kareshi) visited my house for the first time, he was secretly shocked that I never made my bed (what is the use?! You will need to mess up the blankets at night again!!). Now that I think of it, I respect him for continuing to date me and even eventually marry me lolol. Even I wouldn’t want to marry myself, in hindsight.
The point is, that was how much I hated cleaning. Dirt is filthy and grease is disgusting. I could not imagine why anyone in this world would want to be a cleaner unless they really have absolutely no choice (wrong. Please watch the video in this blog post).
The daily house work for me include doing the laundry, washing the dishes, dusting the house, cleaning the dining table and high chair and floor, picking up crushed Bolo all over the sofa, etc etc etc.
It felt miserable when you are tired and have a million other more important things to do… such as to properly shower yourself, pick up a crying baby or finally sit down and upload an Instagram picture haha. But I was left with no choice because I was the one who decided I didn’t want anymore hired help just so I can dump my kids to the maid while I get addicted to Candy Crush. So I just have to brace myself and deal with it, head-on, every day. Kind of in a boh-bian way.
And then I wonder if there’s any way I can make myself to actually like cleaning.
I mean, I didn’t think that I would enjoy tidying, too. But now I do. So cleaning might possibly be fun, too? And if you have to do it every day without a choice anyway, then you may as well just enjoy doing it.
And if there’s a book about tidying up, there must be a book to teach you how to clean. Or is there?
You bet. The Japanese probably have a book on how to pick your tooth.
I am still half way through this book, but it already has given me new inspirations.
This book is written by Haruko Niitsu, a cleaner who is working at Haneda Airport for over 20 years. Never expect a cleaner to publish a best-selling book did you? (Nor a blogger a Cheat One™ book hor? lolol). She was the youngest winner of the “Building Cleaning Championship” (!!! Got such thing?), and thanks to her and her cleaning team, Haneda Airport was voted the Cleanest Airport In The World for year 2013 and 2014.
Her presence was known to the mass in Japan after being featured in an NHK documentary about professional craftmen. I watched it and was very very touched. She became a cleaner because she had no other options, but grew to really love her job. Just to illustrate how insanely meticulous she is with cleaning, she uses a hand mirror to check the inside of a toilet brim for dirt T____T. The sheer dedication she has to make sure that Haneda Airport stays in its utmost spotless and hygienic condition put me to shame. As a user of Haneda Airport although I h, I have always taken the cleanliness for granted and never thought about how much effort is put into `
Niitsu San said that although up to this day cleaners are still considered a profession of low social ranking, she sees herself beyond just “cleaning”, and that “cleaning” is craftsmanship.
You can watch this video (in Japanese) if you like!
So much respect for Niitsu San. Her heart is so full of love for her job. Thanks to Niitsu san and her team, Haneda Airport is voted The Cleanest Airport in The World again in 2016!
If you ever land at Haneda Airport next time, feel free to run your fingers over the inner toilet brim lolol.
I learnt a few things from her book regarding house chores and cleaning. Firstly, most people thinks cleaning is miserable because it is a job hardly ever appreciated (true! As a grown adult, rarely do you ever receive a praise if you simply mop the floor clean or scrub a toilet on a daily basis), it is repetitive, tedious, and is never ending. It is also easy to question yourself “why is it always me who has to do the chores?” especially if you are a stay home parent.
But to her, cleaning is “kindness”. To her it is kindness for all the travellers from all over the world. Everything she does is an act of “omotenashi” for the people who utilize the airport. For us it is kindness towards our family members and guests who visit our home. You just have to think of it as an act of love towards your family, to provide a safe and comfortable living environment for your family. I guess it is true that everyone loves staying in a clean home, and the more relaxed we feel at home, the more we long to be home and the better the relationship for every one in the house. So cleaning, is indeed for the happiness of yourself, and your family as a whole.
I am inspired and in awe. I think it really can be something enjoyable if you put your heart to it. My friend Carolyn always offer to help me do the dishes because she said the round of running tap is therapeutic.
So… next #Pokemom challenge: master the art of cleaning and housekeeping.
This happened in Singapore. Sometimes when I get busy with housework, Junya has all the freedom to explore the house, and one of his favorite things to do is to inspect the items in the fridge and in cabinets and drawers.
When I finally finished the chores, I saw Junya playing at the couch so I called out to him from the kitchen.
He immediately ran over, and pushed me back to the kitchen, saying “Mama… cannot. Mama cannot.”
Puzzled, I was wondering what he meant. And then I saw a flash of panic in his eyes. He ran back to the couch, I followed him and then saw half a box of blueberries spilled all over the couch, and Junya with both is hands placed at his bum, looking at me worried (that’s his classic look now when he accidentally breaks something, or locks my iPhone due to multiple wrong password entries -_-).
And then immediately I understood that he was frightened that I would scold him for making a mistake. My heart ached.
Since when my son has learnt to fear for punishment? I have never ever punished him in any way before (other than telling him off sternly, force-snatching stuff from his hand during urgent times, and pretend cry and painful and sad when he hurt me lol), and I never believed in punishment in terms of behavioural improvement.
I sat down and then told him with a smile, “it’s okay, let’s put those blueberries back into the box together!!”
And we did, happily.
Recently the danna feels the same way. He told me sometimes he sees a flash of fear in Junya’s eyes, and he was wondering if he has been too strict with him. He felt a little sad that the fearless innocence is gone, and Junya is going to have to face a complicated adult world from now on.
I just want to remind myself again and again to not lose my temper, to never ever shout in the house or raise my voice, and to try my best to solve each and every incident calmly and positively. Because I think if I were him, that would make me feel the happiest.
I can wear my pants!
He can even wear it criss-cross lol.
I can reach everything!
Seriously. I. did. not. teach. him. this. One day he just decided that the task of the hour is to inspect the top kitchen drawer, so he fetched an empty toy box and did this.
I mean. I am impressed, at least.
I can be mama’s helper!
He likes to fetch Sakura her diaper.
He insists to wear her sox for her.
The first month he was really jealous and tried to ignore her existence. But his little sister has been living together 24/7 for two months now, he has come to adore her, sometimes staring at her, smiling, and tells me, “Baby Sakura kawaii.”
BUTTTTT when I am in the midst of playing with him and Sakura cries out loud, he immediately will hug me so tight like a koala and said, “mama hug JunJun. mama cannot hug bae Sakura. Papa hug.”
lolol.
