Gimme my brekkie

(Daddy blogs)

According to a recent survey conducted among 363 parents across 5 primary schools, 1 in 3 schoolchildren skipped breakfast at least once a week. And out of this pool, 46% of parents admitted there was not enough time for the child to have his breakfast proper.

This is dangerous because that particular child is more likely to skip breakfast as he/she grows older.

So when it comes to breakfast for both Ash & Ayd, there can be no such compromise. Even if I have to wake them up slightly earlier in the morning for them to down their breakfast. For them, they usually have a piece of bread or cereal at home followed by sipping a packet of milk enroute to school.

Because as the saying goes... Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Research has shown that children who eat breakfast daily are associated with greater alertness, greater tone, reduced anxiety... and they perform better on tests of creativity and mathematics too! On the other hand, children who skip breakfast tend to have a higher BMI as he/she tends to get hungry before lunch time and are more prone to snacking on foods that are higher in fats and sugar.

So it is with this in mind that Rise & Shine - a community initiative started by a group of mothers and Nanyang Technological University students - was formed. The mission of this initiative is to provide parents and educators alike an opportunity to learn, share and identify holistic approaches in raising healthier and happier children. Or for a start - to promote healthy breakfast eating on a daily basis among children aged 4 to 12 years of age. And no, chai tao kway, youtiao or roti prata don't count.

To get things started, the team has lined up a host of breakfast-related activities where exhibitions, performances, story-telling sessions and even cooking demos will be held at public libraries and primary schools to spread the message of having breakfast daily. Click HERE to see the event schedule. In need of ideas to whip up a nutritious breakfast for your child? Visit the Rise & Shine Breakfast website HERE.

Here at cheekiemonkie.net, we are passionate about all things family. So I am extremely honoured to be one of the Partner Bloggers for Rise & Shine, where the goal is straightforward enough - to raise children healthily in all areas: social, physical, intellectual, mental and medical.

Come 3 March 2013, bring along your babies and young kids to the Rise & Shine Carnival 2013, billed as Singapore’s largest breakfast fiesta. 

Enjoy a healthy breakfast picnic with your family and let your little ones be enthralled with a line-up of gigantic bouncy castles, sports try-outs, engaging crafts including balloon sculpting, face-painting and stage performances.

Registration fee is $8 per adult with free admission for children aged 12 and below. Every paid participant will receive a set of play coupons worth $10. And if you are the first 1,000 to sign up, you get a Goodie Bag worth $100 too! To sign up, kindly click HERE. Visit http://carnival.riseandshine-expo.com/ for more information.

Bitten by the Lollibox Bug

Product Review

We got our first Lollibox in August last year, and it made us go all ahoy-mateys with it. Which is another way of saying we thoroughly loved the goodies within the box. So imagine our utter delight when we got surprised by yet another Lollibox!

LolliBox is a self-contained art & craft box with a theme. It has all the materials and learning activities included in the box which kids can immediately get their hands busy with. No need to waste time sourcing around all the art materials, or racking your brains how to keep us kids occupied - just throw us a Lollibox and see it work its magic!

So of course, we needed no invitation to peer into the contents of our Lollibox.

Each Lollibox adheres to a single theme, ranging from Dinosaurs, Under the Sea to Colours & Shapes. We got the Itsy Bitsy Bugs one, which happened to be the brand new theme for January.

Each Lollibox has 4 major components - Create, Discover, Enrich and Award - with a Bonus Activity thrown in. And all various components are neatly packed into individual ziploc bags, which makes for good keeping we reckoned.

The Create component will see us creating our very own firefly, complete with a glowing backside. The Discover component will then let us make a black spider from yarn and spin our own spider web too! And if we kids are still hungry for more, the Enrich portion will provide more activity ideas - materials not provided - that parents can keep us kids busy with. And finally, upon completion of all activities, we can receive the Award - the Itsy Bitsy Bugs Badge - for that sense of achievement.

And the first handicraft we zoomed towards was the Create component, where we fashioned our very own Firefly out of chenille stems, googly eyes, mosaic tiles, bottle and  - our fave! - glow stick.

One thing that we loved about Lollibox is the detailed step-by-step instructions that accompany each handicraft job. Di-di & I were able to create our Firefly on our own, with Daddy being able to focus on taking photos of us at work. Okay, mei-mei did chip in too... by sticking on the 2 googly eyes on the bottle cap.

