Why Parents Need to Take a Break Every Once in a While

Posted on October 28, 2017 by missuschewy

It’s called self-care, and a lot of parents either don’t know what it is, or believe they don’t need it. There are a lot of ways to define self-care but basically, this is the act of simply caring for one’s health and well-being. Many people see self-care as a selfish act, but taking a few minutes or hours off from parenting can do a lot for mothers and fathers. You will be amazed at how just a few minutes of “logging off” from parent duties can give you much-needed energy to do your chores at home with less stress and a better attitude.

Aimee Danielson of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital is director of the Women’s Mental Health Program. She says that there is indeed very little time for parents to have fun and relax given their day-to-day responsibilities, and this can cause burnout. While one would think that not taking a day off makes him or her a better parent, this apparently is quite the opposite. Without allocating time off from work and chores at home, you will likely be unable to appreciate the joys of parenthood. You will be so tired and stressed all the time that everything will just seem to be about completing tasks.

You might be thinking, “What do I do?” Well, many of us are asking the same question! Since we are used to only taking care of our kids and spouse, we eventually forget the things that we actually want for ourselves. If you have no idea what you can do during your time off, here are a few suggestions.

Source: Pixabay

Sleep!

When was the last time you had a full eight hours of sleep? It has probably been quite a while, huh? Well, this is your chance to get recharged! Whether you have an hour, two, or the whole day for yourself or your spouse, sleeping is a great way to spend it. You’ve earned it and you need it. If you have the whole day off, go to a nice hotel nearby and get a massage before you sleep. That will make you sleep much better and feel more relaxed when you wake up.

Source: Pixabay

Start a New Hobby

Do something you love for a change! Even adults can have fun, too. Go get a gym membership, enrol in a dance class, or sign up for an art workshop. If your schedule is too hectic and you can only spare an hour or less a few days every week, you can start a new hobby you can easily do at home like sketching, gardening, playing online games, or doing yoga. With the internet, you can learn to do almost anything from online references and YouTube. A quick online search will reveal that you can play online games without having to pay for them. There are a lot of activities that you can also do virtually, like slot machines, and not only do these online options offer convenience and time efficiency, they also offer a lot of incentives.

Go Out and Get Some Sunshine

Source: Pixabay

Sometimes all we need is a little bit of sunshine. Try allocating at least 15 minutes of alone time outside every day to just walk, or jog. If you have the time, go out to the park or go camping over the weekend, getting out there under the sun will do your body and soul a hell of a lot of good. You will notice that your mood will improve and you will even be able to sleep more soundly. Just be sure to go out before ten in the morning or after four in the afternoon as the hours in between are when the ultraviolet rays are at their highest level.

It is essential for parents to make time for themselves if they want to be able to spend better quality time with their family. You can ask a family member, close friend, or hire a babysitter to look after your kids for a few hours or a day so that you can unwind and do the things you want. If this is not possible, you can take turns with your spouse on getting an hour or two to simply rest and do something to make you feel good and get back to your role with a smile. You will be surprised at how just a couple of hours can completely change the way you handle things at home.

Save While Grocery Shopping on FairPrice Online!

Posted on October 6, 2017 by missuschewy

“So many things yet so little time!” Does this resonate with you? As working parents, misterchewy and I only have time on weekends to bond as a family and engage in activities together like heading to the park for a picnic, or bringing our kids to an indoor playground. Grocery shopping? Haha! Ain’t nobody got time (or energy) for that! We used to make weekly visits to our favourite FairPrice supermarket and the kids love it too.

However, having to lug home heavy items such as bags of rice, formula milk tins and various baby food is gradually taking a toll on misterchewy and I as we already have our hands full with both kids. In the past, misterchewy always had to make another trip back to our car to bring home all the groceries which is really too much of a hassle. I’m sure most parents with young children will be able to identify with us!

