Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Review: Siliskin Straw Cup

When Cora ask me for a cup & as a first time mum I have never think too much about it ! It's just a cup, how hard can it be ? I was soooooooooooo WRONG ! Every morning she will ask me for a cup of milo and being a toddler it means

  • Careless = Spillage, My girl can forget the existence of the cup around her & off the cup to the floor 
  • Mess everywhere = Now she's partially wet with milo ( thankful that she haven shower yet !), a cleanly mop floor is now dirty with milo ! You know how sweet drink make the floor greasy and sticky, ARGH !
 Poor mama need to do alot of cleaning, & question herself why did I give her the cup in the first place ? I believe many mama out there agree with me  


BabyBuys sent me this awesome Siliskin cups that solve my problem ! Why nobody share about this cup which can save one from insanity ? What is Siliskin ? Silikids is an innovative company, started in 2006,  All Silikids products are made from 100% food grade silicone, safe, durable, easy to use & clean.

 

Siliskin Silicone Straw cup ( Left ) & Siliskin Silicone Sippy cup ( Right )






Why I love my Siliskin Straw Cup ?
  • Almost no spillage, if you turn it upside down it will definitely drip abit ! Otherwise no spillage especially when the toddler drop it or even kick it by accident. ( Psssst, I heard that Siliskin Sippy cup is totally NO spillage & am giving out one )
  • Easy to clean, & can be sterilise
  • Silicone top that can fit all kind of cups
  • Travel friendly, this days I will bring the silicone top and the straw out. When Cora want to have any drink outside especiallly restaurant I will juts the silicone top over the cup and straw. No need to worry about mess and spillage. A clean toddler after mealtime is hard to come by :p
Any thing that I dislike about this product ?
  • Only one which is difficulty in putting on the cover. Perhaps my hands is wet & the grip wasn't that good but you won't need to be a hulk to put those silicone top.  






Are you all ready for a giveaway of Siliskin Sippy cup that worth $19.90 ?

  1.  Follow both Facebook Page & Instagram of BabyBuys 
  2. Follow my Instagram , tag 3 friends in the comment

Don't forget to follow ALL steps if not your entry will be void (:
Giveaway ends on 19th September 2017 11:59PM

Remember to quote  "TG8RG" to enjoy a 5% discount when you are shopping at BabyBuys  !

Yours truly,
Larissa

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Sponsored review : Owl Readers Club

These days, kids are really fortunate with a wide selection range of books to choose from ! During my time, the only books that I read were COMICS, textbooks and the classic ladybird or those typical princess books !The illustration of those are really boring. Who will enjoy reading ?

I'm really blessed to have a girl who's a bookworm, when Cora wakes up, she'll grab a book to read, whenever she see a book, she will ask me to read and read, before bedtime must read a mountain of books, & worse of all is to wake up middle of the night like 3am just to read !

 I've place an order at the wee hours & received it in the morning ! Very fast and efficiency, excellent customer service one of the plus points for ORS.
 

What is Owl Readers Club ?

" Owl Readers Club is a club specially designed to encourage families to cultivate good reading habits. With these beliefs in mind, we have created an array of features to allow families to embark on an engaging and exciting reading journey. Apart from curating quality children’s titles at competitive prices, organizing interesting reading-related events, providing opportunities to meet with fellow book-loving families and rewarding active club members, we are also constantly working to tie up with merchants to provide added benefits for our members. We are committed to creating a club where members will enjoy both tangible and intangible rewards of reading with their children. "

It's not your typical online bookshop, WHY ?


1) Membership System and Rewards Programme
Basic and Paid members earn reward points which can be redeemed for purchases. 5 points are awarded for every $1 spent, redemption begins at 500 points which can be exchanged for $5 credit.
Basic Member
Owl Star Member (6m)
Owl Star Member (12m)
FREE
Usual Price $98
Usual Price $188
FREE
Promo Price $68
Promo Price $98
200 welcome points
200 welcome points
200 welcome points
1000 reward points
2500 reward points