The highlight has got to be the breaking of the glow stick and with that, our Firefly was ready to light up our room!

We chose to do the Bonus Activity next, which comprised of 5 bug cards and molding clay of various colours.

There are some simple questions behind the cards, which will provide a deeper understanding of the various bugs. All fine and good, but what we couldn't wait was to get started on molding our very own bugs using the clay!

Mei-mei created a cute butterfly, with help from Daddy of course.

Di-di molded a bumblebee, while I sculptured a terrifying spider.

Okay, so it doesn't quite look as menacing but at least we all enjoyed our hands-on task pretty much!

We didn't have time to do the Discover and Enrich portions yet but rest assured we would be - pardon the pun - bugging Daddy & Mummy relentlessly! I think Daddy is going to wait until he runs out of ideas to keep us occupied at home before whipping out the remaining Lollibox activities.

As usual, we enjoyed putting our tiny hands to good use and even better, mei-mei is a tad older to join in the handicraft fun this time around. Each Lollibox is retailing at S$24.90 and you can check out the various Lollibox themes HERE.

For more information, visit http://lollibox.sg

Moon Dough Giveaway - The Winner!

(Daddy blogs)

Sorry about the lack of posts the past few days - my entire weekend was burnt, all thanks to reservist. So I hardly had time for the monkies, let alone blog. 

But at least I am able to squeeze some time out to announce the WINNER of our Moon Dough Giveaway!

I did a review of Moon Dough last week, where all my 3 monkies had tremendous fun playing with it. And now, one lucky reader gets to try Moon Dough too.

We had loads of participants - 60 to be exact - and we would like to thank everyone for the tremendous support shown! Unfortunately, there can only be one winner.

Congratulations to EILEEN WONG! You have won a set of Moon Dough (Snack Shop)! 

Kindly email me at kelvin@cheekiemonkie.net by 31st Jan 2013 to claim your prize. Thanks to all once again, and look out for our next giveaway! :)

KidZania comes to Singapore!

Media Invite

(Daddy says Kai!)

In case you haven't heard, KidZania will soon arrive on the shores of Sentosa! 

Unlike other theme parks, KidZania does not feature any rides or arcade games. Instead, children participate in a variety of role playing activities specifically designed to aid physical and intellectual growth. Designed to educate and inspire kids aged 4 to 14, KidZania creates a kid-centric city experience from arriving at the airport, to visiting a city centre and exploring the city streets.

And a media conference was called to mark the official announcement of the KidZania collaboration between Sentosa and Malaysia's Themed Attractions and Resorts.

Man in the middle - Mexican entrepreneur Xavier López Ancona, Founder of KidZania

At KidZania, as in the real world, children choose professions and activities, such as being a police officer, doctor, journalist or a sushi maker, and earn money - otherwise known as KidZos - which they can then spend or save.  KidZania operates just like a real city complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles, a functioning economy, and recognizable establishments sponsored and branded by leading local and multi-national brands which bring authenticity to the experience.

And in the true spirit of KidZania, a handful of students from Jurong West Secondary School were invited down to the media conference to pose as journalists and pose questions to the panel.

Definitely exciting stuff. After all, we paid a visit to KidZania Kuala Lumpur in June last year at the kind invitation of Themed Attractions and Resorts. And Ash and Ayd enjoyed it so much that we just had to return - this time with our buddies - during the December school holidays! So yes, I think it can be safely assumed that both Ash & Ayd can't wait for our very own local KidZania to open.

KidZania Singapore will be a a massive 80,000 square feet indoor facility, which is part of a new Family Entertainment Centre development at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island.

KidZania Kuala Lumpur offers more than 90 career-based activities from 60 establishments. And while KidZania Singapore will offer somewhat similar career prospects, it will also have a different establishment in the form of a sports stadium. Kids will be able to role play as footballers, spectators and even sports commentators. Come special events, like Christmas, the stadium can be converted to a skating rink to reflect the festive mood.

The media conference ended on a high with an Official Announcement Ceremony, where guests and potential brand sponsors were given a sneak peek on what KidZania Singapore has to offer.

KidZania Singapore is scheduled to open in early 2015. I know, it's still a long time away... but you can always pay KidZania Kuala Lumpur a visit in the meantime! :D

Look who's talking

(Daddy blogs)

The thing about Ayd is with him, one can never expect the norm.

