Simply Lambchops

Endless fun with Tangram Tee (and a giveaway)

Friday, November 06, 2015

What do you get when you cross a T-shirt with a Tangram puzzle?

"One tee. Seven shapes.

Endless fun."

I am always intrigued by things that combine functionality and creativity. So, when I heard about the Tangram tee from Fabricate.sg, my first thought was, Woah! What a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?

Because ... Tangram tee is a T-shirt that allows kids to form different patterns on the shirt, using seven shapes that form the Tangram (Chinese geometrical puzzle). You can play with the Tangram puzzles and improve your problem-solving and spatial skills, change the design of your T-shirt as often as you like, and wear your creative ideas too.

There are over 6500 configurations to create your unique T-shirt design using the Tangram. Adding on the alphabets appliques means even more creative permutations for your kids to showcase their ideas.

Made with 100% cotton, the Tangram tee is soft and of the right thickness. It is also machine-washable, and can be tumbled dry with normal heat settings. The soft-loop strips on the front of the T-shirt adhere well to the shapes and alphabets. You will need some strength to remove the appliques, so losing them is not really an issue.

The T-shirts come in kids sizes S, M, L and there are four colours (Frost White, Yellow Lemon, Light Blue and Lavender Pink) to choose from. Ch and L are both wearing M size ones, and K has the size S tee. Each Tangram tee is priced at $29, and comes with a set of black Tangram shapes.

The kids have worn their Tangram tee for a number of occasions since we got them. They have fun creating their own designs and often brainstorm for phrases together. Ch prefers forming phrases with the Two Dozen Letters, while L enjoys creating his own pictures and words out of the Tangram shapes and letters.

Canvassing for the church's Blood Donation drive

At friend Josiah's birthday celebration

Offering morale support at our church's Blood Donation drive

Out for dinner

Enjoying each other's company

One small problem the kids have is finding the letters they want when creating their T-shirt design, as the black letters stick to themselves easily. It is also difficult to tell one black letter apart from another when they are stuck together. The kids would separate all the letters one by one, and lay them all over the floor. This time-consuming process can take as long as 15 minutes before they start putting the letters on the T-shirt. So when I am in a hurry to leave the house, waiting for them to complete their design can be rather frustrating.

What we did to solve this problem was to get two boxes with compartments from Daiso. We separated the black letters into each compartment. I didn't need to do that with the Fairy Fuchia letters as they don't have the problem of sticking together firmly. Do note that some of the glitter from the pink letters does come off, if you are thinking of combining the black and pink letters together.

These tees will be excellent gifts for a birthday child, and as Christmas pressies too. The fun we have with our Tangram tee is endless, and the sky's the limit for the possibilities of designs you can create. I am definitely hoping to see adult-sized Tangram tee soon, so that we can have our own unique Family tees.

If you are interested to get the Tangram tee, Fabricate.sg is now having a promotion where you will get a free pack of alphabets worth $8 with every purchase of a Tangram tee. Just key in "SECRET12" upon checking out.

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY! (6 - 16 Nov)

Fabricate.sg has kindly sponsored three sets of Tangram tees (worth $37) to three Simply Lambchops readers. Each tee will come with the Tangram shapes and one pack of alphabets.

How to enter the giveaway:

I will be doing a random draw for 3 winners using the Rafflecopter widget.

In order to qualify for the giveaway, please follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below. The first 3 steps of the instructions are compulsory.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway will end on Monday 16 Nov, 2359 hrs. Results of the draw will be announced here. You can also hop over to these blogs over here and here to triple your chance of winning.

Giveaway Terms and Conditions

The winner will be contacted using the particulars provided when entering the draw, and has 48 hours to respond, failing which a new winner will be drawn.
All incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries will be verified before the winners are announced. To be fair to our sponsors, please note that all fake Facebook accounts (e.g. accounts set up purely to take part in contests with no or very few real friends) will also be ineligible to win.
This giveaway is open to Singapore residents only.

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was given for this review and all opinions are ours. We were sponsored Tangram Tees and alphabets sets for the purpose of this review.