                              
-  Sign up as a basic member for free and start earning reward points (e.g. 200 points for sign up, 50 points for writing book review, 200 points for attending book club events and writing reviews)
-  Upgrade to a paid 6 or 12 months Owl Star Membership to enjoy benefits (e.g. discounts off HUA language centre, BYKIDO, Annie+Alex, Liliewoods, Little Llama, bouncy castle rental, to name a few).
-  Upgrading to a paid 6 or 12 months Owl Star Membership also allows you to earn double reward points for every dollar spent, as well as double reward points for writing book reviews, attending book club    events etc.
Want to know more information ? Check them out @ https://owlreaders.club/blogs/benefits and https://owlreaders.club/pages/member
2) Applications for phone ( You tell me which online book shop have apps for phone :p Are you impressed ? Cause I am ! )
The applications are still under development but should soon be ready. Good news for Android users it's already on Play Store and the iOS version soon thereafter. Apart from the sale of books through the apps, Owl Star members would be able to use the apps to connect with other members to exchange books or organize book related activities together.



My thoughts, & my choice of books  

It was hard to pick the books & I was so spoiled by the range that Owl Readers Club offered ! So I got a good mix of English & Mandarin books for Cora. The books I choose are ranged from 1-3 years old & 4-6 years old. Cora is just 2 & that doesn't mean you can't choose anything out from your kiddo age. Today I'm going to share with you a few craft ideas using the books that I've pick for C.

Some of my friends asked me " Wow, such wordy book can Cora stay still & listen ? My kiddo can't & will run away ! ". The trick is to read the book yourself first & later read it to your kid in short sentences by looking at the picture. Give it a try ! 



A colour of his own - Leo Lionni
" It's a book about a little chameleon is distressed that he doesn't have his own color like other animals. Everywhere he goes, his colour changes ! "

Another way to make reading interesting  is to make the character alive ! Tell me who won't  be happy or impressed when the little one see the character alive and can play with it ? I love to do crafts related to the book other than to make reading fun, also to help Cora understand the book better.

What we love about this book
Kids get to learn colour, chameleon change colour to match their environment, & it's ok to be different from the rest one day you will meet somebody just like you. So don't worry !

Craft ideas 1, A clear chameleon sheet

- Clear sheet/use one laminating sheet
- Permanent marker

You can either search a chameleon colour picture online & print it out then trace it on clear sheet OR free hand draw one (: Show the kids how to play with it, and they will love it !

I show Cora a few example before she started going around the house to show us that the chameleon keep changing colour. She even tried it out on herself & say chameleon become Cora ! Haha 


Chameleon turn red just like the book !


This is Chameleon Cora !

Craft ideas 2, Turn & Colour change chameleon

- 2 paper plates
- Brass fastener
- A pair of scissor
- Glue
- Eyes 
- Paint

Let your child paint on Paper plate 1, let it dry while parent draw one or 2 chameleon on paper plate 2 ( I drew 2 because it's quite similar to the book ending )and cut it out, leave some spot on the head for the eye. Put 2 plates together & poke a hole in the center then insert the brass fastener and ta-da you're done with it ! Cora enjoy turning and watching how the chameleon change its colour. 





 If you give a dog a donut - Laura Numeroff

" If you give a dog a donut, he ll ask for some apple juice to go with it.
When you give him the juice, he ll drink it all up.
Then, before you can say Woof . . . Dog is off on a backyard adventure! Chaos might ensue if you were to give a dog a donut."


 What we love about this books
This is a cute, funny & sequential tale that tells us how a simple request for apple juice can lead to an adventure. A book for all ages, & C can't stop giggling when I read this book to her especially when you give a dog a donut, he will ask for apple juice and then he was all distracted and doing all sort of things with his friend ! After reading, we will want some donuts & apple juice :p




Craft 1, Toss A Donut

- 4 paper plates ( 1 as the base, 3 for Donuts )
- 1 paper tube ( I use those from aluminum foil )
- Construction paper ( cut it, act like sprinkle )
- Craft glue
- Scissor

Cut a small circle on all paper plate , decorate it with construction paper and glue it. ( You may give some work to your helpful toddler ! They will love to help !)  Put the paper tube in one of the paper plate ( it act like a stand for us to toss the donut). That's it, one game for the little one to play (:




Pardon the mess behind, after tossing the donuts Cora came to me and balance a few big & small donuts on her head ! Creative play


Craft 2, Pretend play donuts

- Cardboard 
- Pencil 
- Paint
- Scissor

Draw circle on the cardboard, one inner and one outer ( A donut shape ). Cut it, paint it & wait for it to dry. You will have half a dozen of donuts to play with ! Easy and simple activities that you can get your toddler involve !