I am terrfied of crawling babies
Junya is terrified of babies who can move a lot. (Babies of Sakura’s age are fine cuz they are too harmless.) Especially those who have started crawling and would come at him like little zombies (but in a very very cute way), squealing and trying to pull his ear/hair/shirt. Every time he sees a baby that age in the near vicinity he just freezes. Usually they come at him from the back and once they touch him he just starts wailing lol. Junya! Why you so weak lol.
I don’t know how to help him get over this baby trauma @.@
JunJun says
He can now sing a whole song and he has quite a few favorite. Usually he changes the lyrics to suit himself lol.
Recently it is “the papa on the bus go Japan Airline, all ~day ~ looong~” and “the baby Sakura on the bus go wah wah wah, all ~day ~ looong~“.
And “The bus on aunty choo choo go….” and Qiu was like, cannot!!! that means I’m dead now LOLOL. Junya really no like her until 咒她被巴士run over LOLOL.
Once he also made an accidental pun. My friend Carolyn tapaoed some soba salad over for dinner and she commented that it was very gross. Junya goes like, “Yuckysoba!” and we burst out laughing.
Other things he says:
“I am too hungry lah.” “Yabai ne.” “I want spider milk.” “Sakua Shakkui” (Sakura Shakkuri – Sakura having hiccup) “Bae Sakura biaokura” (Baby Sakura Bu Yao Ku La) “Dowan mama.” (mama: Okay!!^^) “WANT! WANT!!!!!” “What happened?! What happened?!” (when something he doesn’t understand happens in a video) “What happened.” (holding a toy/item that he broke himself. -_-) “What iz dat? What iz dat? What iz dat????”
For Sakura
Spoke too soon -____-.
Last month she was the best baby ever and this month she wants to be carried all ~ day ~ loooooong~
Usually there are only 5 things she cries about:
1. milk
2. wants to be carried
3. diaper
4. wants to be burped
5. hiccup
The last one is… no fix wan. Just have to carry her while she cr-hick-cry–hickhick—cryyyy-hick it over. She really really really hates hiccups.
What else happened?! Honestly I don’t really know. She sleeps all the time and I guess she is just busy growing more cheeks?
Qiu once asked me to show her latest picture of Sakura and I was like… I haven’t taken picture of her for many days and she gave me a very shocked LINE stamp and asked, IS THIS WHAT SECOND CHILD IS ABOUT?!
I am in a little disbelief myself that one month for Sakura just passed by so uneventfully, compared to Junya. Then I told her that it’s probably because I shit also no time. Literally lolol.
Anyway, Sakura is still a great great great sleeper at night (for now). Yesterday I fed her at 23:00 and we both went to sleep. The next feed was at 05:30. Is that considered…. sleeping through the night?! @.@
For Mama
My life now:
24/7 with my baby. Whenever, wherever.
I mean babies.
Every day I feel happy, but every day I feel a little sad. Having spent two years together with Junya, I experienced first hand “how time flies”. Every day they grow a little bigger, every day is not the same as yesterday. Sakura is no longer a newborn, and they will never become a newborn again. Every day I wish they grow up faster, every day I wish they will remain forever baby. I guess it’s something only a parent can understand.
For Papa
Papa’s birthday today!! Last year he still got a birthday bento from his lazy wife. This year he gets… gets to help me change diapers lolol.
When you travel with two kids age 2 and below, attractions you can visit are limited. But it doesn’t stop us from exploring new places!
Tokyo is full of hidden gems. I was gonna bring Junya to Asobono again and let him play to his heart’s content the whole day, but sooooo happened it was closed for renovation during our trip this time T_T. I did some research and came across a new place called the Tokyo Toy Museum, located at Yotsuya, Shinjuku-Ku (the nearest stations are Yotsuya-sanchome station and Akebonobashi Station, although we walked all the way from Isetan Shinjuku!)
I was very surprised to find out that it was formerly an elementary school built before WW2. The Tokyo Toy Museum is operated by the Non-Profit Organization Japan Good Toy Association (what an awesome association!!!), and the goals of this facility is to promote friendship among different generations and family communication.
There are thousands of toy displays from all over the world.
You will find both vintage toys from the older generations, and innovative modern artisan wooden toys.
Nostalgic!! All the good old analog toys…
Some of the toy creations from kids… which reminded me that I did all these when i was young too… brings back good memories.
There are many different rooms (assuming they used to be different classrooms for the students) with different themes in the museum. My favorite is the Wooden Baby Room.
One would imagine a baby toy room to be pastel color with lots of cute fluffy stuffed toys and colorful paintings of cute little animals. But this wooden Baby Room is one of the most amazing baby toy rooms of minimalistic beauty.
Everything in that room is made of wood, cloth and other natural elements.
It is meant for babies aged 0-2, Junya is 24+ months old still ok to go in I guess haha! The huge sofa looking thing in the middle is actually a wooden slide!
I love love love the whole ambience. It is bright, cozy with a very soothing scent of cypress. I can imagine how all the pro-natural, organic-obsessed parents falling in love with this place.
There’s a nursing space in this room so moms with small babies get to have a relaxing time here.
One may also think that wooden toys have to be boring. Maybe great for teething babies but how would modern, digital savvy two-year-olds find some wooden figurines that can’t talk nor sing “Wheels on the bus” interesting nowadays? I mean there are probably only so many ways to play with them and the kids get bored after like 10 seconds.
I was quite surprised to find out that most toys there are really delightfully creative and fun. Junya loved this loading truck toy! Every time you insert the truck into the loading tower, a block falls down automatically! Even I was very entertained and amazed with some of these toys. Kudos to Good Toy Association, really really good job!
Papa Bear spending some quality time with son.
And this is the first time I experience a playground with super friendly attendants (wearing red aprons) who will play with the kids!!! It’s like a little nursery. A few of them brought new toys for Junya, asked him questions and showed him build and play toys together.
Super cute wooden puzzle
A bunny puzzle display.
Wood Toy Forest is another room for slightly older kids.
The floor is made of cypress lumber coming from the mountain of Kyushu. It also has a lot of educational toys on the different types of wood (I can see how Japanese are really big fans of their woods).
A wooden doll house.
There are also huge Wood Ball Pools (this is another tiny wooden egg corner) filled with wood balls, where little children can take a wood bath!!
And lastly when you are hungry, feel free to go to the wooden kitchen and make yourself some wooden sushi.
