One thing I really missed was the zoo. I really really like the Singapore Zoo. The upgraded kids section called Rainforest Kidzworld just made it all the better. One thing that James and I always comment to each other about the Singapore zoo - It feels like we're walking through the park with animals. It's built based on a open concept. I got this from the zoo's website:-

"The Singapore Zoo is a model of the `open zoo' concept. The animals are kept in spacious, landscaped enclosures, separated from the visitors by dry or wet moats. The moats are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of vision. In the case of dangerous animals such as leopards and jaguars which can climb very well, moat barriers are not used. Instead, these animals are housed in beautifully landscaped glass-fronted enclosures. Oppressive cages which typify old zoos, are absent. The end result is a feeling of openness."

So armed with my mum's corporate card which admits 4 for free, we brought Claire to the zoo! Gin and Wan Lin joined us as well.

We got to see the White Tigers which we missed the last time. Yes, the same tigers that killed a man last year! Ooo but they are so beautiful....

The other thing we did was to feed the giraffes coz Sophie really wanted to feed something. :)

Sophie also got to pat a miniature horse at the Kidzworld but she got a shock when it shook its head. But I think she has a thing for horses.

Most of all, Sophie enjoyed just hanging out with her best friend, Evan. Btw, this is the coolest buggy/stroller/pram for 2 (or in this case, 3) I've seen! Eli is on the other side sitting on the pram.

On Sun we had a birthday lunch with some friends at Zera Restaurant. It's a one chef, one table concept restaurant ran by our friend, Arthur. It's a great concept if you ask me. The place was so cozy, all to ourselves. It's like hosting a party at a home but without having to prepare, cook and clean! Super! And Sophie could run around all she wanted.

The food was really really good - what we love was how he pays so much attention to the choice of food, its taste and how he prepares it. I love how I could taste the food for the food itself and not overpowered by the sauce/gravy. Plus it was very affordable - $20+ for a 3 course lunch meal.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND. Very cool for a party of 10 - 14. Need to pre book. He only opens for lunch and dinner.

Zera

78 Yong Siak St

#01-12

kimtio@gmail.com

65 9 320 7911

Sophie feeding kangaroos

We've caught the zoo bug recently! We went two days in a row!

I gotta say our local zoo ROCKS big time! It's an open concept zoo so you almost feel like you're walking thru the park with animals close to you and they are everywhere! Except that the lion and the giraffes can't reach n tear each other apart because they are separated by moats and vegetation plus a narrow road and pathways that we walk on. Which means, we're safe too! :) Phew! But it was funny to hear the lions and giraffes taunting each other across the street or at least it seemed like that, so near yet so far!

Saki Monkeys

In the past two days, we managed to catch the

1. First Day - Splash Safari show where the sea lion, penguins, manatees entertained us,

2. First Day - Water play area where Sophie went wild coz she hasn't played in the water for a long time. The area needs a major uplift coz it's very rundown but there's a new Children's area coming up soon.

3. Second Day - Kangaroo feeding at the Australian Outback area where DN shook hands with the kangaroos and Sophie asked the kangaroo if she wanted to eat her shoe! Serious!

4. Second Day - Elephant riding, our friends went on it but we didn't. Sophie saw how the elephant peed and was not very impressed that they didn't use the toilet. Hiak.

Eh..... doesn't seem like a lot in two days...

But it was SOOOOOOO enjoyable! I enjoyed listening to the zookeepers and presenters talk about the animals. They are so knowledgeable and so passionate about the animals! And they are oh so so kind! There is hope yet for the service industry in Singapore! Here are some examples of why I think the Singapore Zoo is world class:

1. June and I were running with our prams and babies towards the giraffe feeding when we saw the zookeepers walking towards us. We missed it! We must have looked really sad and disappointed. But they were so kind to tell us to head towards the Australian Outback where the kangaroo feeding was going on. I mean, they could have just told us, sorry finished bye bye but they went the extra mile to inform us of an alternative! AND this impressed me - the guy checked his phone for the showtimes, which prob meant they had some software to indicate that (COOL!) or he already memorised all the showtimes and was checking the time!

2. At the Kangaroo feeding area, they let DN and Sophie share the feed (no, not for the kids, the kangaroos!). They could have very well insisted that we had to pay (or donate coz by right it's a donation) twice for two kids. They also didn't hurry us and we took our time to feed the kangaroos. The kids had such a great time! DN even had time to shake hands and make friends with one kangaroo.