The last book that I'm going to review on, & all time favourite in the house

Daddy's Sandwich - Pip Jones
" Daddy, would you like a sandwich, with all your favourite things...?
Join one little girl on her quest to make her father the perfect sandwich, whether he likes it or not... You're in for a wicked surprise! "


 What we love about this books
Beautiful illustration book, cute, funny & lively a book perfect for Daddy's little girl ! A girl who is sweet and thoughtful who wanna make a sandwich for Daddy who's watching a soccer match & the sandwich is made up of daddy's favourite things. You'll be surprise for the ending ! WE LOVE IT ! 



Review

Other than there's wide range of books being offered by Owl Readers Club, they have fantastic customer service and they will clear all your doubt if you have any especially on the selection of books to pick. Not forgetting they have the best delivery system ! Like literally THE BEST, I ordered my books in the wee hour and got them in the morning. Fast & efficient ! Now working parents can just purchase books online without a need to travel out to purchase books, slowly finding the title that you want or being worried that the book is out of stock when you're inside the bookshop or chasing after a toddler in the bookshop.

or going to the library but to realise that the books you want have been torn up or not in a good shape and get so upset with it ? OR, local bookshops DO NOT have the books that you want and you got to buy it from international online bookshops with typical 7-14days waiting time. & now, with Owl readers club just a few clicks on the phone or on the mouse, you get all the books that you need & you will be receiving them like the next day or the max 2-3days from my experience.

Owl readers club really make books shopping easy for a busy parent like us ! Now, we have extra free time to do other useful things or to read more books for the kids :p Oh yeah, and not forgetting the benefits of being a Owl readers club members that you won't get it anywhere else but ONLY at Owl Readers Club.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Preparation of Cora's party

Lately, has been crazily hectic for me ! As you know from my facebook or instagram that I'm busy with Cora's party. All along Papa Seah do not want any party as those money can bring us to a staycation or short holiday trip and entertaining guests can be tiring. Just one fine day, I was busy searching for ideas at Pinterest for some stuff then I saw this ' Tea Party ' and have a idea so propose to Papa Seah. He gave a thought about it and say yes cause I was telling him that budget of $200 and everything by scratch from me. Just want a small party for Cora since she didn't had one when she's one year old. PLUS $200 for a party is HARD TO SAY NO right !!!


But who knows I got lucky ! Papa Seah decided to increase my budget to $400. It's not easy to plan a birthday party + doing it yourself.

Theme

So first thing after settling down with the budget is to find a theme. I choose Tea party x Alice in wonderland ( morning ) so only light refreshment will be served ! If you choose a timing in the noon or evening either lunch or dinner need to be served so if it's morning I can do a light refreshment ! No need to burn the pocket for caterer.

Guest list

Given by the budget, I will need to keep it short and sweet. Invited most of her childhood friends since bump to birth to toddler. Beside it will make a great catch up session for the parents. Because this party am focusing more on the kids than the adult. So there's activities for the kids as well. My aim is 10 kids but somehow rather am keeping it at 7 kids + Cora. Less is more at times.


Invitation cards

These days e-invite is almost FREE ! I thought since it's a small party why not make things more pretty? There's a lot of nice invitation cards ideas online especially Pinterest ( Oh yes ! I LOVE PINTEREST ). Got mine from there as well, edited abit, print, write the name and add on a tea bag and mail them out after confirmation with friends.



Choose a fruity tea so kids and/or pregnant mum can drink as well ! Since there's no caffeine

 



Decoration

If you have alot of time, you may shop them at Taobao, Amazon and etc. I've gotten really adorable Alice in wonderland plates, tea cup with saucer for the kids but sadly it didn't arrive on time ): Spent bout $60 there but in the end got to find some other plates and cups very last minute for the kids & additional cost to the budget $$$.

Other decorations you can get at Taobao, it's really cheap like a few cents for ballon ( alphabet/number in gold or silver foil) ! As compare to Spotlight $4 for one.

