You have reached the Parenting, Lifestyle and Travel blog of a daddy of FIVE, Steven Teo. Parenting, because that’s what I NEED to do, have a peek at my LIFE (style got or not, you decide) and our Travels via bus and MRT, plus the occasional cheap overseas trip!
We decided to give the kids a little surprise yesterday and
fetched them from their childcare earlier than usual.Told them that we were going to Sentosa for some fun and that got them
really excited!So off we went!With the three older kids, Steffi, Leroy,
Stacci, as well as my wife and my mother-in-law!
The kiddos finally getting their tickets and they even had express wristbands!
The kids got impatient when they saw riders coming down the slopes and kept
asking if they could ride, like NOW!But before we get to ride the Luge down, we have to take the skyride up the slope first. Initially I was afraid that the youngest, Stacci may be afraid
of the ride.But I was unduly worried,
for the kids enjoyed the ride tremendously and took in the great view!Steffi pointed to us the wonderful view of South
China Sea behind us as we were going uphill, while Leroy looked out for the squirrels
in the treetops.Even Stacci spotted a “pirate”
(parrot) perched on a pole and alerted us excitedly.Only my wife and her mom got wobbly feet
after the ride.
Everyone enjoyed the Skyride, well almost everyone... Except for mommy... But she was calm enough to help us take photos!
One needs to be at least 85cm to ride and 110cm to ride
alone.Otherwise it would have to be a
tandem ride.Steffi barely reached the minimum height
requirement of 110 to ride alone but we decided that it would be better for her
to ride with me as she might lack the strength to pull the handle all the way back to
brake.
We had to take turns with different kids.
It is really easy to handle the Luge!The Luge will not move till you pull the
handle bar up to halfway, and it will brake when you pull it all the way
back!As for direction, it is just the
same as a bicycle.I took rides with all
3 kids and I must say all of them are speed demons who kept asking me to go
faster and faster!I wished I could have
recorded a video of them laughing while I went down the hill at top speed. I even heard my mother-in-law “scolding”
Leroy for trying to wrestle the control from her in her Luge so that they can go faster!
Leroy pointing out that once is NEVER enough and posing for the camera when going up the slope on the Skyride.
It was a really fun bonding time for the entire family aged 3 to 67 years old!We went uphill and down slope 5 times and the kids
still demanded more!Unfortunately it
was getting a little late and we had better get going for my tummy was
rumbling!The Luge rides are open till
9.30pm actually and the world’s first and only night Luge rides are made possible
with flashing lights illuminating the tracks.Great for those who want to escape the sun!
The kiddos taking a short rest before going down the slopes again for the 2nd, no 3rd, no 4th time!
Skyline Luge was the winner of Tripadvisor’s Travelers’
Choice 2013, but one need not go overseas to enjoy the only Luge in Asia right
here in Singapore. It has been around for almost 9 years, how could one miss it? Go check out their official
website for more information on their special family packages!
You can see from the kids smiles that they truly enjoyed the Luge experience!
We have a piece of great news for you! The "Perfect" Father has 5 sets of Family Passes to Skyline Luge and Skyride worth $39 each to giveaway, courtesy of Skyline Luge Sentosa! Contest ends at 2359hrs on 29 June 2014.
Just 3 easy steps for a chance to win the tickets!
I was thinking that I cannot keep bringing the kids out for movies or physical fun only. So last Saturday, we brought Steffi and Leroy to a workshop by ACT 3 International titled "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" at level 4, Ion Orchard on an invite.
"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly"
At first I was quite concerned if the kids would enjoy the workshop or understand the play or the related activities as they are more comfortable with Mandarin. But then I thought just try lor, me and wifey can also "pak tor" in Orchard after dropping off the kids.
We managed to walk a little (only my second time to Ion) and have a dessert before returning to pick them up. Our fears of the kids crying and looking for us were unfounded as we watched them from the side for the last 15 minutes of the workshop. From their laughter, we knew that both Steffi and Leroy enjoyed themselves thoroughly!
The kids enjoying the activities planned for them!
This workshop like quite value for money also, got exhibition, performance, drama workshop and visual arts activities some more. The kiddos got to draw animals (in whatever form they imagined), made some crafts, acted out characters with the old lady and also got to see their drawings come to life as well!
Steffi and Leroy with their masterpieces and I wonder what are the creatures in blue?
So if you are looking for a fun-filled activity for your kids during the June holidays, you may wish to consider checking out ACT 3 International to find out more about their workshops for kids ranging from 3 all the way to 16! You can even get some couple time too!
Times passes by so fast.Little Louie had already been with us for the past 56 days and his
confinement lady had also left for almost a month.We are already starting to find having 4 kids
a little handful to manage between my wife and myself occasionally but hey our fun is also
multiplied 4-fold! Sometimes after an especially difficult time, my wife would even tell me off, saying "生生生, 有那么爱小孩吗?" (Keep asking me to give birth, do we really love kids that much?). But we would always burst out laughing after that, because we knew the answer and she just needed to let go steam.