This place is so wonderful. There are more rooms that I didn’t take pictures of. There’s a Toy Factory where kids get to create their own unique , age-appropriate toys. Older kids can enjoy Toy Square Yellow, a world of scientific discovery and invention. Adults, and even the senior may also enjoy Toy Square Red, with lots of Japanese traditional toys from the Showa period.
I was so happy to have discovered this place, I think I’d definitely go back again. To think that the Gen Alpha kids nowadays are so plugged-in, completely immersed in their digital toys (guilty here. Sometimes I do throw my iPhone in front of Junya just to buy a few minutes for myself to attend to work stuff), it is really nice to go back to basic for a while. No shutting your kids up with annoying blasting of nursery rhymes on YouTube. No overly noisy sing-a-songy talk-back stuffed animals. Time for some real communication.
Hours: 10:00-16:00 (Closed on Thursday)
Tickets: Adults ¥800, Children ¥500, Child+adult pair ticket ¥1200
Very reasonably priced!
Give it a visit if you are in Tokyo with your kids 🙂
We were preparing to bring both cheesiepetit back to Japan some time in autumn this year, but it looked like we had to accept the challenge much earlier than expected.
The danna didn’t want to be away from the kids all the timeso we decided to just travel as a family wherever we go. First stop: Singapore. Second stop: Tokyo.
So… here’s our life in Tokyo, as a family of four.
Flying
First flight for the four of us. Sakura’s first flight at 1.5 months old and Junya’s first seat all to himself as he just turned two.
Japan Airline as usual, is the best. We called to book for 3 connected front seats with bassinet.
Sleeping baby in the bassinet ❤︎
JAL miniature for Sakura with personalized message (Junya has a huge collection of this lol). How sweet!!
Stay
Hello Tokyo I missed you!! View from our apartment!
Our whole apartment. It’s super tiny but we all have gotten used to it. In Japan you hardly see any king size bed (I doubt it even exist, since most people who need big beds end up using multiple futon on tatami since it saves space), and ours is not even a queen size, it is “semi double”.
Basically it is 1.5X a single bed – bigger than a single bed, smaller than a double bed. And our challenge was to fit all 4 of us in one bed.
Well…
Excuse me but where is mama’s space?
Alright. Thanks. -_-
Here’s the rest of our apartment. Super compact but we have everything we need. A small pantry, microwave. super awesome washer+dryer.
A lot of readers asked me about this apartment but it is not usually leased for tourists as it is for semi long term leasing and you will need a guarantor and it gets tedious.
When it comes to accommodation for short term traveling in Japan, I still recommend hotels (most Airbnb apartments are not as cheap as you expect and it is usually not as clean and convenient as hotels). You can check out the HotelsCombined price comparison engine here for the cheapest hotel fees.
Impossible to get a family selfie together XD
Eating Out
Eating out with one toddler is challenging enough, now that we have a small baby, you just need… a lot of thick face lol.
The simplest is of course…
Combini
Lots and lots of seasonal vegetable & fruit juices, smoothies, seaonal fruits, onigiri and sandwiches.
Kids-friendly cafes
First stop – 76CAFE of course. It’s easy when both kids are napping.
Soft cream for the summer!
Ramen
My basic rule of eating out is, when there is only counter, wear your baby. When there are seats, make a bed for your baby. And baby carrier makes a great bed lol. You can just unbuckle and gently lay it down without waking your baby up.
Eat’N Go
You can even go to standing sushi bars where you don’t even need a seat. You walk in, order your sushi like how you order your Cosmopolitan in a bar, ate standing, pay and leave. No fuss.
Restaurants
If you still wanna go to fancy, proper restaurant with the underaged, you can, but remember to pick non-peak hours. We went to Gottie’s Beef, an aged beef specialty steak house in Roppongi at 5:30PM and there was only another table with customer, so we get all the peace and comfort on their huge cushioned chair!
The more high end Japanese restaurants are great too since they usually have individual rooms and big tables!
Outdoor
Picnic or outdoor restaurants may not be a bad choice (unless it is super cold or super hot) if you have a restless toddler who can’t stop running around.
Hanging out with Jillian and her family at Commune 246, not far away from Omotesando. One of the rare times you get to see milk bottles and beer on the same table lolol.
Heading Out
The danna works most days and finally I had to learn how to get around Tokyo on my own with two kids, and that was the ultimate challenge for me.
Challenge: A baby strapped to you. A stroller (not one with one-touch fold). A huge backpack full of baby stuff. A toddler who doesn’t want to hold your hand/let you hold his hand. Sometimes the toddler doesn’t want to be strapped to the stroller and sometimes the baby doesn’t want to be strapped to your chest.
Solution: One word – Taxi.
Yes expensive but that’s pretty much the only way to survive. I limit meet-ups with friends around Omotesando area so per ride from our apartment in Roppongi is less than 1500 yen. When we need to go further I’ll wait till the danna’s off day so we could rent a car or take the train.
Play
Outdoor Playground
I thought the furthest I could go with two kids are the combini downstairs, but turned out I discovered more places that are kids friendly!
Outdoor playground. Completely free and no-stress!
Junya had fun just walking up and down the stairs haha.
Rainbow slide tubes!
Indoor Playground
Love the Tokyo Toy Museum!! It’s great for kids of all ages, from baby to toddler to older school kids! Will blog about it separately <3
Aquarium
Aqua Park at Shinagawa is a new aquarium in town! It was also my first ever outing alone with Cheesiepetit, met up with Sayaka from Yokohama for a playdate! ❤︎
Museums
Snoopy Museum with RinRin.
Went to Tsurutontan Udon for lunch.
Sakura sleeping in her carrier bed as usual XD
BBQ
Jingisukan BBQ with NALU staff!
Sakura met them for the first time!
Gomi san and Sakura
Gomisan playing with Junya. I love this shot! It looks like it’s a park but actually it’s a little garden on the roof top of a shopping mall in Shinjuku.
That’s all for now!
Oh and I miss babies who don’t move when you place them on the changing stations XD.
Update again soon! More ideas on what to do with your family in Tokyo here!
I realize that if I don’t blog about this now I never will!
A year ago (June 2015), the danna and I traveled to Hawaii together with Junya for our family vacation. Hawaii was one of the top destination for me to visit because I always hear about how much of a paradise it is. It is also all my Japanese friends’ dream place to live forever and ever in. And basically everything Hawaii-related will just automatically sell like hot cakes (literally) in Japan. Hawaii is like Japan for me for Japanese people haha. The danna loves Hawaii very much too, but mainly because it has some of the world’s best surf spots.