Just the other night, he was having the following conversations with my sister.

Ayd: Erm, Ku-jie, your brother (Yes, he finds it funny by addressing me as the brother of my sis) is not coming home tonight so Ye-ye is fetching us. I think your brother is very strong to be in the army.

My Sis: Well Ayd, you will also be in the army one day you know so you will be my strong and macho man!

Ayd: I don't think I will be so strong like Papa.. but I know I will be fat.

My Sis:  .................


The second conversation duly followed.

Ayd: Hey Ku-jie, your brother is not coming home right? Then (whispers) can I play your iPhone please? 

My Sis:  Well, yes of course you can. I will just let my brother know.

Ayd: You know right... You are so pretty after you got married!

I suspect he got his way in the end.

Clearly, he still continues to surprise us in his own little way. If he is not falling asleep in class or into the pond that is.

Blog Stalking made easy

If you love stalking blogs, and want to read your fave blogs on the go via your smartphones or tablets, then you got to have NuffnangX!

Erm, so what is NuffnangX?

It is essentially a mobile app that allows you to receive updates from your daily blog readings on your smartphone or tablet as soon as they are updated. Think Facebook news feed, but only with updates of all the blogs which you follow.

It is so easy to get started. Just download the FREE app via the iTunes store or Google Play store. Launch the app and find blogs you follow in the search box by entering its URL address. Once the blog is found, select Follow. This adds the said blog to your following feed. Using a proprietary algorithm, the app digests blog posts and pulls a single sentence that represents the gist of the blog entry, and presents this in the form of a news feed to you.

Something like this.

Pretty neat huh. So even if you have no time to read an entire blog post, you are still kept updated through this one-line summary of the blog posts. Now you can stalk all the blogs you want, even blogshops too!

And if you want a few recommendations to get your news feed going, NuffnangX has a recommendation section where you can follow blogs based on 22 different categories, ranging from Food, Fashion, Travel, Health & Fitness, Photography and of course, Parenting. :)

But that's not all - Another interesting feature is the ability to directly interact with the bloggers via messages on mobile devices. So not only can you stalk, you can engage with them as well.

So go ahead and stalk away... and do follow our blog on NuffnangX too! Pretty please?

You can find our blog on NuffnangX HERE, or simply search www.cheekiemonkie.net in the app.

NuffnangX is free to download and is available via the iTunes store for iOS devices and Google Play store for Android devices.

Squishy Squashy Moon Dough Giveaway

Product Review

(Daddy reviews)

The monkies, especially Ayd, love playing with Play-doh. BUT as parents, we all know what the end result will be when they are done playing with it. The dough will be everywhere - floor, chairs, hair and even mouth if they get too zealous about it - and by everywhere, I really mean everywhere. So suffice to say, this nasty stuff usually give me the chills whenever it makes an appearance.

So imagine my horror - and the children's delight - when we were sent not one, not two but three boxes of Moon Dough by the people at Emway Singapore. 

Moon Dough is marketed as 'the magical moulding dough that never dries out and allows kids to create their own fun with no mess!' Truth be told, I was a little sceptical at first. But the monkies' enthusiasm soon engulfed my nagging doubts.

And those doubts were tossed aside, albeit temporary, when I saw how the faces of the monkies lit up as the boxes were ripped open.

This was our first time coming into contact with Moon Dough, and it wasn't what we had expected at all. I guess the best way to describe the dough is that it looks like butter but feels like candy floss. It is nothing like the traditional play dough; it is extremely light and moulds just as well. In fact, I loved the feel of it so much that I couldn't stop picking bits up and squashing it between my fingers too! Ditto for Ash I guess.

The first set the monkies dabbled with was the Hamburgers one, where they had the tools to create a hamburger meal with fries.

The moulds for the patty, bread and fries were of the stamping kind, which makes it a lot easier for the monkies to churn out that perfect happy meal.

The Grocery Store was next, and the coolest part of the set had got to be the cash register.

One just needs to load some Moon Dough into the top of the cash register, turn the handle and voila - a coin will roll out from the side one after another.

Besides the cash register, the set also includes a shopping basket, complete with various moulds which included a pineapple, apple, milk carton, can, bread stick and a turkey drumstick. All good enough for a great time at the supermarket!