This is already the fifth and final installment to the
parenting series by Pampers Singapore and OMY that involves a total of 7 other parent
blogger, who are all moms!That leaves me
as the only thorn among the roses, the only dad blogger in the campaign.You can read about all the blog entries from
the other mommies (including mine of course) over here.
Pampers baby dry kept Louie dry and our mattress well-protected, even when the urine flows all the way to the back of the diaper!
Besides the initial pack of diapers from the hospital, our
Little Louie had been using Pampers Baby Dry since birth and our experience so far had
been excellent!The elastic sides ensured
a tight and comfortable fit, while the ultra-absorbent material ensured that
there was absolutely no leakage! The wetness indicator ensures that we change the diapers
whenever necessary just with a visual check and little Louie had not
encountered any nappy rash at all! (touch wood).
Louie is loved by all, and Pampers as well!
We are thankful to Pampers for sponsoring our
fourth bundle of joy with the excellent product and trust that this should be
the choice for other discerning parents as well! Louie may be able to continue getting sponsored for the rest of the year if you could just take a little time to support the family by voting for us! He has a one in eight chance!
I shared on my blog post a couple of months ago, the story about
how my little Steffi "persuaded" me to quit smoking then. It was more than 3 years ago when I decided to kick the habit and I am proud to say that I have not lighted up since. However I will forever be branded as an ex-smoker and I will have to ensure that I NEVER start again.
The reason why I decided to call it quits!
I read about I Quit Club's Facebook post
on getting ex-smokers to share their stories a couple of months ago and I shared mine. Little did I know that they would ask if I would agree to be featured in their promotional materials to lend credibility to their campaign this year. I didn't know I had to put on makeup for the professional shoot last month but I was even given some vouchers for the effort
and for signing off my rights to my images. All that was just for shooting my "cannot-make-it" face!
The VIPs launching the campaign while we have a family photo shoot towards the end.
I also attended the launch National Tobacco Control Campaign 2014
at Tiong Bahru Plaza last Saturday with my whole family.Was asked beforehand if I would be
comfortable to go on stage to share my story but I declined as I have stage
fright.Ended up getting interviewed by
CNA (video available here) and Shin Min though, probably because of all my kids.
A small write up of my quit story in Shin Min on Sun, 01 June 14.
All smokers knows that smoking kills. I used to get out of the house to smoke, away from my wife and kids, thinking that it would be okay. But that was not enough as I failed to realize the harmful effects of secondhand smoke residue. The only way is to stop, period.
The family had fun taking instant photos with the various props at the launch event.
If you are a smoker, no amount of helpful advice or cajoling
from others would make you quit. Only you, yourself can do it. I did it, you should too. Take the 28 day challenge and escape from the clutches of cigarettes. You deserve better!
The family and kids went on our first hotel staycation on Saturday. It was possible thanks to the generosity of Hotel Re!, which recently celebrated its 6th anniversary on 15 May 2014. It's been ages since I went back to this particular part of Singapore. It definitely brought back lots of memories for me as I had studied in Outram Secondary School, which was just opposite the hotel building (former Pearl's Hill Primary School back then).
The hotel is about 5-10mins walk from Outram MRT station and is opposite my old Alma Mater, Outram Secondary School.
The thing that struck us when we first reached the hotel was that it was really colorful and retro. We felt refreshed immediately when we stepped in and the kids even went "wah!" when they first got into the lift!
The eye-catching designs in the lifts reminded me of the lift in Legoland Hotel, Malaysia.
Our family suite on the 3rd floor was tucked at the end of the hotel corridor and separated by the service lift lobby from the other rooms. That gave us lots of privacy and also meant that I need not worry about the din that the kids might create!
The rooms were filled with bright colorful retro designs! The kids enjoyed hiding in the cupboards!
The suite consisted of 2 bedrooms, a living room and a common bathroom. One room comes with a king-sized bed with TV and minibar, while the other has two single beds. As lots of the wooden furnishings are in white laminate to bring out the colors in their designs, it also made wear and tear (over 6 years?) a little too obvious to the eye, which was really a shame.
The kids enjoying playing with their iPads and watching Jack the Giant Slayer on HBO.
Hotel Re! is basically a boutique hotel so there wasn't a swimming pool but the kids did enjoy the bathtub which was the highlight of the stay to them. Oh, there is also a bidet toilet seat which I discovered after hearing a scream in the toilet when someone mistook the switch as the flush.
There is free use of the basic equipments in the Re!Charge Gym @ Level 10 for hotel guests who wanted a little workout.
We got a 50% off voucher for the ala carte items at Re!Fill Restaurant and went for a late night dessert. The dessert was passable but maybe because we were the last customers, the service was a little slow for the family's liking.