Since my theme is Alice in wonderland x Tea party, what's a party without any Alice decoration right? 1) Paint the roses red - draw a tree on cardboard, diy white crepe paper for the roses.  2) Stick the smile on Cheshire cat - hand draw Cheshire cat, paint it in colour & prepare a few smile for the cat.


I wanted to go with this movie Cheshire cat but Papa Seah it's abit too scary =.="


So I will go with this cute cartoon Cheshire cat then !




As seen in the cartoon, same tree that the cards who are painting the roses red cause the queen hate em white :p 

 With the " roses" on the tree and all ready for the kids to paint them red !




Birthday dress 

It's like one month time to Cora party or so, quickly source local shop to design and customize Cora dress. The first one who I found was bad ! Nontheless, I got lucky another shop manage to slot me in despite she's quite full for the month of May.

I gave her the design & customize it from Gwen ( Ig: @tullelove_by_gwen ), great customer service, know what I want, able to meet her deadline that she gave me, & she have magical hands who turn boring cloth to beautiful awesome dress. That received a lot of compliments and even the guest lift  up her dress to see the great details !


The same dress that I dream of ! You have no idea how much I really love this dress ( it will be silly if I have one and do twinning with Cora right ! Haha )

 
Goodie bag 

It's really depend on what you wanna give to your guests ! As for me, I do not mind spending alittle extra on the goodie bag by giving fellow mummy earning some income. #supportlocalbusiness She has help me and been really nice to me while I was pregnant (:

So I customize this teapot tic tac toe that comes with cookies and teacup ! If the child is too young for tic tac toe, she/he can always pretend play it ! On top of that, I'm making teabags for the guests to bring home as well. So it's like a set of tea time pretend play !

 
 Lovely and great work piece by this creative ( ig or facebook : Handmadewithlove by Ivy ), She also conduct art craft lessons on weekend. It's affordable and FUN !


Food
I plan to spend $100 or less on it, since I'm going ot prepare everything by myself. E.g. Sandwiches, chicken wings, drinks, yogurt parfait, popcorn, cupcakes, cookies etc will share more on the next post). Also, got Cora birthday cake from my trustworthy homebaker Charlene ( Ig @charlenesheavenlybakes ) who I met in a event. Nice and very friendly lady & & & not forgetting her vanilla cupcakes/cakes is to die for ! Those are my and Cora favorite * drooling*


Dessert tables rental

I got very lucky that a mummy friend offered me her beautiful cake stand, cupcake tiers & plate ! Without her, it's so hard to find a rental that's near west most of them that I have search are all located in the east ( eg Tampines, simei ). Which is out of way for me TOTALLY !

& Papa Seah manage to borrow the kids tables & chairs from a preschool (:
  
So the final question is " Did I exceed my budget ? "

The rough cost of my spending

$115 ( Birthday dress) + [$60+$35](kids plates/cups/etc)+  $80 ( food)+ $108 (goodie bag)+ $10 (misc )=$408.


OOOPSSS ! I was sooooooooooo close by :p 

Honestly, it wasn't that easy to plan to diy everything by myself but it's worth it !

Stay tune for the next post which is the actual day party (: More pictures, I promise !!!!!!


Yours truly,
Larissa

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

DIY Upcycle Cardboard House

Today I'm going to share with you upcycle project : Build your own cardboard house ! Those who follow my instagram, definitely know I've build one for my girl and she's crazy about it. #cheapfun

It's rather easy to make one but it takes alot of efforts and days for me to complete it ! Firstly, am lucky to be able to pick up a huge box from neighborhood block BUT unfortunate the top sides of the box are removed. You cannot have a house without a roof ! Ended up, I went to ArtFriend to purchase two cardboard for the rooftop. So if you are lucky to find a perfect huge box you can proceed straight !


So follow the picture below, start drawing lines on the box, design like how you want the house to be  & CUT IT or rather cut it agar agar ( roughly ) ! As simple as it sound, but cardboard itself is quite hard to cut. I've broke my craft scissor during the process :p



You'll need :
  • A pair of tough kitchen scissor or pen knife
  • Huge box especially those for washing machine or fridge
  • Masking tape
  • Contact paper/paint/fairy light ( optional )





During the process of drawing ! Cora was so excited about mama building her a house ! 