With FairPrice Online, the husband and I now enjoy shopping for groceries in the comfort of our own home! FairPrice Online is the official online shopping portal of NTUC FairPrice Co-operative Ltd, the largest grocery retailer in Singapore. When I first browsed FairPrice Online, I was really impressed by the wide range of groceries available, from fresh produce to electronics! Also, I can be assured that all my needs are met, be it looking for motherhood products, or even restocking the office pantry!

We love shopping on FairPrice Online because all it takes is just a few simple clicks of a mouse which is really effortless. From browsing to purchasing, we find that the entire online shopping journey on FairPrice Online is seamless and the website is definitely easy to navigate. Products are all nicely categorised so shoppers can simply search under “Baby & Child” or “Baking & Cooking” for instance, if there’s something they have in mind. Also, there is a search bar on FairPrice Online for shoppers to key in a specific product or brand.

Here are more reasons to shop on FairPrice Online! With a minimum spend of $150 on Baby & Child products, get $15 off with the promo code BABY15! You can also enjoy up to 80% savings with over 40 brands! How amazing is that! Parents who shop on the go would be glad to know that there is also a mobile app for users to access the same wide selection of products and also, be updated of the latest promotions so that you won’t miss out on savings and discounts! Visit https://goo.gl/MNoYop or download the FairPrice Online app on your mobile phone!

Just the other day, I wanted to stock up on Chanelle’s formula milk powder as supply was running low and I chanced upon FairPrice’s newly launched housebrand baby milk powder, FairPrice Gold Infant Milk Formula. It is made from 100% Australia Cow’s milk and is manufactured according to standards set by Food Standards of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), in a Pharmaceutical Grade facility specifically designed for Infant Formula production, and has been HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certified. Muslim babies and children can also consume FairPrice Gold Infant Milk Formula as it is Halal certified.

The milk formula also contains DHA, AA, Lutein, GOS-Prebiotic and Nucleotides, which are building blocks for growing kids like Chanelle! At a fraction of the price of other formula milk brands, FairPrice Gold Infant Milk Formula is going to be a hit with many parents out there! Even Chanelle is thrilled! Haha!

Apart from making new formula milk powder discoveries, we also stumbled upon great diaper deals and new baby food products while on FairPrice Online. Out of the many brands that I saw, Huggies diapers come with high absorbency, keeping your baby’s bum fresh and dry! No more worrying about wet nights for your baby anymore! FairPrice is also giving away free baby wipes worth $4.95 when you spend $40 worth of FairPrice baby milk powder, baby wipes and baby diapers. So convenient to be able to find these baby essentials in one place, so why not just grab everything? Haha!

Chanelle and Cayla absolutely love the new range of Nestle Gerbers organic puffs and cookies that they got our hands on recently! These organic puffs are so light and fluffy which makes it really safe and easy to consume!

Grocery shopping is such a breeze now thanks to FairPrice Online! I’m also confident that prices are kept competitive with all the discounts across so many brands! Take a look at http://fairprice.com.sg and you will be amazed too!

Tips for Becoming a Successful Mumpreneur in Singapore

Posted on July 11, 2017 by missuschewy

Mumpreneurs are becoming the in thing these days, with countless books available about how to balance both being a mother and an entrepreneur. Here in Singapore there are plenty of opportunities to become a successful mumpreneur working from home, whatever area you are interested in. Whether you want to set up an online retail business, consultancy, blog or anything else, there are various tips you should use in order to make sure your mumpreneur career is a success in Singapore.

Use Your Parenting Skills

Firstly, if you’re already a mother to at least one child then you will possess many vital skills for running your own business as well. Mothers are often highly adept when it comes to timekeeping, organisation and running on low energy levels. Multitasking is essential, as you will be balancing looking after your children with running a business, no matter how small. If you can feed, bathe, play with and generally look after a child and take care of all its needs, then there’s little reason why you can’t do the same for a small business.

Be Tech Savvy

If you’re working from home then it’s likely you’ll be using various forms of technology. This can be incredibly useful for speeding up processes, online marketing of your firm, recording data and more. As Singapore is a limited market, many mumpreneurs will eventually want to expand further, and the internet provides such an opportunity. Whether you’re trading with an MT4 platform or setting up a blog, being familiar with technology is vital.