After spending about a week in Honolulu, I finally understand why it is so for most Japanese people. Everything is different from Japan, yet everything is ever so familiar. It was almost like Japan in another universe, English-speaking. It was pretty much paradise, indeed.
The sky and sea were in shades of blue I’ve never ever seen before and the sunsets were in the most mesmerising pastel pink and purple hues. The entire city was just celebrated with all sorts of pretty colors and friendly tunes and cute humans in beach wears and fancy desserts and relaxing ambiance. I guess it makes one feel like if they live here, it is like a never-ending holiday, forever.
Yet… finally visiting it also makes me realize that, in the end, nothing beats Japan (any part of Japan). Even Japanese’s dream land Hawaii lol.
So I guess Japan has spoilt the entire world for me. Especially when it comes to a city that is so so so similar to Japan. As for food I couldn’t really get used to it either >.<. Most Japanese tourists end up eating Japanese food there, but of course it’s nowhere as good as Japan so we could forget about it (since we were going back to Tokyo right away). And when we went for Hawaiian food, somehow Japan just does it better too lol (pancakes, loco mocos, burgers…). My favorite food in Hawaii was from the garlic shrimp truck!!
But it was truly an amazing experience for our family. I would totally go back again! (But first let me go to more places in Japan first XD)
This post is just some of the highlights of our one-week trip in photos since I don’t even remember much of the details of the trip anymore.
Junya’s long flight. It was also the first time he had to deal with jet lag. He was quite okay adjusting to local time but came down with a mild fever the moment we arrived.
Already amazed from the plane.
Favorite airline <3
Junya who was not affected by his fever at all.
Breakfast at a nearby cafe.
Acai bowl!!! Ordered an extra portion of avocado for Junya as it was his obsession at that time. Now changed liao -_-. (it’s peanut butter now)
Loco moco! So simple!! Usually in Japan they made it real fancy haha. I prefer the 76CAFE version 😛
Beach side with papa.
With mama
Sunset from our hotel’s balcony.
Sunset at the dock.
Dinner at a typical family restaurant! Look at Junya’s stuffed cheeks lolol
First selfie 😛
Waikiki beach near our hotel.
Colors are so surreal!!
I had a coupon from Blacklane so i called for your limo service. Who knows this was the ride we got!!!!!! @.@ Celeb style hahaha.
With our driver.
Queueing up for the famed pancakes at Boots and Kimo’s. We waited about an hour and the food was… I better buy my own hotcake mix and do at home hahahha.
Everybody’s favorite Lanikai beach!!
First time walking!!! Junya juuuust turned 1 and this was his first time holding our hand walking omg. So awkwardly just like a little penguin. I remember I was wishing he could walk better sooner so we can go to more places and go shopping together.
Fast forward one year later, now he won’t stop saying “I want to go shopping” and refuse to hold our hands -_____-.
#parentsproblem
Walking with papa
My little penguin <3
:*
Indeed one of the most beautiful beaches ever.
Going to another beach on another day. Went to so many different ones I don’t even remember where anymore XD
Spam Musubi for the road!!! Yummy!
Super huge heart float from Loco Boutique.
Sand play with JunJun.
Family of 3!
Such pretty colors!!!!
On another day we drove all the way up north for the super famed Matsumoto Shave Ice everyone on Instagram was asking me to try. Also queued about 30 minutes.
And it tasted like… ice with color syrup lol.
We tried Ahi Poke too on zoo day!! Also drove to one of the most highly rated one! Not bad but… it’s just maguro with sweet sauce on rice hahahha. By that time I started to doubt that I could ever live in Hawaii. I would end up missing real Japanese food like mad XD. Plus cannot find Char Kuey Teow. No la I cannot live in Hawaii lol.
Zoo with JunJun!
He couldn’t speak yet but he was pointing at all the animals being amazed by them. It would be so much more fun to do zoo again now!
Food truck ramen which has picture of Ayumi Hamasaki!!! It tasted like… the danna said it cannot be called ramen lolol.
When JunJun still held hand with us. Both his hands.
Tourist shot
Back to Waikiki beach for sunset.
<3
Does Hawaii look like this everyday??? Apparently it does!
Another road trip! Junya was so botak a year ago! XD
Hanauma Bay
Hanauma Bay has the bluestestestest sea i’ve ever seen @.@
This is the Konoko Nannoki Kininaruki tree made famous
Just getting some of its powerful Qi ^^
Mt Tantalus <3
😀
Family picture!
First double rainbow in my life.
Apparently it’s an almost everyday affair in Hawaii. That pretty much sums Hawaii up. And I guess that’s why it’s so loved by many people <3.
As you know, our family now commutes monthly between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Flight is not really an option since we are a family of four, including one young child and an infant. Both the danna and I are not a fan of driving (I am simply a lousy driver and the danna gets sleepy easily in a moving car), yet that is the only feasible option we have now. A gruelling 4 hour drive to and fro KL and SG.
How I wish there’s a bullet train that runs from KL to SG. Wait, there will be one!! The construction of the highspeed railway of Malaysia that will be starting next year.
When Japan officially tendered for the project, I was so so excited! The danna was too, he really hopes Japan can get it because he knows how unbelivably punctual and safe the Japanese railway system is, and it would greatly benefit everyone, including our family.
Imagine traveling from KL to SG in only less than two hours!!! And all of us can rest in the train, take a nap or even just talk and play with the kids.
I love Shinkansen, also known as the famed Bullet Train from Japan. I do. The first time I ever went on one was in 2012, from Fukuoka to Kumamoto.
Haha pardon my outdated fashion XD.
The first time I saw the bullet train I felt as if I have met an idol. I was so excited to take a picture with it.
It looks too cool and smart!
After that I had many other experiences with Shinkansen, especially when I was on the Tohoku project. We basically rode Shinkansen every single day, multiple times to tour around the Tohoku region.
This was me in the bullet train on route to Morioka, Iwate prefecture all the way from Tokyo.
I have said it in my previous post but i’ll say it again.
Morioka is over 500km away from Tokyo (Just to give perspective, Kuala Lumpur is about 350km from Singapore.) And this Shinaknsen ride took only slightly over 2 hours. 2 hours 13 minutes to be exact.