After building, look at this cheeky girl ! Playing non-stop peek-a-boo with me 



If you think you have alittle extra to spend on this cardboard house, you can either paint it or just get contact paper and start sticking it to make the house more beautiful ! * look at those tiny hands*



 Fixing some inner flaws ! Like uneven edge that might be too rough for the kid to play with so just masking tape it :D



& tada tada, I've build finish the house (: Put a blanket inside so Cora can lay down like her own comfort of home ! Also put some fairy light to make it more pretty.  

Sometimes, I find Cora has a better life than me ! At the age of 2, she have her own ' house' & kitchen when the parents ( papa & mama) are still waiting for our own bto to come :/

Have fun building up your cardboard house ! Would love to see your creation for the kids (:

Yours truly,
Larissa

Monday, April 17, 2017

The BEST flu remedy you will know & to make your own

Usually the first blog is the moooooooost boring post ever ! Especially to re-start from where I used to be ( Used to blog quite frequently when I was younger & had couple of sponsorship, media invites and whatsoever) , honestly it's not easy but I believe hard work will paid off eventually & people will notice my hard work again.

If you have no idea who I am, basically am just a stay home mum who believe in learning through play, and diy stuff. I do really crazy messy sensory play for my daughter from 6 months onward and now she's turning 2 next month. Time flies fast ! I've revamp her IKEA Duktig kitchen, Cardboard house and right now busy with her IKEA Latt table and chairs.I will definitely share on those that I've mentioned in next few posts.

Cora has been going to 2 hourly playgroup since March & have been sick on & off. Kids virus are potent ! It's absolutely normal for kids to fall sick easily when they go to school. Running nose, dripping mucous & cough takes turn to rotate in the school.

Previously, every month I will suffered from sinusitis & Cora all along her immune system isn't fantastic too. So I've found a remedy and been using it for months ! Take 2 tbsp/adult a day when flu/sinusitis onset and recovered within 3 days. Been feeding Cora daily to boost her immune system so far so good, not having any flu despite her classmates are still sick. Also, introduce it to mummy friends but they bought on store.

So today, am gonna share with readers my recipe for Flu bugs which is homemade Elderberry syrup! Am sure store bought elderberry syrup works the same but homemade one definitely have NO nasty, chemical, it taste better for sure, home made is definitely the best, EASY to make & CHEAPER too !

Benefits of Elderberry

Elderberries naturally contain A, B, and C and stimulate the immune system. Israeli researchers found that the complex sugars in elderberries support the immune system in fighting cold and flu. They developed several formulas based on these complex sugars that have been clinically shown to help ameliorate all kinds of cold/flu. In fact:

" Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, of Hadassah-Hebrew University in Israel found that elderberry disarms the enzyme viruses use to penetrate healthy cells in the lining of the nose and throat. Taken before infection, it prevents infection. Taken after infection, it prevents spread of the virus through the respiratory tract. In a clinical trial, 20% of study subjects reported significant improvement within 24 hours, 70% by 48 hours, and 90% claimed complete cure in three days. In contrast, subjects receiving the placebo required 6 days to recover."

You will need :

Ingredients
  • 2/3 cup dried black elderberries
  • 3 1/2 cups of water
  • 2 & half tbsp fresh or dried ginger root
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves or clove powder
  • 1 cup raw honey 
Most items you can purchase at iherbs & get 5% off your next iherbs order simply key " CLC121 " to redeem it.


 

Instructions

  1. Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey!)
  2. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Mash the berries carefully using a spoon or other flat utensil. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
  3. Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well.
  4. When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a quart sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.
  5. Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
  6. Standard dose is ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.

How long does elderberry syrup last in the fridge?

The short answer is that it really depends. I’ve found that placing the finished syrup in a mason canning jar while it is still warm creates an air-tight seal and allows it to last much longer in the fridge, up to several months. As a general rule, it lasts about two weeks in the fridge. My current jar of elderberry syrup is about 2 months old and it still taste good as before in the fridge (:




Keep the flu at bay, make one today !


Yours truly,
Larissa