Find a Niche

There are already many mumpreneurs out there, running their own businesses in lots of different sectors. As renowned mumpreneur Annabel Karmel states: “It’s very important to look for a gap in the market. Do something that is slightly different.” While there are already mumpreneurs in Singapore, one advantage is that due to the country’s small size, if you have a unique idea then it’s less likely to have been done in Singapore.

Build Relationships

Even though you will be setting out on your own, it’s important to build relationships to improve the chances of success for your mumpreneurship. Whether it’s speaking to current mumpreneurs for advice or growing your business by networking with contacts within Singapore or abroad who could be helpful, building relationships is advisable. Plus, having a good relationship with clients and customers should result in positive feedback and help your business grow.

If you’re thinking about setting out as a mumpreneur in Singapore, then following these tips should get you off on the right foot.

My #LittlePioneer

Posted on July 5, 2017 by missuschewy

Have you ever wondered how do children develop? Children are curious little creatures who spend every waking moment exploring and learning new things. They learn like sponges – soaking up all the information around them. Isn’t it amazing that learning begins so early on in life? Did you know that as much as 90% of the brain is developed by the time a child turns five? That means the first 5 years of your child’s life are crucial for their physical development and cognitive growth, as all those brain connections are forming at a faster rate during these years than at any other time(1).

I feel that one of the best decisions I made for Chanelle was to send her to preschool at the tender age of 18 months old. As a mummy with a full-time job, I do not have the means and capacity to teach and guide Chanelle on weekdays. It would be unfair to deprive her of learning and achieving her potential, so I leave her to the professionals in her school to nurture her.

As much as I hope for Chanelle to achieve her developmental milestones at least within the average range, I also wish that she would acquire qualities such as altruism, responsibility, patience and empathy in time to come. So far, I’m satisfied that she’s achieving all her developmental milestones (cognitive, motor, emotional and communication) and I’m glad that she’s a child who loves asking questions. I hope that my #LittlePioneer will always remain inquisitive and have this desire to keep on learning.

Besides sensory stimulation, proper nutrition is just as important in helping growing minds develop. To support my #LittlePioneer’s continuous learning, I make sure that she receives sufficient nutrition throughout the day, like DHA which is an important block for brain and eye development. Together, stimulation and nutrition help to develop 4 different key skill areas – Cognitive, Motor, Emotional and Communication.

Some people have this misconception that milk is only for babies and children should stop drinking milk once they enter toddlerhood. I like to think otherwise. Even though Chanelle is on two solid meals a day, she gets her bottle of Enfagrow A+ three times a day (morning, before her nap, and at night before her bed time). It is formulated to help meet the recommendation for daily DHA intake(2) to help support my #LittlePioneer’s exploring and learning on a daily basis. It also contains Wellmune® Yeast Beta Glucan as well as a unique blend of Dietary Fiber (Polydextrose) and Prebiotic (GOS) which work in tandem to promote the growth of good bacteria and digestive health!

As a mother, it is my duty to provide my children with good nutrition and stimulation to support their growth. Find out how Enfagrow A+ can support your #LittlePioneer’s continuous learning too at www.littlepioneer.enfagrow.com.sg and feel free to request a sample!

1. Dekaban, A. S. and Sadowsky, D. (1978), Changes in brain weights during the span of human life: Relation of brain weights to body heights and body weights. Ann Neurol., 4: 345–356. doi:10.1002/ana.41004041

2. FAO/WHO recommends daily dietary DHA intake of 10-12mg/kg body weight for children 12-24 months or 100-150mg DHA+EPA for children 2 years old and above. Reference: FAO 2010. Fats and fatty acids in human nutrition. Report of an expert consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper no. 91. FAO:Rome.