3. Bin wanted to let J sit on the pony so we bought pony ride tickets. But when we got there, NONE of the 3 kids wanted to sit on it! Argh. Ok lah I don't really blame them. We had a chat with the trainer/keeper and he started telling us more about the pony. He was so gentle with the pony. I the goondu got Sophie to pat the pony on the back, thank God, he calmed the pony down quickly or else we would have been kicked! So I learnt never to pat the pony from the back! We met this guy some time before and he left an impression coz he was so knowledgeable and so helpful. Anyways, he told us that we could refund the ticket if we didn't use it. How sweet! So Bin got it refunded and they went on the elephant ride instead.

What I would recommend to do for a morning trip

1. 9am Watch the Elephant bathing and then after that walk around abit
2. 10.05am Polar Bear Feeding
3. 10.30am Treetops Trail & Otter Feeding
4. 10.45am Giraffe OR Kangaroo feeding (Have to choose either one coz they are about the same time) Cannot miss this one! Cost about $5
and you can share the feed with your friends. Not to eat, to feed the animals.
OR 11am Catch the Splash Safari show (about 30 - 45 mins) and after that head towards the Children's Play area for water play
5. 12pm Lunch
6. 1.30pm If you still have time, you can catch the Rainforest Fights Back show OR go for an ride on the Elephants (anytime from 1-2pm). The show is free but the ride costs $8 for adults and $4 for kids.

For the feeding and shows, you got to arrive early because they only allow a certain number of people to feed e.g max 5-10. Beyond that, the animals will not eat anyways. On weekdays, the shows are not so packed so you can arrive on time but on weekends, you have to rush for everything. Oh and it can get really hot so bring a hat or in our case, a dainty umbrella and the boys will fight over you.......r umbrella.

The Zoo is going thru a lot of revamping since end of last year and I think a better time to go would be the end of this year. But it is definitely worth a trip. You gotta go. It costs $16 per adult and $8.50 for children ages 3 - 12. A little expensive for a family trip BUT so worth it. Or like us, try to get your company incentive cards and it's a free trip!

(ok after writing this post, I shd get an award for the bestest friend of the zoo. I hope some PR guy from the Singapore Zoo is doing his job.)

We had a great day today!!!

In the morning Sophie and I went to West Coast to have a bit of sandplay... gotta prepare her for the upcoming trip. I'll be so sad if she refuses to walk on the beach!! It'll be a disaster! I'm having dreams of us walking on the beach, building sandcastles... la di da.... can't wait! She did well! She dug her head into sand and pour sand on her head. Ok pass, she's not afraid of sand. I battled being the scardy cat Singaporean mum and wanted to stop her but she was having so much fun, I just had to sit back and just laugh with her. Sometimes when I relax, we do have so much more fun.

After that, we had lunch at Macs. Yes, also in preparation for the trip - to eat junk food! Ok like as if we need any training in that! Hahaha... She enjoyed her milk, corn and scraps of meat off my oily McWings and cheeseburger. Argh, so unhealthy! But so yummy! Oh ya, plus fries. Dipped in chilli! Argh, she's taken to the chilli sauce! This time round she's not so keen on fries, donno why, good thing I guess. We're going to be away for a whole month so I really need to start relaxing on her food intake or else I'm really not going to enjoy the trip very much. She doesn't eat a lot so I really need to be very strategic on what I give her - max nutrients on little food. Ok I guess one month of junk food won't kill her, in fact, she might really start to enjoy food again! Avocado land here we come!

We spent the afternoon with Evan and then later popped over to Summer and Kyla's place. The girls had a great time. Today's lesson was on Good Friends. I really pray that these two girls will stick thru thick and thin together, just like Gin n I. We made them do hand prints - each girl has a hand print of her own n the other's. So sweet. It's going to be so memorable in time to come.

Ended the day with dinner downstairs with Daddy. Nice. Friends and family that's what we need for the long run. I'm deeply appreciative of that tonight.

Top Left: At Borders reading with Daddy

Top Right: Reading at lunch. She loves this book although we got it for Evan. If she turns out to be a bookworm, it'll seriously be my fault.