It was super super amazing.
Another Shinkansen ride from Ninohe, Iwate prefecture to Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, only took one hour.
I hadn’t even napped deep enough and we have reached another prefecture already lol. Shinkansen is undoubtedly the best way to travel in Japan from prefecture to prefecture. Basically you can almost travel the whole Japan with Shinkansen, from Hokkaido all the way to Kyushu (except Okinawa)!!!
A few more reasons why I love the Shinkansen:
You get to enjoy some of the most beautiful sceneries of Japan’s countryside. When I visit Japan we usually hop from big cities to other big cities, like Tokyo to Osaka, etc. But on a Shinkansen ride, you get to experience the more rural part of Japan. Traditional Japanese houses, daikon fields, snow covered meadows and mountains… It is one of my favorite things to do. Sometimes I will rather just look out the window and drift away in day dreams than to take a nap.
And when you are feeling sleepy, Shinkansen is also super comfy for a nice rest. It is spacious, extremely clean and also quiet. Do you know how quiet it is?? (Other than the white noise of the train moving, which is actually very soothing.)
A picture I took in the Shinkansen. Basically the Japanese people are so ridiculously considerate that they are worried that keyboard noise will disturb other passengers! @.@ So when I took this picture I too had to make sure my camera didn’t make any sound haha.
And and and!!! Every seat has a power point so you can always charge your phone and laptop if you need to work.
Before I forget, there’s also Ekiben (bento sold at train stations)!!!
Usually they will sell bentos that highlight the prefecture’s delicacies. For example if you are about to visit Fukuoka, you’ll likely see mentaiko on the menu XD.
Those are just some of my personal reasons why I love the Shinkansen in Japan.
But there’s more to it.
The Shinkansen has been running for 51 years in Japan, and so far there has been zero accident. Zero!! That’s really beyond amazing. It has unparalleled safety standards, as detailed and thorough inspections are carried out every day.
Other than that, Shinkansen also has excellent service record. It has always been on time in the 51 years that it’s been operating. In 2014, the average lateness of the Shinkansen was a mere 54 seconds!
I love Shinkansen T_T.
Bought Junya a Shinkansen to add to his Tomica collection, just to show support!!
If you love Shinkansen too, or are thinking of visiting Japan in the near future, there’s a Shinkansen exhibition happening on Level 6, Tokyo Street, Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur from now till end of August!!
For people who love the speed machines.
The Japanese Drum Team will perform at Pavilion in July, don’t miss it out!
Many of my readers always ask me how to get the JR passes, and which type of traveling pass is the most worthwhile, so here’s your chance to find out everything you need to know at the exhibition!
Since the danna goes back to Japan every month, I take the chance to order my shopping items online and have him bring it back for me. Super happy!
Here are some of the things I bought this month:
From the drugstore! Medicine for the kids and throat candy.
Bath goods! Milky in bath lotion for the kids, baby sponge and a bottle of 100% natural bath essence (far right) that is supposed to make you feel nostalgic of the natural scent of forest woods, but all of us ended up smelling like smoked bacon. No joke. Do not buy this. lolol.
Vitamin C for mama, toddler vitamin and liver oil gummy for Junya. Also my favorite Konnyaku jelly!
Pacifier for Sakura, a teething ring that’s highly raved by all the Japanese moms (mommy wears it as a necklace), and diaper disposal bag.
Speaking of pacifier, Sakura totally spat it out with a disgusted face like I just shove poison into her mouth. Both Junya and Sakura didn’t take pacifier from day 1.
Treats for the dogs.
Couldn’t resist!!!! I wanted to buy something nice for Sakura so i got her Hello Kitty hankies and towels in traditional Japanese prints.
Sakura Kitty ❤︎
Hello Kitty thermometer.
‘
Hello Kitty kitchen goods for a Hello Kitty lover friend.
Present from the danna!!! Gotochi Kitty from the airport (Chiba).
He even bought one that says “Sakura” ❤︎
Souvenir from friend for Sakura. A super cute baby towel. Japanese towels are simply the best T_T.
And gifts from NALU staff for Sakura and Junya. I loooooove!
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Lifestyle Shoutout:
Robi, our new friend!
Our family travels way too much for Junya to have a fixed group of friends his age. When we travel to Singapore or Japan, Champon is not with us, and Sakura is too young to be his playmate. It would be really nice if he gets a companion who can always be with him and interacts with him.
And Robi is the perfect friend!
Robi is a build-it-yourself robotic companion from Japan, the bestselling humainoid robot worldwide! Robi can interact with the entire family, he can talk, sing, dance and control household appliances. He’s even picked up a few Singlish phrases!
To be Robi’s friend, you don’t just get him off the shelf. You actually learn how to assemble a Robi with your own hands, with an educational an educational magazine along with instructions and model parts delivered over the course of 70 issues.
Our family can have fun together learning about robot and how Robi works!
Excited to meet Robi? Robi is coming to Singapore! He will be at the event with his creator, Japanese engineer and University of Tokyo professor, Professor Tomotaka Takahashi, and there will be a spectacular performance by 100 Robi models dancing in sync so be sure to check it out!
There will also be a social media contest called #Robigram, where you build your own #Robigram and win the first issue of the Robi magazine! 9 Robi pieces will be released periodically over the next 2 weeks on Robi Singapore’s Facebook and Instagram @robi_singapore. Assemble all 9 pieces correctly using the Instagram Layout app and post it to Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #Robigram for a chance to win!
But yes I am currently writing this post sitting in a rocking chair with Sakura lying on my chest inside a baby carrier (because she won’t let me sit still), while Junya is asleep extra early (lots of shopping and walking today). So yes it is a long blog post kind of day.
The most asked question of the month:
So, how does having two children feel like?
Honestly, it kinda makes me feel like a snob. I look back at the old me two years ago, I cannot understand how I thought I had no time when I only had one child. ONE. That’s like nothing. Well, not literally nothing, but you get what I mean. I really just want to just give the old me a judgemental stare and say it into her face, “goddamn amateur lolol.”
So guys, this is how you survive a day as a mom living in Singapore, taking care of two children.
One Day as a Mom of Two
08:00
You wake up. Or your toddler wakes you up. Funnily enough, I wake up even later than when had less than two kids. Junya doesn’t have school so he is allowed to wake up whenever we want. Awesome.