Little misschewy’s Growth Diary

Posted on June 26, 2017 by missuschewy

Chanelle turned 3 recently and when we posted photos of her online, many friends commented that she is such a big girl now. It wasn’t just that she had grown physically, she just seems so much more grown up. It got me thinking about how our children grow in more ways than we can imagine! Have you ever wondered how do our children’s brains develop? I did some research about it and found that 90% of the brain development occurs in the first five years. Apparently 1000 trillion synapses are built through their experiences during the early years – that density is almost twice that of the adult brain!

Lifelong learning starts the moment we are born. The early years are a period of intense learning and development, when tremendous changes occur in a child’s mental and physical aspects over a short period of time.

Bearing all this in mind, I decided to do a quick recap of Chanelle’s developmental milestones after she turned one in March 2015.

In a span of three years, Chanelle has certainly advanced quite a bit in these four developmental areas! It’s so amazing to be able to look back at how much she has grown.

It certainly helps that Chanelle has also been drinking Enfagrow A+ from the start! As a mother, I strongly believe in helping my children reach their full potential by providing the best that’s available.
Enfagrow A+ is the brand that I have placed my trust in for years! It contains a unique blend of nutrients like DHA, Wellmune® Yeast Beta-Glucan, Dietary Fiber (Polydextrose) and Prebiotic (GOS). In fact, DHA is an important building block for brain and eye development. I am happy that Chanelle is getting the essential nutrients to help support her overall mental and physical development. Think of it as a tree that needs nutrients to grow well – a child needs the essential nutrients to grow and develop too!
Mummies, be sure to check out this link http://littlepioneer.enfagrow.com.sg/ to find out more about how Enfagrow A+ can help your little one make the most of every potential learning moment, and request a free sample too!

The Chewys’ Family Photoshoot in Bali by Bali Elegance Photography

Posted on June 20, 2017 by missuschewy

Hello! How’s everyone doing? I can’t believe we are passing the half-year mark really soon! Before I procrastinate any further, I’m gonna share the beautiful photos of our family that were taken on the second last day of our Bali trip in March this year. Our photos were taken by a local professional photographer, Gede Suwardana of Bali Elegance Photography, who has plenty of experience and specialises in shooting weddings, engagements, family portraiture, events, and also video productions!

A few weeks prior our trip, we managed to lock down the date of the photoshoot with Gede. Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult and to think that I was initially worried since we only had a few days in Bali. A little bit of shuffling of our itinerary did the trick! I’m happy to say that Gede was very prompt in his replies and it was a pleasure communicating with him via email.

We had agreed to have the photoshoot within the resort premises but after checking into Four Points by Sheraton, Kuta, I felt that there were not many nice spots for photo-taking and texted Gede if we should change location, like to the nearby beach or something. Gede maintained that he would still want to swing by to have a look, and also it might not be such a good idea to head to the beach as the weather was quite hot. Plus, there was practically no shade at the beach for us to seek shelter if the sun became too blazing hot.

Gede and his assistant reached earlier than the agreed timing and were waiting for us at the lobby area. After a brief hello, Gede suggested that we start the photoshoot at the rooftop of the resort before slowly making our way down. He reasoned that since it was still quite cool at 9am, the rooftop would be a good place to start off with before the sun became too hot. It was a simple suggestion but I felt really grateful to Gede for being so considerate!

Gede and his assistant were quick in setting up their camera gear and got into action. It’s very important as children have very short attention span and also, they get tired easily. Like in photography, there is also a “golden hour” to photograph kids and I say it’s best to photograph them early in the morning when they are at their happiest, and when they are full of energy.

Just look at Little misschewy! She was really cheerful and energetic, not forgetting pretty cooperative too!

It is also evident in these photos provided by Gede that he was well-prepared with a variety of camera gear which allowed him to produce a dynamic set of photos for us! Gede managed to capture our precious family holiday moments from different interesting angles which misterchewy and I find very impressive.

Honestly, I didn’t think much about these old school swings but we plonked ourselves there as per Gede’s suggestion and I’m pleasantly surprised by how the swing series of photos turned out! Gede managed to capture the essence of a fun-loving family like ours who love to laugh together over the slightest things.