[17 Nov 2015]

CONGRATULATIONS to:

Ms Katherine H., Mr Robert S., and Ms Anna C.

for winning the giveaway!

I will be getting in touch with you soon!
Please check your email for details to collect your prize!

To everyone who has participated in

this giveaway, THANK YOU for supporting

Simply Lambchops!

Do continue to visit the blog for more updates!

Want more chances to win this cool tee?

Hop over to A Pancake Princess for her giveaway!

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Seussical the Musical by ABA Productions

Media Coverage Friday, October 23, 2015

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Easy DIY Sea Quest costume for kids

all about L Tuesday, October 13, 2015

A couple of weeks ago, L's school held a Book Character Day. The children were encouraged to go to school in their most favorite book character, and to bring along that story book. It was a happy news for me as that meant more DIY costume-making!

Being a typical boy who is especially fond of heroes, L wanted to go as Percy Jackson, but was quickly reminded by Ch that he has not even read a single book of Rick Riordan. So he chose his next favorite book character - Max of Sea Quest by Adam Blade. Max is the main hero of the Sea Quest series who has a brilliant understanding of technology. Saved by a rare mythical sea girl (Merryn), she gave Max two gill-like openings to enable him to breathe under water. He wears a blue dive suit, with a pair of infrared goggles on his head, and a curved hyperblade that is pure vernium and cuts through anything. The hero rides on the Lightning Aquabike for his sea adventures to fight monsters like Cephalox the Cyber Squid and Skalda the Soul Stealer.

Unfortunately, L came to me with his costume request at the wrong time. I was busy preparing dinner, and frustrations built up while he made me listen to his wonderful costume idea. He badly wanted my help, and started whining when I did not stop my cooking to help with the costume-making like I had done so in the past (see my posts on DIY Hawkeye costume and other costumes here, here and here).

The other frustrating part was that I could not get a large image of Max that is clear enough for me to see the unique features of his costume. We had to rely on this two pictures found on the book.

Eventually, with a lot of angry glares and scoldings for being so last minute with his costume request, we managed to find an old blue sweater after digging into bags of old clothes. I left him with some paint and cardboard and told him to start making whatever he could while I resumed my cooking.

I was impressed with what he came up with in less than 30 mins!

The ring in the centre of the blue suit and the hyperblade were drawn and painted by L himself. I helped him cut out the shapes and we used masking tape to create the straps on Max's blue suit.

To make the shoulder pads, wrist guards and knee pads, we made do with brown felt and strong double-sided tape as I didn't have enough leather-like material. I didn't sew them on as he was only going to wear this for half a day.

The brown belt was a little tricky. There are three brown pouches (like coin pouches) attached to Max' belt, and one of them is positioned where the belt buckle is. I was afraid L would have trouble removing the belt if he needed to go to the toilet.

The solution - wrap brown felt over the belt and tape with double-sided tape so that he can rip off the pouch if he was that urgent to use the toilet.

L topped it off with a pair of swimming goggles. The goggles sure added a touch of the underwater feel to this Sea Quest hero.

*Do hop over to read how we encourage the kids to start reading from young + a chance to win a book voucher worth $30!

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How we encourage early reading habits (and a Children's Day Giveaway)

Books Friday, October 09, 2015

[This post contains affiliate links.]

You know that reading is important, and is a good habit to inculcate in our kids.

You know that reading helps the child strengthen his foundation in the language.

But how do you shape that love for reading in your child?

Here's sharing the journey we have taken (since 10 years ago) to raise at least 2 avid readers who will pick up a book to read before breakfast, after they come home from school, before bedtime, whenever and wherever. (In my opinion, these strategies work best before the child reaches Primary One.)

Start young.
We started our reading journey with each child when they were about 3 months old. Don't underestimate their ability to understand you when you read aloud to them. Read from a simple picture book or short story, but with consistent efforts, your child gets the idea of flipping the pages (this developmental milestone usually occurs around 1 year old) and associates the action with reading.

Also, when the child hears enough of the same words, those words stay as part of their vocabulary and helps with speech development and sentence construction.