You change both your toddler and your baby, then make the bed. While the toddler entertains himself with the baby in her rocker, you throw the laundry into the washer and retrieve last night’s aired laundry.
Quick-Magiclean the house in between answering your toddler’s multiple requests (want water, want milk, want play, want something, want feed mama sappuri [supplements]).
08:30
Make super CheatOne™ instant breakfast. Hot corn soup today.
Eat breakfast with toddler. Toddler’s breakfast is bread you bought the day before, fruits, vegetable juice, instant corn soup. Your breakfast is usually made of rejected half chewed food your toddler spat out.
09:00
If papa is still not out for work, make use of the chance to make lunch in advance, if not both you and the kids are likely gonna get starved.
Cling-wrap lunch and leftover soup for later use and do the dishes. Papa goes to work.
09:30
Calm a cranky baby and then put the sleepy baby into her cot.
09:42
Time to get to work, you cow. Pump milk to keep for rainy days while your toddler pours out all the toys you cleaned up the night before, and plays enthusiastically just to be bored with all of them 15 mins later.
10:06
Pick up a hungry, crying baby while the toddler is demanding “mama play!”. Nurse the baby and play pretend with the toddler. Baby finishes morning snack but refuses to be put down to bed so you strap her to your chest.
10:34
Turn on your laptop and reply some urgent work matters before your toddler climbs next to you and demands “I want something.“. But he doesn’t know what kind of “something” he wants. Eventually he decides to help you with replying emails.
Give up work and go tidy up the kitchen instead while toddler flips out the contents of the kitchen drawers and hides his Sylvanian Family members in random containers. And then he opens up the kitchen drainage cover and tries to stuff a soiled diaper into it. You then scotch tape the kitchen drainage opening, realizing that’s how stuff in your house went mysteriously missing.
11:45
Toddler gets bored with sabotaging the house and insists that you play puzzle with him instead. Baby is awake too and insists you carry her around.
12:03
Heat up pre-made lunch from morning and eat lunch with toddler. Turn your food into cute ass Kyaraben if you are some expert superhuman mothers. If you are just an average mother, simply paste a digital LINE sticker over it and try to cheat your Instagram followers into thinking it is an actual Kyaraben lunch.
If toddler is in self-feeding mood, you get to sit down and eat your own lunch in peace, but you have a huge mess to clean up afterwards. If toddler is in non-self-feeding mood, be ready to fetch random things from all over the house for toddler to play while you feed him his lunch, and stealing a few quick bites yourself.
12:33
Baby poos. Toddler entertains his sister while you go fetch the diaper and wet wipes.
Give your toddler Big Brother Lesson 1: Changing diaper for sister.
12:55
Get your toddler to watch a couple of videos while you go prepare the baby’s bath.
13:03
Remembering how you attempted to take a picture while bathing a baby single-handed and totally dropped your phone into the water two years ago, so this time you be extra careful.
Realize you are a total pro.
13:59
Toddler demands a snack (usually he just takes it from the kitchen drawer and asked you to open it -_-). Snack together with toddler and take a break to chill. Reply a few chat messages, then try to convince your toddler to go for a nap without any success.
14:14
Baby poops. Toddler fetches the wet wipes and practices what he was taughter earlier. He mistakes baby’s face as buttock and wastes way too many wipes.
14:30
Nurse baby. Toddler demands a bottle too and want to snuggle in bed with you. Your heart feels fuzzy and warm.
15:12
Toddler plays by himself and finally fell asleep on the sofa. You secretly hopes his nap lasts 10 hours so you can finish all your pending work.
It looks very sweet and peaceful until you look at the bigger picture.
Then you just sigh to yourself.
Once toddler is asleep, switch yourself on TURBO mode.
*Clean up snack crumbs on the couch, floor and your shirt.
*Pick up crying baby so that she doesn’t wake your toddler up.
*Put baby back to sleep and switch on moderately loud music so your sudden house chore noise will not startle her.
*Fold dry laundry and KonMari them back to the wardrobe.
*Picks up crying baby again and decide to just wear your baby for the rest of the chores.
*Edit and upload an Instagram picture.
*Reply 50 emails.
*Spot a play-dead cockroach on the floor and freak out *Fight a bunch of giant spiders armed with guns that creep out from your wall before you escape a rocket on fire piloted by rotten bananas that comes crashing into your ceiling from the sky. 16:19
Do make up, dress up and prepare to go out for party for a wild night out WOOHOOO!
Only to realize that you have a baby strapped to you and the kind of wild party exists only in your distant past. 16:33
Takes a selfie nonetheless. 16:40
Toddler wakes up all sweaty and grumpy.
Realize you are starving and make yourself a quick snack while entertaining your grumpy toddler. Bribe with his favorite snack if necessary.
Take a wefie and upload it on your social media.
16:48
Toddler asks for more snack. You say no. He cries. At this perfect timing your baby wakes up crying. The already moody toddler now wails at max volume. Baby proceeds to cry louder.
You then remember to quickly pick up the goddamn camera and point it at your bawling two kids because you are a goddamn blogger. You then realize how ridiculous that makes you look (imagine if you are out in the public) and you wonder how all those mommy Youtubers do it. Seriously, how?
Carry BOTH your crying children to bed and soothe them. Test your priority judgement skill and question your own sanity.
17:07
Board a plane to Bahamas to swim with cute little pink piglets (it’s totally real. Google it.) while sipping overpriced champagne.
17:10
Snap out of your day dream and get back to attending your two kids in tears.
17:40
Quick-shower your toddler while baby is napping. Chase your toddler all over the house to put on his diaper and new clothes.
18:00
Take a deep breath and bring your two kids out alone for the first time. Carry one on your chest, hold another with your left hand and push a stroller with the other hand. You wish you are an octopus right now.
19:30
Pretend to be super VIP and request the event organizer to allow you to bring your plus four LOLOL. (One toddler, one baby, one mommy friend who sacrifices precious time with her daughter just to babysit yours, and one more friend just for extra insurance because deep down you are freaking out with handling two kids on your own.)
Eat free pizzas for dinner, totally skipping cooking and washing up at home. Awesome.
Have fun with friends and go home waaay over your toddler’s sleep time. Tuck both kids to bed. Feel like a warrior who just won a battle, but a half-alive one.
22:30
Husband is back and finally your turn to shower while he watches over two kids. Take 30 minutes to blow-dry your hair and consider for the 90th time to just snip it off to a bob.