Mini misschewy was still a bit young to be able to fully appreciate our humour. Hahaha.

“Give me 3 more months”, she says!

So much love between these two!

It’s really nice that there is a kids indoor playground situated within our resort and it’s air-conditioned too! Little misschewy’s face lit up even more when she saw the ball pit!

Someone really enjoyed herself in the ball pit!

Hehe in the meantime, Mini misschewy fell alseep comfortably in misterchewy’s arms.

Love shots like this!

Check out the coconuts! They were stamped with Four Points by Sheraton’s logo! Cute huh?

Just chillin’ by the pool~

A big thank you to Bali Elegance Photography for the precious photos of our first family holiday trip as a party of four! Do also check out Bali Elegance’s Facebook page for more of their works! If you are looking for a Bali photographer for your special events like weddings or proposal, etc, drop Gede an email at gede@balielegance.com! I believe his works speak for themselves 🙂

Bali Elegance Photography
Website: http://www.balielegancephoto.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaliElegance
Instagram: http://instagram.com/BaliElegance
Address: Pura Pengulapan I/5A, Ungasan, Kuta Selatan, Bali 80364
Phone: +62.811.389.7979
Email: hello@balielegance.com or gede@balielegance.com

Sundown Soiree Evening Tea at The Landing Point, The Fullerton Bay Hotel

Posted on June 1, 2017 by missuschewy

This Mother’s Day saw me celebrating the occasion for the very first time as a mummy of two. I don’t have much recollection as to how we celebrated Mother’s Day over the past few years since 2014, but last year’s afternoon tea at The Fullerton Bay Hotel’s The Landing Point remains fresh in my memory. I had blogged about it and it’s one of my most popular posts even till today. I guess many of my readers love indulging in high tea as well 🙂 This year, we revisited The Landing Point for its evening tea which I will be sharing in greater detail!

The celebration was supposed to be over Mother’s Day weekend but unfortunately, both girls were unwell and we had to postpone the evening tea till a week later. I was elated to receive a handmade card from the hubs and my favorite Baby’s Breath flowers from the girls 🙂

All of us sure looked gleeful in this photo. Papa Chewy did a great job in making us smile so widely. LOL. I specially picked this Bella Blue Maxi Nursing Dress from Jump Eat Cry for the occasion. Never would I have imagined wearing a maxi dress that is nursing friendly! If you see something you like at www.jumpeatcry.com, enter “MAMACHARLENE” upon checkout and be entitled to 15% off storewide!

I was really thrilled when I learned that The Landing Point launched its Sundown Soiree Evening Tea which includes a refillable 3-tiered set comprising of dainty sweet and savoury housemade creations such as the Smoked Salmon Crème Fraîche Mini Bagel, Duck Rillettes on Sourdough with Pickled Onions, and Parma Ham and Truffled Mascarpone Crostini. Sundown Soiree is available daily from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. At S$45++ per adult and $22++ per child, the set is inclusive of a welcome cocktail from The Clifford Collection and free-flowing speciality coffees and teas, juices and soft drinks.

Haha it’s not such a good time for babies though because it’s near their bedtime.

The hubs selected the Espresso Martini as his welcome drink.

I went for The Cosmopolitan and was surprised that it was quite potent. I would like to think that my alcohol tolerance is pretty okay but as soon as I finished my drink, I felt a little heady. LOL. But it’s all good!

As compared to the traditional English afternoon tea set, I reckon the evening tea set has much more savories than sweets. Great for folks like misterchewy who doesn’t really have a crazy sweet tooth!

The top tier was the one which got Little misschewy all excited! There were Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Frosting, Lemon Tart with Strawberry, Chocolate Éclairs and Macarons. Little misschewy’s favorite was the chocolate eclairs which she had countless servings of! I quite liked the lemon tart for its refreshing zesty flavors!