Select age- and content-appropriate books.
When we select books for the kids, we go for books that are suitable for each child's cognitive and language development. This keeps them interested while we read. Choose books of a suitable difficulty level, with enough (not excessive) words and pictures to encourage speech and participation from the child. Short stories like The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, or Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell have simple sentences that repeat in the same form throughout the story. Also, books for toddlers and pre-schoolers should have colourful illustrations that are easy to interpret visually.

What we found most useful when the kids were less than 5 years old was to have books that are of their favorite cartoon characters or what they were interested in.

For Ch, she was in love with Dora for the longest time and we had books about Dora for her reading pleasure. She loved them so much and always requested for them to be read. L's were Thomas the train series and that got him hooked to reading. K is into animals and Peppa Pig so she flips through books of those themes. Now, she will say "Read book." in her sweet, gentle voice and pass us a book of her choice.

We started exploring chapter books with Ch when she showed readiness to sit through longer story books. She was about 4 years old when ZY introduced Noddy-A Classic Treasury by Enid Blyton. He patiently read one chapter a day with her before bedtime and continued to do that even after she could read the book herself.

To ease your headache of finding appropriate and good reads, you can refer to the list of winners of the Caldecott and Newberry awards, and the list of best kids' books published in the last 25 years. There are good souls who have done the hard work for you!

Read with them every day, even after they know how to read independently.

Reading is one of the bedtime routines we have established with the kids till now. They love to snuggle up their beds and read on their own, or they get Daddy to read a book to them. Even now when Ch and L can read themselves, ZY still reads aloud to them (more with L, as Ch thinks Daddy reads too slowly) when he is able to. This is important because the child gets to hear the words, especially the more difficult ones, and expands his vocabulary. His understanding deepens when he is able to clarify and question too.

Let them hold a book - a REAL book.
I tend to be a traditionalist. I love the simplicity of a print book and I want my children to appreciate books that come with the smell of newly printed pages, or the musty smell of yellow pages. I want them to have the tactile experience of flipping real pages and holding books of different weights. These are what give reading the oomph.

Let them choose the book (most of the time).
This makes them more engaged and motivated to stay through the whole reading session, as their choice is respected. In our family, there is no problem with letting them choose the book, as most of the books we own have been curated before they are allowed a space on the bookshelf.

When they go to the public library, we try and recommend better books to them. But if their choice is not too bad, we will usually go with their flow. A child whose reading interest is dictated strictly by his parents usually don't get too excited over reading.

Make books accessible everywhere in the house.
We are book-junkies. Okay, maybe not to that extent, but we love buying books for ourselves and the children. Friends also pass us their pre-loved books, and the children get books as birthday presents very often.

We organise the huge stash of books into 4 small reading areas. There are books in the children's room, our room, the dining area and living room. When books are easily accessible, there is a higher tendency that they get read more too.

I place a shoebox of books suitable for K next to my bed (she sleeps in my room). And this is the usual sighting I get in the mornings.

Isn't this a pleasant sight for us parents?

Visit the public library.
The library is one good place to read more good books without burning a hole in your pockets. However, for babies and young toddlers, I prefer to own the book as they can read and re-read the same book and still benefit a lot from it. I am also more particular when it comes to the hygiene of a borrowed book. Definitely wouldn't want my baby to mouth a book that has dropped on the road by the previous borrower.

Role-model reading habits.
I have heard friends complain that their children do not like to read. However, when asked if they have the habit of reading themselves, the common reply I get is no. Why do you think your child doesn't like reading then?

Children pick up habits from people around them, particularly their parents. So, it is important that they see us reading books too! Older siblings can also role-model good reading habits for the younger ones.

Bring a book (or two) along when they go out.
Instead of occupying their time with a smartphone or iPad, let them read and be entertained by the world in the book. It also gives you a peaceful time to shop/ eat, and makes long waiting time a lot more pleasant for everyone.

[updated: Do hop over to Tan Family Chronicles and get tips from Pamela on how she inculcates the love for reading in her kids - Tips for Reading to a Toddler, and Start Reading Young!]

Let's strive to build a generation of readers. How do you encourage your child to read?