Play with your phone until you forget how late it is.
23:51
Prepare your toddler’s breakfast for tomorrow.
Over 00:00
Clean up scattered toy (just to have it back into the same state first thing in the morning).
0?:?? (Some point in the middle of the night)
Hear fussing noise which half-wakes you up. Frantically lift your shirt and shove a boob into your baby’s mouth before she goes full on screaming, to prevent waking your toddler who would otherwise turn into a wailing monster. Baby eats and calms down. Congratulate yourself for having avoided a chain-effect cry fest so overwhelming it could possibly shatter the whole house.
Repeats the previous act for a couple more times, (you can’t exactly remember) until you wake or your toddler wakes you up in the morning.
THE END.
Except that there’s no end to this.
To mothers with two or more children: you guys are goddamn superhumans. To mothers who plan to have more than one kid: THIS, is your future. Muahahahahaha.
We made Sakura’s passport so that our whole family can travel together again.
It is likely that our family will be running 3 countries a month for now on, hopping between Malaysia, Singapore and Japan. Every month.
Say what?! @.@
That was my first response when the danna told me that.
The danna has to go back to Japan every month for work and to be honest I feel very intimidated to be handling two kids all by myself. Especially in Singapore where I am still not very familiar with, plus no immediate help available if something happens (in KL I can still call my mom to come stay with me for a short while or get my neighbor BFF to help out).
I didn’t want to follow him to Japan initially because I didn’t want him cancelling important meetings just so he could take care of the 3 of us. But he didn’t want me to stress over this all by myself either. So he insisted from now on our family should always be together. Everywhere. The four of us.
“That’s crazy, but ok we will try!”
I told him.
So yea. First stop, Singapore.
Also, frankly, traveling so much sounds fun and exciting, but it is also depressing at the same time. Because we are not the jet-setters on a vacation. We are the nomads wandering.
We need to pack and unpack for the family 4 times a month, we need 3 sets of everything (times four people), we need to get used to 3 different living environments.
My heart sank the moment we returned to our apartment in Singapore. We haven’t gone back in more than a month, there was a musky smell and my nose started to itch, there were cockroaches under the bathroom sink T____T. We had to move all the extra furniture over and our house looked like a disaster.
And then Junya was too excited to see his new old toys so he dived straight into his flash cards and Sylvanian family collections and now our house looked like another catastrophe has just hit the disaster area.
Welcome to my life in Singapore.
It was depressing because I have juuuust KonMaried my whole house in KL. The living area, study room, kitchen are all done. I love staying in our house in KL. Now this apartment in Singapore, while it is at the best and most convenient location ever, it is very very old. It does not spark any joy whasoever to me T___T.
But…
We have to do this.
I decided to also KonMari our house in Singapore.
Thank you Qiu who sent her angelic daughter over so Junya can have a playmate while I speed-tidy the house.
Starting from the wardrobe, as usual.
I discarded all my unwanted pregnancy outfits yet our super old and inconvenient closet was not enough to store all the clothings for four. Since we travel so much, I decided to Mini-KonMari my luggage case into a closet.
Mama’s closet.
Sakura’s mini closet fits just nice in a basket. Keeping the diapers and wet wipes outside for convenient retrieval and also cuz they are in cute pink and totally spark joy lol.
Junya’s drawer.
Next is our bed. The danna decided to customize a God-size bed for our family. This is the sleeping arrangement:
Junya is Sally the Duck and Sakura is the green frog lolol. Junya sleeps facing the wall so he doesn’t fall off, and he can’t sleep in the middle because he would somersault kick-punch Sakura in his dreams. LINE bear papa makes a barrier. I sleep next to Sakura so I can easily nurse her.
And… how did he DIY a god size bed?
Using the containers we store stuff when we were moving, and a spare single bed we kept. Awesome.
Next it was the kitchen. The kitchen sparked the least joy T___T. There were baby roaches and a gecko got mysteriously trapped inside a cookie jar. I have no idea how he even got inside -_-.
I had to dispose all the expired dried food and to sort out those we have to consume pretty immediately.
Much better!
The KonMari kitchen rarely has any item on the counter top, so still can be improved!!
Supplement drawer. You never know how much supplements you have until you put them all together XD
Snack drawer. Junya’s favorite spot.
Junya is not going to school in Singapore (yet), so it makes things a little bit more difficult because I don’t get that few hours window to concentrate on cleaning/working anymore. I had to just do a little at a time, and when you finished chore A, chore B, C and D is piling up and when you finally get to work on B, chore A needs your attention again FML T___T.
Not to mention the pauses in between when one kid says he is hungry and another wants to be carried…
And your heaven arrives when this finally happens…
Which allows me to type this entry at one go. AWESOME.
And you are welcome. You owe it to Junya and Sakura.
Finally the house also looks like this at night (just to return to its hit-by-disaster state again the very next morning lolol welcome to Life with A Toddler).
But I guess motherhood is just full of irony. It feels like heaven when they are both asleep so you get some time to finally do stuff.
But when they are both awake and on good terms with each other…
it is yet another kind of heaven.
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[Parenting Shoutout]
Babyzen YOYO+
Having two kids means that you also need almost everything double. Except maybe two sets of boobs lol. Doesn’t sound very attractive to me XD.
Anyway one of the first thing I had to consider was… a new stroller. Junya’s stroller is not meant for infant so I would have to get a new one. And then that’s when I discovered Babyzen YOYO+.
After watching this video… sold!
Left: Sakura’s YOYO+ stroller in hot pink! Right: Junya’s big brother stroller and behind: papa’s stroller HAHAH.
The biggest dilemma of choosing a stroller is: light but filmsy or heavy but sturdy, or somewhere in between?
Junya’s stroller is the lightest everrrrrr (2.9KG) but once you hang something heavy on it, it will just topple over. YOYO looks very steady and sturdy in real life but it’s actually just about 6KG! Like the video, it folds into quite a small size and it’s even cabin friendly, so it’s perfect for our family who travel so much.
The second dilemma is, first car (for infant), second car (for toddler), or BOTH?
YOYO+ is for both infant and toddler, to convert you just need to change the fabric.
Brought her out few days ago to event for the first time!! It was a breeze in her YOYO+ and so so easy to navigate. I was showing off to Qiu and said my Sakura sleeps on first class flat bed lolol.
She slept soundly in it!