The middle tier consists of Mini Pizza Puff, Truffle Mushroom Strudel and Egg Tarts. Pretty normal tasting fare; nothing to shout about. I don’t remember requesting any refills for this tier. Haha.

Both misterchewy and I enjoyed the bottom tier most. Our favorites were the Smoked Salmon Crème Fraiche Mini Bagel and Duck Rillettes on Sour Dough, amongst the other items that were available, such as Pickled Onions Parma Ham and Truffle Mascarpone Crostini Brie Cheese and Quince on Walnut Crackers, and Smoked Duck & Pepper Burrito.

With the exception of the welcome cocktail, other drinks such as tea, coffee, soda and chilled juices are all refillable!

The hubs and I had the Frappe coffee to end our evening tea! Really good stuff!

UOB card holders get to enjoy 1-for-1 Sundown Soiree Evening Tea (Mon to Sun)! We paid about $50++ in total for this. Pretty good deal huh! 🙂 This promo ends on 30th June 2017. Prior reservation is required. Do check with the hotel for its terms and conditions. Hehe don’t say I never share!

LOL. This is the best photo out of three that we have! Uncooperative toddler and sleepy baby.. Hahaha! Click here if you would like to find out more about The Landing Point’s traditional English afternoon tea 🙂

The Landing Point
80 Collyer Quay
The Fullerton Bay Hotel
Singapore 049326
Telephone: +65 6333 8388
Email: landingpoint@fullertonbayhotel.com

*Complimentary parking coupons are issued on weekdays (Dinner only) and on weekends and public holidays (whole day; Brunch, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner or Cocktails) with a minimum spend of S$100 on a single receipt per coupon. Coupons can be claimed from the Concierge Desk.

Mother’s Day Dinner at Shima Japanese Restaurant

Posted on May 14, 2017 by missuschewy

Happy Mother’s Day to all amazing and selfless mummies out there! Being a mother is definitely very rewarding and of course tiring but at the end of the day, we know that the blood, sweat and tears are all worth it. As a full-time working mum, I’m always half dead by the time I reach home from work. More often than not, I fall asleep with the girls while the hubs and I shush-pat them to sleep (actually it’s just Cayla), which can be a good thing cuz it means I get to sleep early before 10pm BUT I would have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to wash and sterilise milk bottles etc. The entire cycle repeats from Monday to Friday and I find that I’m just going through the motions everyday. It’s like there’s no meaning to life? Looks like I have to do something about it soon! 😉

So anyway, the hubs and I seldom have our own couple time but things are getting slightly better lately! He proposed a Mother’s Day dinner celebration after work on Friday for just the two of us and he managed to make childcare arrangements with both my mother and mother-in-law. To be honest, I felt like cancelling on him cuz I was really tired after a long week of craziness at home (both kids were sick) and at work but decided it wouldn’t be fair to him since he had made the effort to find a nice place (I assumed! LOL) for dinner. To cut the long story short, the surprise dinner location was Tatsuya at Goodwood Park Hotel but there was a large group booking which took up the entire indoor seating area. I was disappointed when we were ushered to a table outdoors, by the road side, where it was dark and pretty humid. We then decided to walk over to Shima instead! Good thing there’s another Japanese restaurant at Goodwood Park!

My mood was instantly lifted when we stepped into the air-conditioned restaurant. HAHA. I can’t live without aircon la. Took a glance at the menu and prices seemed pretty reasonable. The hubs ordered the Sakura set ($80) while I settled for the Unagi set ($90) so that we could try different dishes! We actually ordered another Sashimi Moriawase to share but the chef and waitress pointed out that it is also included in one of our sets and advised that we cancel our order because it might sashimi overload for us. Love the thickly cut slices of fish which was really fresh and succulent!

The Tempura features prawns, brinjal and green capsicum. Crispy and piping hot!

I love tucking into a Unagi Don every now and then. Not sure if it’s an acquired taste but I had to persuade misterchewy to give it a try during our dating days and I can’t say he’s a fan of unagi. During my second pregnancy, I craved unagi most of the time! The unagi at Shima was really good but I left most of my rice untouched cuz too full!