The final set was the Snack Shop, which was the fave of the lot among the monkies. And it wasn't difficult to see why - after all, which kid can resist popcorn AND ice cream all rolled into one handy machine?

The first thing that struck me about the set was actually how easy it was to put everything together as there weren't any fiddly bits to set up. The next thing was how therapeutically fun it was to squish some Moon Dough into the top of the machine, turn the handle and watch them jump about - just like in a real popcorn machine!

Ale, on the other hand, preferred something colder where she got to indulge in some ice cream sundae.

An icy treat, just the way she loves it!

So I guess it is safe to say that all 3 monkies thoroughly loved their time with Moon Dough. But one nagging question remains - Is it MESSY?

Well, it does break off when you are moulding it, so there were a lot of bits on the floor by the time the monkies were done playing with it. I used a bigger ball of dough to pick up the little bits, which was picked up rather easily as the dough is so light. Definitely a lot easier to clean up than the other playing dough for sure!

Overall, I have to say I am pretty impressed with Moon Dough. It is odourless, wheat free and hypo-allergenic which makes it safe for younger kids to play with. Best of all, it never dries out. That's right, you can leave it out of the box or bag and it would not dry up. So I am dead certain that we will get a lot of use out of it.

From a sensory point of view, I think that the texture of the Moon Dough is fantastic and strangely therapeutic. All of us definitely had a blast with the sets of Moon Dough... yes, the wifey and me included. LOL.

And we want to share the experience with you too... by giving away ONE set of Moon Dough (Snack Shop)!

To participate in this giveaway, just leave a comment by stating a feature of the Moon Dough either in THIS BLOG POST, or in the FACEBOOK POST of this article.

One lucky winner will be picked randomly.This giveaway is open to residents in Singapore only and ends on 25th January 2013 (Fri) at 2359 hours. Good Luck! :)

Moon Dough is recommended for children aged 3 and up. It is distributed in Singapore exclusively by Emway and is retailing at Toys 'R’ Us and major departmental stores.

A Welcome Distraction

(Daddy reminisces) 

I have been serving the nation since Monday and if the past one week is of any indication, my earlier than usual wake-up time every morning and lesser than usual interaction time with my monkies every evening would be testament to how patriotic I am to the nation.

And there are still two weeks of my reservist to go.

It is times like these that make me really treasure my weekend time with the family. Oh, and throw best buddies into the mix as well.

Our kids, together with three of their other best pals, make it a point to celebrate their birthdays together. I can't exactly the time when it all began but I recently came across this photo while doing some spring-cleaning on the disc drive.

That was taken in 2009, and everyone looked so cute then! Now all of them aren't half as cute... especially when they talk back. With the exception of Ale of course. Heh.

So it was a welcome distraction to take a break from the green uniform by celebrating the monkies' buddies' birthdays over a Saturday evening - with loads of food, cake and simple fun.

Thankfully though, each of them still enjoy one another's company. And long may that continue. Regrettably, I don't harbour the same sentiments for my reservist stint.

Making a Splash, Ayden-style

(Daddy blogs)

If you have been following our Facebook page updates - if you aren't, then why haven't you liked our page already??? - you would have known that on Tuesday, Ayd had the honour of being the first person in his primary school to fall into the school pond in 2013.

What an achievement.

Luckily for him, the water level in the pond is only knee-deep and he didn't emerge from the pond with any injuries. What did emerge was him looking like the Swamp Thing, complete with algae and duckweeds.

The school did provide him with a change of school uniforms and he was okay to continue with the rest of the day in school... save for his mucky faint green shoes.

It turned out that he had accidentally slipped while hanging around the school pond during recess. And we admit, that didn't surprise the wifey and me at all. After all, this was the Ayd who had gotten lost in LEGOLAND Malaysia and fallen alseep in class on the first day of school.

The incident didn't seem to faze him that much. Something else bothered him though - upon hearing that there were tadpoles in the pond he grew extremely concerned that he might have squished some tadpoles when he fell into the water!

I honestly don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

But one thing's for sure: life is never dull with this fella. MORE (mis)adventures of Ayd to come in 2013?
I wouldn't bet against it.