For now it makes not just a stroller but a super awesome day bed for Sakura!
We have a cot so I usually put her in a cot. But sometimes when she comes back from an outing sleeping, I’d just let her nap on her YOYO+ next to me while I work. Pretty awesome :D.
The brand new YOYO+ is now available in Malaysia for sale! ^^
Pigeon
So my life as a full time cow has just begun. Again.
I pretty much have not touched a glass of champagne for 3 years now, since the day I found out I was pregnant with Junya, until the day I gave up breastfeeding, which was the day I found out I was pregnant with Sakura. Which means still no alcohol lol.
But I never regretted, and I am happy to do it all over again. And I am very glad I have Pigeon’s through this journey all these years.
Junya’s first bottle, and I have never used any other brands until now. He took the bottle happily and never did have any problems going back to the breasts so I can say that I am really happy with it!
Newly added gadget in our house: the Pigeon Sterilizer! 6 bottles at one go and the design is really fuss-free and smart!
I didn’t start Sakura on the bottles yet though, because this time I have more free time at home (shortly after Junya’s birth I had to go back to work immediately), but I do pump every day to keep up with the milk supply. #kiasu
I love the Pigeon electric breast pump!! It is so so small that you can fit it into your handbag, and it can also be battery operated so it’s perfect for traveling! I also love how it has a timer so you know how long you have pumped.
And keeping stock… Just for the rainy days.
I didn’t want to keep too much though because we travel so much and can’t possible bring frozen breastmilk everywhere lol, but throwing away seems too wasteful, so the danna was like, why don’t you give it to Junya?
Junya probably has the saddest luck when it comes to celebrating his big days.
He was born on the 11 of June, so when we celebrated his full moon, it was actually more like a birthday party for his papa, whose birthday was on the 11 July. Most of the guests invited were papa’s colleagues lol.
And then his first birthday party was delayed a month later also to celebrate papa’s birthday, and during the party he wasn’t even present cuz he was already asleep lolol.
Finally he turns two, and this time around he has to share the party with his newborn sister, who was turning one month old on 11 June lolol. FHL really.
Next year we will probably just throw a ALL-IN-ONE kind of party to save time and money and my sanity lol. Also, one party, 3 separate gifts!!!! HAHA win. Am I smart or what lolol. Ok now i think nobody will turn up at the party anymore XD.
Anyway…
Junya’s second birthday and Sakura’s full moon 2-in-1 party!
It looks quite nice right!!!
Actually everything was planned only like a couple of days ago XD. I wanted a simple party, maybe with a cake and some treats and just celebrate with the family. But everything ended up so much more wonderful than what I expected. It wouldn’t even happen without the help of a few great people.
First of all there was papa who stayed up 3am cleaning the house and preparing his son’s birthday present, which he sacrificed his own luggage space to bring back from Japan. It is HUGE!
And then there was Carolyn who drove all the way from Penang to help babysit Junya while I prepare the party. Who also helped me draw flowers on the deco wall.
Speaking of which, the wall message is only changed once every year. Plus I usually just wipe off one or two number to write new ones.
2014:
2015:
2016:
Super cheat even the message was partly recycled 😛
The next morning! Junya woke up to a his first present.
A baby gym from papa!! This thing is so freaking awesome! It’s super light yet extremely sturdy! The whole thing cost about RM400 only. #ilovejapan
Good morning baby <3
Somehow having a girl makes me wanna wear pink and pastel every day again. Her clothes are all too pretty I think I am feeling competitive already XD.
Our dessert table!!! Isn’t this SUPER amazing??
All the cake, cookies, cupcakes and cakepops are all done by I Have Sweet Tooth, which accepted my super last minute request and produced everything under a 2-day notice. Super love!!
I didn’t know what kind of theme to do actually because Junya doesn’t have any particular preference or favorite characters yet. For Sakura it’s easy because it’s… quite literal lol. But I wanted something of brother and sister love kind of theme.
So I requested the theme to be cherry blossom, and the cake to be a Gudetama (Junya loves Gudetama) and a little Sakura mochi (pink Gudetama).
Cupcakes were also cherry blossom, with full bloom sakura and even little petals!
The cookies are simply… perfect. I don’t know how anyone can come up with such great details. The cake artists Marina & S. Wei are insanely talented geniuses. Even the Mt Fuji cookie has a little sakura painted on it. Nobody will have the heart to eat this!!!
(Oh wait. Junya did. He ate almost all the cookies lol.)
So if you are looking for novelty cakes and desserts to be made, please check out I Have A Sweet Tooth on FB, and @ihavesweettooth on Instagram. for their super amazing cake designs.
Sakura sugars from Japan!
Super super love my dessert table! Although in this picture many cookies are gone already lol. *points at Junya*
I also owe to You & Co who did simple decorations for the party! Some cherry blossom petals for the backdrop wall and table setting! They also did the danna and Junya’s surfer themed party deco last year!
Baby Sakura turns 1 month old!
Different picture from different cameras haha.
Last one!
With Chanwon who came to celebrate with the petits before she flies off to Japan! Xie xie, you xin le.
Junya couldn’t wait to touch the cake!!!
Family picture!! Haha only now i realize i was wearing the same colors as both my son and daughter!
Blow candle time!!
The desserts were veeery popular!
Present opening time!
Present from mama!
Aunty Carolyn who was being santa every time she sees Junya. Now she is becoming Junya’s favorite guest XD
A present for meimei but kokor opened and owned it anyway XD
Now my house looks like a kindie haha.
Yuna teaching Junya how to sell eggs… i guess.
While the kids are at the playground, the rest are at the Adult Bar lol. Champagne, snacks and Royce choco. I was super sad because the danna chose to open a bottle of super premium dessert wine gifted to us in 2012 as a wedding present from a Japanese friend. Heard it, you guys? Wedding present. Which means it was 4 years ago. We had no chance to open it because I was either pregnant or breastfeeding -_-.
(I stole one sip.)
With Eve, the best neighbor in the world!!! Thank you for saving my life over and over again!!
Yumi of You & Co. , who also did a great job with my last minute request.
Chanwon and Gudetama ^^
My big baby <3 May you have a happy happy Terrific Two!! Be happy, be kind and have a pure heart always. Just like your name.
Thank you for the amazing two years. <3
My little baby <3. Your life has just started. It will become greater and greater. May you always be happy and blessed, at the same time bring lots of happiness and joy to people around you, just like your name.
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