Bottom Left: Checking out the canal. Pretty nice lah even though it's a canal.

Bottom Right: Sunset Way

I love the weekend. That's when we have James all to ourselves.

Yesterday we had a lazy Saturday doing our favourite things - bookshop (Borders great sale at 45% off w the coupon & card), leisure lunch, Macshop, lazy around at home and then early dinner at quiet places.

James was so sweet. He spent the morning reading to Sophie while I scoured around for good buys. After that, we had lunch and then I put Sophie to nap in the sling (Yes! I dug out our old red sling to give it a try) and it worked. She was asleep in a few minutes. But I couldn't walk around too much, too heavy, I need to figure out how it works. We need to try this in prep for our aus trip coz we forsee Sophie's not going to be able to fit into the baby bjorn. While Sophie napped, James happily combed thru the Macshop and I rested.

We got home and Sophie continued napping on me. I slept together with her on top of me for almost another 30 mins before she woke up! Nice!

We had dinner at the revamped Sunset Way. It's been a while since it has been redone with restaurants like a mini Holland Village. But we've never been even though it's so near to us! We like it coz it's quiet, it's close to a playground and near the canal where we saw many people doing their evening jogs and exercise. We liked the vibe - down to earth and casual. A great alternative to overcrowded and too hip Holland V.

Left: Sophie in one of the playareas

Right: Arya and Arianne

Our Fri Mums group (it's not just mums from our cell anymore, it's fast expanded! :)) finally made it to Fidgets on Friday.

We went a little earlier coz Sophie had a short nap and we had to leave early anyways. It costs $8 for under 2s and they can play as long as they want.

Sophie was SO EXCITED when I told her we were going to play balls (ball pit). She had a great time climbing and riding in the cars etc. She was a bit hesitant to try out some of the stuff at first but after a while, she got better at them. Hee and a bit of peer pressure from our ever gung ho Arianne helped! Brenda and Arianne joined us too!

I think all that climbing and jostling around crowd was really good to build up Sophie's confidence and strength. She's not a very bulky girl and when other kids brush up against her, she can't hold her ground (both physically and emotionally) so she normally end up frustrated and complains/whines. We should really do this a lot more.

I like Fidgets coz there is a lot of space and it looks like they clean up a lot with their special cleaning machine. But it can get crowded in the mornings and early afternoon. After 4pm seemed like a nice time coz like what Bren said, the angmoh mums go home to cook. So I think we might go there again soon.

Mornings at the botanical gardens are really lovely. We left the pram behind, squeezed in with the morning crowd for the bus and took a walk at the gardens. We didn't cover much ground but it was nice just to walk.

It's been a long time since I've been to Colbar at Portsdown Rd. The last time I was there was way before Sophie was born. I love the area... black and white colonial houses, lots of green, quiet.

This time round, I realised it's such a nice rustic place to bring kids to eat at! There's so much greenery and area to run about! They even have a rubber tyre swing on a tree for older kids. Wah... I like! Even though it was lunch time and super hot, it was surprisingly cooling in the shade without aircon. The only set back? No high chair so we just stacked two chairs for Sophie.

Btw, I LOVE THIS PIC! Sophie's eyes and mouth are the same shape and size! So cute lah...

Here are some pictures of Scrumptious Cafe at Turf City - pretty cool place to hang out for mummies.

Nice playarea (left pic) although can be better maintained, cafe (right pic) plus manicure services at affordable prices.

I used to think that Singapore is deprived of green and the great outdoors. Boy am I wrong! I mean for a small island we are REALLY doing our best.

Sophie had a great time playing with the sand and running on the grass today. She couldn't stop running. She just kept running and running. It was so funny to see her. Ian and her hit it off and it was nice watching them. They were born on the same day and we pretty much saw both of them grow up together through the different stages. I laughed so hard when Sophie and Ian started cheering (like raising their arms and saying yey yey hurray!) when they saw his mom and I walked thru the door with food on our trays at Macs. I'm not sure if they were happy to see us or the food. I'd like to think it's coz they were happy to see us coz we were gone for a while to get food. Hiak.... ok maybe they saw the fries!

We had a great time with the cell mums. This was our first meet up since some have started being full time mums. I'm looking forward to more fun and fellowship and watching our kids grow up in a nurturing and God fearing environment.