Build-a-Bear!

Bryan was invited to his classmate's 5th birthday. It was held in a Build-a-Bear Workshop. I've seen one in United Square. But didn't really pay attention to how it worked.

So today was the first time I saw how a bear is made. First you had to choose a bear. Or if you prefer, a lion, or rabbit, or dog. Then you had to make sure it's something you really want. Cuddle it and let it speak to you.

Sit down and think of a name for the bear. You can name it Teddy or Nemo or even Jerry. Whatever you'd want your new friend to be called.

Then get a small red heart and put it into the bear. You are going to bring the bear to life. Then stuffing is but into the back of the bear and closed with strong thread. You can decide how hard or soft you'd like Teddy to be. 

Finally dress Teddy up. You can make Teddy anything from a biker bear to a cheerleader bear or doctor or nurse. They have every accessory you can think of. From sunglasses, to skateboards. And the selection of shoes is phenomenal. You can give Teddy flip-flops or top of the range Sketchers sneakers. 

And how about dress ups, like Buzz Lightyear Teddy or Woody Teddy... It's something unique. They even have cutesy bears like the Sanrio characters. Ah... brings back memories. What I would really like is a Forever Friends bear. Do you remember those? They were all the hype back when I was still in school and a favourite amongst us girls.

Bryan really likes his Teddy. He carried Teddy home in a box all by himself and didn't ask anyone to help. I think he calls his bear, Nemo.

Esplanade

Having stayed in Singapore for so long, we hardly ever do the touristy stuff. Like walking down the Esplanade and taking in the view of the Singapore River.

But over the weekend, we had dinner with an old classmate from Melbourne at the Esplanade. And I have to say the view of the Singapore river was really stunning. I didn't realise it was so nice. And there are steps that lead down to the River so we could get really close. I took some really great photos with the kids.

I wonder what the view would be like from across the river, at the Merlion. Or how about from the Helix Bridge. Maybe one day we should do more touristy stuff and see Singapore from the eyes of visitors.

Friends for Life

Just a shout out to my best friends. For 14 years we’ve known each other. We have seen each other grow up from being awkward teenagers, to mature to women, wives and mothers. Even though I was overseas for a large part of the time, we’ve always kept in touch.

They were always there when I had problems/issues in the past. They’ve never pushed their views on me or on each other. They’ve never judged. But they’ve always been true friends. Even though we each have our own families/jobs, we make the effort to catch up once in a while. I’m honored to be part of their lives and I hope I’m able to be there for them in the same way.

As their birthdays are coming up. I just want to wish them a very happy birthday and I hope they have a very blessed year ahead.

His Car

Gabriel, being the second boy in the family, gets most of his toys as hand-me-downs from Bryan. He gets his new stuff about twice a year, from Christmas and birthday presents. Bryan on the other hand, gets new stuff all the time.

This toy car he is sitting on, (I’m very ashamed to admit) was bought for him because Bryan’s old one was too shabby to be handed down. In return however, (again I’m ashamed to admit) Gabriel gets more cuddles from Mommy. Partly because Gabriel is still the baby in the family. And partly because Bryan spends his free time playing with computer/Wii/iPhone games. And he gets irritated if he’s interrupted.

I find myself having to consciously remind myself to give Bryan a hug once in a while. And also to be fair whenever a fight erupts between the two brothers. It’s almost like a reflex to yell at Bryan for making Gabriel cry. Bryan being the older one and all. But I do realise that sometimes, it’s Gabriel that starts it by taking Bryan’s stuff. So I make Gabriel give Bryan’s stuff back.

Gabriel also has to give up some time with me when I spend time with Bryan. When he’s doing his homework or reading. I do still read with Bryan at bedtime. In contrast, Bryan had me all to himself when he was younger. So maybe that’s why Gabriel is slower in terms of speech development. Sigh... It’s all about time management with kids.

The 1st Youth Olympics

A couple of weeks ago, I managed to get tickets online to watch the Youth Olympics. I got grandstand seats to watch the Girls' Football semi-finals yesterday. It was at the Jalan Besar Stadium. We watched the match between Turkey and Chile. It was actually quite exciting. I hadn't expected the teenage girls play like that. I swear some of them had braces on.

Both teams were very competitive and had very close shots on goals. And at the end of the 1st half, The score was tied at 2-2. The 2nd half was very exciting when both teams tried to break the tie. It was only during the added 4 minutes at the end that Chile scored the tie-breaker. What a match. I can imagine how exciting the finals would be.

Birthday Scraps

Scrapped Bryan's birthday photos using Webster's Pages Garden Gala. Perfect for celebrations. I used lots of blue because he had a pool party. I used up the last of my Prima e-line yellow flowers for this. Compliments the layout nicely.


This is the last of my Lullaby Lane by Websters. I did a lot of cutting for this layout. I added Prima felt and some lace for texture.

I'm planning to redo some layouts from 2007 to 2009. I wasn't happy with my initial 12x12 layouts. They were rather experimental and not to my current taste. So I will be taking a break to do them. I plan to fill an album and use up all my old paper stock. It's very nostalgic going through old photos and deciding which ones were worth redoing. Even though it's only a few years old, Bryan was much younger then. He's really grown up so much!

A Short Trip

It was a long weekend due to Singapore's National Day. We had planned a short trip to Malacca, just across the causeway. With my in-laws. We borrowed the bigger Volvo XC 90 so that we could fit everyone in one car. It made the ride more enjoyable with so many people in the car.

Malacca itself looked rather crowded with a lot of weekenders there as well. The night market at Jonker Street was very packed. But it was a good atmosphere and there were lots of stuff to see. It didn't rain either which was great.

The food was very good. And cheap too. Different from the sort of stuff we get back home in Singapore. Everyone had more than enough to eat. Even Gabriel enjoyed the new tastes.

We ended the weekend with the National Day Parade back home in Singapore. We could even see the planes flying by over the house.

Seriously?

Check out the three links below to different sites and layout sketches. All for August and all done by different people.

By Piradee

Prima's BAP

Pencil Lines

But seriously? They look almost the same. I could do just one layout and send it to all 3 different sites. I wonder if the people who came up with the sketches were visited by the same scrapbook fairy.

Weekly Scraps

Gabriel's feeding himself now. And using a spoon too. It's so adorable. This layout uses Websters Pages Lullaby Lane. And a gorgeous Jenni Bowlin butterfly. With Prima flowers and jewels.


This is the kids at the Botanical Gardens. I used October Afternoon's scraps of papers leftover. From Farm Fresh and Thrift Shop. With the last of my brightly coloured Eline Prima flowers and alphabets.



These are done with October Afternoon's Fly a Kite collection, papers, stickers and rubons. The colours are lovely. The stamped and colored boy/girl images were done by hand. Using Copic markers. It's basically a watercolour brush marker. The effect when dry is very sweet, anime/manga type colouring. It might turn into a new addiction for me. Which means more stamps and more colours!

Courtesy Lion

A quick snap with the Courtesy Lion at United Square. Right after both boys had their haircuts. Gabriel was a bit 'manja' while cutting his hair this time. And needed a bit of coddling to get him to sit through the cut. But Bryan was great. And he had a great haircut.