Resorts World Sentosa's INCANTO

Media Invite

(Daddy reviews)

Last weekend, we were invited down by Resorts World Sentosa to catch the all-new Incanto show at Festive Grand. We didn't bring Ale along for the ride as we weren't sure if she could sit still throughout the entire 90 minutes of the show.

Incanto is the second resident in-house show after Voyage de la Vie - the rock musical cum circus -  and is billed as a theatrical magic spectacular.  Headlined by famed illusionist Joe Labero, it was every inch of a spectacle with bewildering illusions and heart-stopping stunts. But more on the show later.

Before the start of the show proper, we had a chance to go behind the scenes to see how everything is being put together.

The acrobats from the Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe were first up, and they demonstrated the graceful art of jumping through hoops. Which looked all too easy from where I was standing, but obviously it is anything but that.

All the jumping had Ash and Ayd open their mouth in disbelief, as the acrobats effortlessly cleared through the hoops one after another.

And when volunteers were needed, both Ash and Ayd offered themselves without an ounce of hesitation.

For first-timers, I reckon they didn't do that badly. They might have to land more gracefully as compared to a flat thud on the soft mat though... if they ever want to consider a career in acrobatics that is.

And no, I didn't have a go. Getting stuck while jumping through a hoop is not funny at all.

One of the amazing things while we were standing on the stage was the huge size of it. We were told that the height of the stage was around 3 storeys high, while there is even a basement below the stage which extends a further 4 storeys down!

We were then ushered into the dance studio backstage, where the dancers were doing their warm-ups in preparation for the show later.

The dance ensemble cast truly carries a huge international flavour – from Ukraine, London, China, and Australia - and everyone of them were in such high spirits as they performed a snippet of the finale dance segment for us.

Their energy and passion must have rubbed off on us, because Ayd wanted to join in and learn some of the dance moves as well!

Did he enjoy himself? Without a doubt.

Our final destination of the backstage had us paying the make-up and costume room a visit.

The room was massive, unsurprising for a show of this scale. More importantly though, Ayd immediately requested for some make-up done on his hand. Yah, he not paiseh.

On happy customer!

Make that TWO happy customers!

We even tried our hand at donning some of the costumes used in the show.

That concluded our backstage tour, which only served to heightened the excitement of the boys. Luckily, we did not have to wait too long for the show to begin.

No photography is allowed during the show, so that means I am able to enjoy the show without having to worry about taking photos of the performance. Heh.

If you have seen Voyage de la Vie, you will find that Incanto incorporates similar concepts of song-and-dance routines interspersed with acrobatic acts. But on top of that, it adds magic to the bag of tricks and involves a fair bit of audience participation too.

The story loosely follows the journey of a young girl who is caught up in a battle between a good sorcerer and a master of the dark art, the dungeon master. But not to worry if you cannot follow the story because the storyline is its weakest link.

Luckily though, the show is saved by the main man himself - Magician Joe Labero. The three-time recipient of the Merlin Award does not disappoint with the magic show staples which he executed with charisma and pizzazz. Ash and Ayd were left spellbound in their seats as they pondered over how the illusions were executed.

The other crowd favourite were the antics of Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe, which included synchronized trapeze performance on a giant bell above the stage and somersaults through revolving hoops. But all that paled in comparison when Wheel of Death was rolled out.

Photo courtesy of RWS

Executed by four men - some blind-folded - as each of them strive to keep their own wheel rotating, they even take turns venturing out to balance atop their wheel while running and even with a skipping rope! This was definitely the heart-stopping moment of the show for the wifey and me. Rightfully though, this incredible feat has earned the troupe awards around the world, including gold prizes at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de L'Avenir and Gold & Silver Clown awards at the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival.

Overall, all of us - especially the 2 boys - enjoyed the show. It isn't perfect - the songs are a tad cheesy and the dance choreography needs a little bit more work - but it is a marked improvement over Voyage de la Vie and more importantly, a fun and engaging show for the whole family. Take note that there a few instances where loud sounds and pyrotechnics are utilised, but on the whole there aren't too much 'scary' moments for younger kids.



Incanto is presented by Resorts World Sentosa, in association with Danze Fantasy Productions. Tickets for Incanto are on sale now at Resorts World Sentosa’s ticketing counters and all Sistic outlets. Alternatively, you may purchase tickets online HERE. Rack rates for Category 1 – 5 tickets are $148, $98, $88, $78 and $48 respectively. Check out ticket promotions HERE.