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

~ Dr Suess

~~SPECIAL GIVEAWAY! (9 - 21 Oct)~~

~~To celebrate the Children's Day, I have 2 book vouchers worth $30 to gift to my Simply Lambchops readers! You can use the book vouchers to offset your purchase at The Groovy Giraffe!~~

The Groovy Giraffe is Singapore's first official online remainder bookstore. You'll notice the bookstore carries great discounted books, and your savings can be as much as 80% of the recommended retail prices.

Why are the prices so affordable? That is because they are remainder books - books that are BRAND NEW, overstocked and overprint. Some of the heavily discounted books may display minor shelf wear due to being placed onto and removed from a shelf. So far, the books I have purchased look really new and I don't see any defects at all.

I like that The Groovy Giraffe team also helps the book selection process by organising their books according to age groups, price, authors and publishers. There is also a section on books by Children's Laureate.

~~The Groovy Giraffe also offers FREE SHIPPING within Singapore for orders above $50.~~

~~How to enter the giveaway:~~

~~I will be doing a random draw for 2 winners using the Rafflecopter widget.~~

~~In order to qualify for the giveaway, please use the Rafflecopter widget below to complete the following steps:~~

~~a Rafflecopter giveaway~~

This giveaway will end on Wednesday 21 Oct, 2359 hrs. Results of the draw will be announced here.

~~Giveaway Terms and Conditions~~

~~The winner will be contacted using the particulars provided when entering the draw, and has 48 hours to respond, failing which a new winner will be drawn.~~
~~Claiming of the $30 voucher is through The Groovy Giraffe.~~
All incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries will be verified before the winners are announced. To be fair to our sponsors, please note that all fake Facebook accounts (e.g. accounts set up purely to take part in contests with no or very few real friends) will also be ineligible to win.
~~This giveaway is open to Singapore residents only.~~

Discount!

The Groovy Giraffe has kindly offered a 5% discount to all Simply Lambchops readers when you make a purchase from their online bookstore (except bargains)! Just enter the coupon code below when you check out your cart!

LOVEBOOKS

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was given for this review and all opinions are ours. We received a set of books from The Groovy Giraffe for the purpose of this review.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ms Jenny Y. and Ms Cynthia L.!

for winning the giveaway!

I will be getting in touch with you soon!
Please check your email for details to collect your prize!

To everyone who has participated in

this giveaway, THANK YOU for supporting

Simply Lambchops!

Do continue to visit the blog for more updates!

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Birth Stories: The birth of K (or, I did it without epidural!)

all about K Tuesday, August 18, 2015

** This post was originally published in September 2011, and is republished and updated with more details as part of our family's celebration for K's 4th birthday. Can you imagine that? My Princess Warrior is FOUR today! To God be the Glory!

Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

****

Months passed since discovering the positive sign on the test kit and I finally made it to the last two weeks of the pregnancy. ZY prayed for K every night, that she will be a healthy baby, and that I will have a smooth delivery. The whole family waited eagerly for our precious baby to arrive into our world.

This pregnancy was the most horrible and worst of the three - my morning sickness lasted the whole pregnancy, and felt more like whole-day-sickness with vomiting episodes that struck at any time of the day. I resorted to taking anti-nausea pills just so that I could eat my dinner and keep them down. Friends comforted that my hCG hormones must be very high and that would mean a healthy baby. Whatever it was, I only had a bump of a 5-month pregnant lady in my last trimester of pregnancy.

I had decided earlier that since this was my third birth, I should be "experienced" enough to watch out for early signs of labour, hence I didn't take a break from work to rest before the due date. Ha, who am I kidding? Colleagues who know ZY have his contact number, and they were prepared to send me to the hospital if I had gone into labour while at school.

Two days before D-day (or should I say, K-day?), I started feeling the contractions while teaching. I wasn't sure if they were just Braxton Hicks or labour pains. The contractions were like menstrual cramps, and they came in small waves every 10 to 15 min. I finished my work as usual, but I was hobbling around in between classes. The following morning, ZY sent me to my obstetrician, Dr Kee, just to make sure that everything was alright.