Our overall experience at the hotel was great and the kids enjoyed watching cable TV and playing in the rooms. We visited Red Star Restaurant that was 5mins walk away, which was the same place we treated our friends and family to after our ROM, 12 years ago.
Family giving the thumbs up while on our way back in the shutter service, except for Leroy (who dozed off).
Despite being in an "ulu" location as one might describe, the hotel does provide complimentary shuttle service to and from Outram MRT, which we took after checking out from what the kids described as our "new home".
Happy 6th Anniversary Hotel Re! and who knows? We might just Re!Turn in the near future!
Quote “Steven Teo” and enjoy complimentary breakfast with every room booking made via direct reservations with our Reservation Team!
Stacci had been telling us that she wanted to go to "gogoland"
for the longest time.It's not exactly a
cheap place to visit for a family my size, with the tickets costing RM140 for
adults and RM110 for kids.That would be
almost SGD$200 for the entrance fees alone for my family.
Things really worked out for us this time as I won a pair of
tickets to the Cold Storage kids run, which included Legoland child ticket as
part of the goodie bag. My wife also won
a pair of tickets from the good folks at SengkangBabies in their giveaway
contest earlier.That meant we saved RM500 in
admission fees alone!
With the tickets in hand, we only need to source for
transport as we do not have a car.The
easiest for us would be getting return coach ticket for the family, but that
would cost us $80 for 4 pax (Stacci is free). A good friend, Wenshing who knew of our plans,
volunteered to pick us up from JB customs and even offered her house for us to
put up for one night.We took up
her offer of course!
We went into Johor Bahru one day before so that we need not
rush the next day and I can satisfy my craving for some food.I am so blessed that my wife doesn't mind the
long travel by public transport to JB with the kids. We took MRT from Ang Mo Kio to Kranji followed
by bus 170. It was my first time taking
a public bus into JB and it was rather challenging as we had luggage bag, a pram and 3 kids
and we basically slowed everyone down.
Here's the happy family on the way to Kranji, with the kids looking forward to Legoland!
The kids were overjoyed when they got to my friend's place
as her house was really big and spacious.They were basically running about and climbing up and down the stairs
without a care. Wenshing brought me to a
nearby pasar malam to buy dinner back for the family and everything was so
cheap! Imagine "Char Kuay
Teow" for RM1.50! Brought lots of
food back and I hardly felt I spent anything. If I worked in Singapore and stayed in Johor
Bahru, I think I would probably afford another 4 more kids!
Later in the night, we went to a place that sold great lok
lok. Everybody including the kids
enjoyed the food and there was even a stage for budding karaoke singers to show
off their singing skills. Even I was
tempted to try but unfortunately I have stage fright.
The Lok Lok was really nice and the kids really enjoyed eating as well! Thanks Wenshing!
We had this big room for ourselves and the kids played WII so late into the night that they couldn't be woken up in the morning!
Wenshing drove us to Legoland the next day and accompanied the
family for the entire day.The weather was really
hot and the kids' moods were kind of affected by it.
This is the first photo taken when we reached. The sun was so bright that the kids cannot even open their eyes in the later photos!
Whenever they encounter any rides they liked,
they would keep going for it multiple times.Luckily our adult to kid ratio is 1-1 and we can go different rides at the same time. Otherwise we probably wouldn't be able to take that many rides in one day.
The first ride that the kids got to enjoy. Stacci needed a little help though.
Besides driving, we went boating as well! The boat definitely isn't that easy to maneuver for the kids!
We played firemen too! Getting our fire engines to the burning houses and putting out the fire!
The Lost Kingdom is another ride loved by the kids and they got to fire laser blasters at monsters. But I half suspect it's also because the ride is air-conditioned!
There was not much of a queue at the Royal Joust. The kids went MANY rounds but poor Stacci was too small for the ride and had to watch from the sides.
We also caught a Lego 4D show at the Lego Studio!
Having been through the Shrek 4D show in Universal Studio Singapore, we know that there would be use of wind and water somehow. I checked the seats in front for tell-tale signs of booby traps but there were non. I NEVER expected that we would get WET! They basically sprayed everyone from the TOP and they even had foam! So beware and ensure that your belongings are covered!
A very small preview of the various landmarks built with Lego bricks!
The rides in Legoland are more for the young kids but even when I said so, some of the rides requires a height limit of 100cm up. That meant my short kids cannot take quite a few rides too and they were naturally disappointed. Steffi the adrenaline junkie couldn't satisfy her craving of FEAR, and the roller coaster ride was too mild for her.
I
would definitely visit Legoland Malaysia again if I am able to get free
or discounted tickets, and when the kids grow taller! It's cheaper for the family to visit our local theme parks though if transportation costs are taken into account, thus I would have to lookout for great offers on Legoland tickets!
The kid posing with the various Lego figures scattered throughout the park. Check out their poses!
And finally a parting shot with Wyldstyle and Emmet!