SUSHI GOALS like seriously?! Every piece of Sushi is like a pretty work of art! Totally blown away by the Chef’s choice of sushi here. This is part of misterchewy’s Sakura set.

Tiny flower petals on a sushi! And yes, the floral scent was pretty discernible.

The Chicken Katsu was quite tender, although I felt that the skin was a little too tough for a couple of pieces. The hubs felt that it was alright so it was probably just the ones that I picked.

Soup in a tea pot! We thought the waitress forgot our bowls and it turned out that the cups are placed on top of the pot. Haha! The soup is available for both our sets.

We squeezed the slice of lime into the soup, which contained some ingredients like shiitake mushroom, ginkgo, and bamboo shoot.

Soup was savoury yet refreshing!

Warabi Mochi on the house, courtesy of the Chef! Hehe not sure is it because he saw us taking plenty of photos of every single dish from start to end. LOL! It was chilled and chewy but it was a pity that we didn’t really like the taste of it.

Fresh cut fruits to end our marvelous meal!

On the overall, the food at Shima kept our bellies full, warm and happy! Total damage was slightly over $200, inclusive of refillable iced green tea at $4 each. Hehe I guess we should do this more often! 😛

Shima Japanese Restaurant
#01-00
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road
Singapore 228221
Tel: +65 6734 6281

Opening Hours:
Daily
12pm – 3pm (Lunch)
6pm – 10.30pm (Dinner)

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Neo Garden!

Posted on May 5, 2017 by missuschewy

Mother’s Day is coming! Fellow mummies, what are your plans? Or rather, have your hubbies planned anything yet? Haha! To be honest, I kinda dread celebrating Mother’s Day on the actual day because everywhere is gonna be just so packed! I would actually prefer having a cosy and intimate celebration at home with my loved ones, away from the crowd! Over the weekend, we had a Mother’s Day Party Set delivered to us from Neo Garden.

You don’t need to have large numbers in order to enjoy buffet catering. Neo Garden’s mini buffet/mini party set option is perfect for 8 to 10 pax! What’s more? The food is served in microwavable containers with full set of disposable wares and serviettes provided, which makes cleaning a breeze! Three Mother’s Day menus are available and they come with free Lychee Rose cake.
Click the image or visit https://order.neogarden.com.sg/Menu/MenuList/MOTHERSDAY to view the food options. Do take note that Mother’s Day Delight ($168) is available for self-collection only. For the other menus, there is a delivery charge of $30 (w/GST $32.10) per order, additional surcharge is applicable for delivery to offshore area and central areas.

Sin Chow Mee Hoon

Breaded Scallop

Fish Fillet with Wasabi Mayo

Mushroom Broccoli

Mum’s Favorite Curry Chicken

Snow Fungus Soup with Gingko Nuts

Enjoy the Carnation Table Bouquet at a special price of $28 and if you are a Neo Celebrates member, you will get to enjoy it at just $20!

Neo Garden’s Mother Day’s menus are available till 14 May 2017. More details on terms & conditions can be found here: http://bit.ly/ngcpromos. Visit http://bit.ly/ngcmothersday17 or call 68967757 to order!

Capture Selfie-free Holiday Moments with WanderSnap

Posted on April 18, 2017 by missuschewy

WOW. I find it kinda hard to believe that it has been a little more than a month since we got back from our Bali trip! I will definitely be blogging about our very first vacation with two little ones in tow since I already have a number of requests coming in, but for now, let’s kick things off with our experience with WanderSnap! When misterchewy and I embarked on our three-week long honeymoon trip to Europe in March 2013, we the husband lugged our DSLR and tripod everywhere we went. We got pretty nice pictures at the end of the trip, but it was at the expense of the hubs suffering from muscle strains and backaches! Not forgetting the fact that it was quite a hassle and also time consuming having to set up the tripod and place the camera on self-timer mode!