Dr Kee did a Cardiotocography (CTG) and an ultrasound scan and assured that baby was fine. It looked like she could still stay in for another week. Her expected due date was 27 Aug. With relief, I went back to work. However, when night came, the contractions got stronger. The pain escalated throughout the night and each contraction woke me from my sleep. Some were so painful that I moaned while tossing and turning on bed.

I did not get to sleep much. There was also a little bloody discharge, possibly a 'show'. Dr Kee advised us to get myself checked at his clinic immediately when it opened in the morning, so ZY packed his stuff and I took my hospital bag. We explained to L that his little sister could be coming out that day, so Mommy and Daddy had to go to the hospital. We made arrangements for my mom-in-law to fetch the kids and helper to stay at her place for the next few days while we busied at the hospital, and we proceeded to the clinic.

Tired and hungry, I started craving for some goreng pisang (fried banana fritters) or hot prawn noodles from Longhouse food centre. Hunger pangs and labour pains are a bad combo, but the pains were too intense to bear so breakfast was sacrificed. When I reached the clinic around 9 am, Dr Kee checked my cervix and announced that I was 5 cm dilated!

What!! 5 cm already? I was in labour since 24 hours ago?!

He insisted that I went to the hospital immediately and he would reach shortly later to check on me.

"The third delivery is usually very fast," he said.

We were excited! We would see K today! 18 Aug! One week earlier than expected! Ch and L would be able to see their baby sister soon! We made calls to our parents to tell them of the good news too.

I was greeted by a friendly receptionist at the hospital who gave us directions to the delivery suite. Once there, I changed into the hospital gown and the nurse strapped me to the CTG machine to monitor my uterine contractions. ZY and I chatted for a while, then he went to get his lunch while I rested.

Dr Kee expected K to be out by noon, but strangely, activity slowed down. My contractions only came every 30 min, and there wasn't any progress with the dilations either.

I got bored and checked the Facebook updates frequently, as well as "Whatsapp-ed" my close friends. They laughed when I told them I was texting them from the delivery room. ZY also managed to take a short nap on the couch.

During the wait, a nurse asked if I needed an epidural. I had ordered for epidural for my first 2 deliveries as I was not prepared to bear with prolonged pains from an induced labour. So this time round, I was quite ready to use it too. But the nurse seemed to hint that there was no need for it.

"The third delivery is usually fast," she said. Ugh, the same comment again.

No "happy-dural" this time? Really?

I hesitated, undecided of the option.

Trying to convince myself, I asked how painful the labour pains will be when they come. She looked at the CTG chart and said that it should be as painful as what I was experiencing at that moment, but with a shorter frequency.

I imagined the pain. Perhaps it won't be THAT painful since each contraction is still bearable. I "Whatsapp-ed" friends for advice. K's godfather encouraged me to go all natural and even created a song about it!

(sing to the tune of "I have decided to follow Jesus)

I have decided sans epidural,
I have decided sans epidural,
I have decided sans epidural,
No turning back, no turning back.

So the courageous decision was made. No epidural this time!

After a long wait, Dr Kee arrived slightly past 3 pm and ordered for an oxytocin drip to increase the frequency of my contractions. After breaking my water bag (have I mentioned that I hate this procedure very much?), he left for his clinic, saying that he'll let the drip do its work and promised to be back soon. He assured that everything would be done by 4:30 pm.

He barely made it to his clinic, which is a few minutes drive from the hospital, and was recalled back because I felt surges of labour pains shortly after. The contractions got more frequent and stronger. The drip is so amazing!

The midwife saw that I was going into distress due to the pain and suggested I try nitrous oxide gas.

"NO NITROUS OXIDE! It doesn't work for me!"

I tried the gas during Ch's delivery and it almost made me faint. But this midwife looked like she knew her stuff. She assured the effectiveness as long as I obey her instructions, and it would cost much less than an epidural anyway.

Reluctantly, I turned into a tamed cat.

With controlled and deep breathing, true enough, the gas worked! Each contraction was more bearable now, but the urge to push got stronger and stronger. I shouted that I had to push baby out, but the midwife said no because the doctor had not arrived yet.

It is bad enough to endure the labour pains. But it is a totally excruciating game to go against nature and HOLD the baby in the womb when all she wanted was to come out!