Now that we have a baby and a toddler, our aim is to travel light! Bringing our DSLR and tripod is definitely not an option, even though it is quite tempting because of the quality of photos a DSLR can give. I felt worried initially, that we might need to resort to taking boring selfies and end up with poor quality pictures for the entire trip! Luckily for us, we got to know about WanderSnap a couple of weeks before flying to Bali. In a nutshell, WanderSnap is Asia’s marketplace for connecting travellers with local snappers to capture selfie-free moments.

As of today, there are over 250 snappers across 30 Asian destinations on WanderSnap. Through this platform, I viewed works by various photographers and made my selection based on our travel period, destination, type of camera gear used, and price! For each successful booking, $5 actually goes towards teaching photography to low-opportunity youth so they too can create art for a living!

Why WanderSnap? It is a safe and trustworthy platform for travellers to engage local snappers to capture their holiday moments at an affordable price. Every snapper has their own styles, and by viewing their galleries, you can select your desired snapper if his or her style resonates with you. You can expect to receive about 10 to 30 edited photos per hour of shoot, which is certainly very reasonable. Online payment is hassle-free and the money will only be released to the snapper after the photos have been provided to the traveller.

A few days before our trip, I decided to engage Sasha because I really love the photos that she had posted on her gallery. Her photos have a nice rustic feel and more importantly, Sahsa seem to have plenty of experience photographing families with young children!

3rd of March was our 4th traditional wedding anniversary, and what better way to celebrate the occasion than to have our precious family holiday photos taken in a natural and candid way! I was in charge of our travel itinerary and had planned an entire day of sightseeing that day. We had a local driver to take us to places we wanted to see and Tanah Lot was our last sightseeing destination before returning to our resort.

I chose to have our photoshoot at Tanah Lot in the evening because I heard that the sunset at Tanah Lot is incredibly beautiful! I think we were supposed to meet Sasha at 4pm to commence our 2-hour shoot but unfortunately, our driver was half an hour late in picking us up in the morning. Plus, the bad traffic conditions made the travel duration longer than expected and I had to text Sasha to postpone the timing of the shoot.

Thankfully, Sasha was very kind and understanding enough, so we agreed to meet an hour later at the ticketing entrance of Tanah Lot. We didn’t have any problems locating each other and chatted along the way to the temple. The hubs and I were quite surprised to learn that Sasha is a Russian living in Canggu (South of Bali). In fact, she had stayed in Sri Lanka and Thailand for a few years previously. Sounds pretty adventurous to me!

One thing great about having a local snapper help capture our photos is that we could free ourselves from having to fumble with cameras and selfie sticks. Taking photos of the kids out of the baby carriers would be difficult, especially for Cayla’s case since she’s still a baby. With a photographer to follow us around, we could leave the baby carriers and stroller in the car. It was splendid because there were finally plenty of full body shots of the kids, instead of them partially hidden in the carriers. LOL.

While some photos were posed, misterchewy and I are glad that Sasha managed to snap candid photos of our little family. As we had a long day, all of us were sweaty, sticky and tired! While it was slightly easier for misterchewy and I to keep smiling for the camera, the girls were a little cranky and not very willing to cooperate. It was tough to get them to smile because both of them wanted to sleep. Haha.

It was really great that Sasha was being extremely patient and cheerful throughout the shoot. Plus she was really enthusiastic in engaging the girls. Her calm and positive demeanor certainly impressed us!

Despite having to deal with uncooperative and unsmiling kids during the shoot, the hubs and I are surprised that the photos turned out better than expected! These photos portray what travelling with young children is like and when we look at them again many years down the road, we will definitely be teasing the kids for being so whiny and cranky during the shoot. Haha! Anyway, enjoy the photos and let me know what you think! 🙂 Also, scroll to the end of this post for a special discount code!

Get $50 credit simply by creating an account with WanderSnap via this link https://wandersnap.co/friend/travelwithcharlene during signup! Till 30th June 2017! Thanks WanderSnap and also Sasha for these beautiful holiday memories of our family!

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

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