Then everything went hazy. I remember crying, perhaps from all the action and the emotions built up inside me. I took a while to recover from the daze, and Dr Kee stepped into the room.

That moment of relief when I saw him was indescribable.

Things went fast after that. Calmly, Dr Kee suited up with a face shield and a long-sleeved outfit. I was surprised but amused with the face shield. Seriously? Am I going to make such a big mess on you?

Photo credit

I was told to push as hard as I could. Without epidural, it was so much easier to feel the contractions and that helped with pushing. However, by the second push, I was exhausted. I slipped into the hazy state again. I don't want to push anymore!! I'm too tired!! I remember ZY shouting something like "Just one more push!" into my ear. And I remember Dr Kee rushing me to continue pushing as baby could not be in that position for too long.

With my final little bit of energy that was left, I gave a long push... and I felt it. I felt K slip out of me!

Time check... 4:03 pm!

I did it without epidural!!

The nurse put K in my arms. Ah..my baby! She wasn't exactly beautiful or cute as she was so red and wrinkly, but still... she's my precious girl whom I carried for 39 weeks.

ZY took a few photographs of us, and the nurse suggested breastfeeding her.

Now? I thought. I'm just too tired to do this! I requested to delay breastfeeding though I knew it was not advisable. This was a bad decision, really, as K rejected latching on for almost a month before I managed to wean her off the bottle.

K was warmed up and measured, while my placenta was removed. I rested on the delivery bed. I was totally drained out and famished! Then I remembered the prawn noodles that I didn't manage to eat. Argh! I was so hungry that I had gastric pains! Regret, regret!

Looking through the photos that ZY took that day, I realise that he wasn't in any of the photos! Poor Daddy!

"As usual," he would say.

So, here's a photo of Daddy pushing K to the nursery (imagine he's in the photo lah!)

****

On hindsight, if I were to do this delivery again, I would:

:: Get my goreng pisang or prawn noodles before going to the hospital! There are two schools of thoughts for eating before delivering a baby. If you have been scheduled for a C-section, the doctors probably will advise against eating. For those going natural, eating may pose a problem should there be a need for emergency C-section. However, without having some food, I did not have enough energy to push K. This is dangerous as baby can suffocate in that position for too long.

:: Still do it without epidural! It's a wonderful experience to be able to feel K when she came out of me. For Ch's birth, I could not feel anything at all as I was on epidural, and I had difficulty pushing without feeling any contractions. I had to COUGH Ch out, literally. For L's, the epidural effect lessened and this made pushing easier. The contractions felt more like mild, numbing cramps.

That being said, if you really need epidural to feel more comfortable during the delivery, I would say go ahead. If feeling less pain will help you conserve some energy to push baby during labour, using epidural will be a wise choice.

:: Bring my iPad along for some entertainment while waiting. There was a television in the delivery room, but I could do with better entertainment.

:: Breastfeed K in the delivery room. K was whisked off to the nursery, and then to the NICU due to some complications after I left her with the nurses. She stayed there for 8 days, and was converted into a bottlefed baby. I had to surmount tremendous difficulties to get her to breastfeed exclusively.

Happy 4 year old, my dear K!

^This post is part of the ‘Birth Stories’ Blog Train hosted by Owls Well. To read other exciting birth stories please click on the icon below.

If you would like to travel to the previous stops on this Blog Train and read more interesting birth stories, you can start with this one here (https://owlswellblog.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/birth-stories-here-comes-j/) by Debs G over at Owls Well.

About Debs G:
Debs is a Sunda Scops Owl who married a nice British Barn Owl and is raising a trio of hungry young owlets in a highrise tree in Singapore. Debs is a trained medical professional who is currently training to be A Parent. At next week's stop we will be visiting Debs G again at Owls Well as she recounts the birth story of her second born, Little E.

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Endless fun with Tangram Tee (and a giveaway)

Seussical the Musical by ABA Productions

Easy DIY Sea Quest costume for kids

How we encourage early reading habits (and a Children's Day Giveaway)

Birth Stories: The birth of K (or, I did it without epidural!)

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