(This is a super backdated post of L's birthday celebration in 2012. This post has always been nagging at me to complete it, so I decided to end my misery and get it out before he turns 6 this year.)
Year 2012, specifically between the months of June to September, was an especially hectic one for us as the kids wanted a celebration bigger than the usual quiet family affair. You can read about Ch's watermelon birthday celebration here and K's Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star celebration here. When L saw his older sister preparing for her birthday, he also requested for a themed birthday party.
This was what we did:
+ party theme. We went along with a food theme after we had so much fun with Ch's watermelon birthday celebration. Three-year-old L loved those small steamed dumplings with pork and shrimp paste called "siew mai" (he still does!), so after brainstorming a couple of his favourite food (like sushi party, starfruit party...), we finally agreed to adopt a "Siew Mai" theme for his birthday celebration! It was truly unique and fun!
+ party invite. I used a free font that I downloaded to create a more Chinese feel on the invite since "siew mai" is a popular Chinese dim sum dish which we will definitely order when we have dim sum.
+ party favors. This time round, instead of candy and snacks for the children, dim sum toys were hand-sewn and packed for them to bring home and be part of their toys for kitchen play. I bought the tutorial pattern from Etsy. Am not good at sewing and pricked my fingers a few times, but looking at the final product, the pricks were worth it! The "har-gau" and "small bao" looked very authentic!
+ party games/ food. The main highlight of the celebration was a hands-on "siew mai" making session where we invited a well-known "Siew Mai Shifu" (师父 or Master) - at least well-known enough in our family cos she is my mom-in-law *grin* - to teach us how to wrap the "siew mai". Kids and adults had lots of fun wrapping the "siew mai". Some added too much meat paste, and their "siew mai" turned out broad and flat .
Some of us gave up in the end, and just added the meat paste to the dumpling skin and folded it. Nonetheless, the taste was still good!
+ birthday cake. L had great plans about his birthday cake. This time, he wanted two cakes so that there would be enough cakes to feed everyone. Plus, he wanted a chocolate and a vanilla cake. His reason - those who prefer chocolate can eat the chocolate cake, and those who prefer vanilla can eat the vanilla cake. Isn't that sweet and considerate of him?
On behalf of my family, I thank all my friends and family members who attended L's birthday celebration. Your presence and participation made the "siew mai" party a success. It was really fun seeing each other's out-of-shape "siew mai", and having a good laugh about it. The company was great and there was opportunities for all of us to mingle and interact with one another.
And...
I promise this is gonna be the one and only time where you are invited for all their birthday celebrations 3 times in a row. And to myself, I am reminded never to give in to them and/or make myself busy over their birthday celebrations 3 times in a row too.
Year 2012, specifically between the months of June to September, was an especially hectic one for us as the kids wanted a celebration bigger than the usual quiet family affair. You can read about Ch's watermelon birthday celebration here and K's Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star celebration here. When L saw his older sister preparing for her birthday, he also requested for a themed birthday party.
This was what we did:
+ party theme. We went along with a food theme after we had so much fun with Ch's watermelon birthday celebration. Three-year-old L loved those small steamed dumplings with pork and shrimp paste called "siew mai" (he still does!), so after brainstorming a couple of his favourite food (like sushi party, starfruit party...), we finally agreed to adopt a "Siew Mai" theme for his birthday celebration! It was truly unique and fun!
+ party invite. I used a free font that I downloaded to create a more Chinese feel on the invite since "siew mai" is a popular Chinese dim sum dish which we will definitely order when we have dim sum.
+ party favors. This time round, instead of candy and snacks for the children, dim sum toys were hand-sewn and packed for them to bring home and be part of their toys for kitchen play. I bought the tutorial pattern from Etsy. Am not good at sewing and pricked my fingers a few times, but looking at the final product, the pricks were worth it! The "har-gau" and "small bao" looked very authentic!
+ party games/ food. The main highlight of the celebration was a hands-on "siew mai" making session where we invited a well-known "Siew Mai Shifu" (师父 or Master) - at least well-known enough in our family cos she is my mom-in-law *grin* - to teach us how to wrap the "siew mai". Kids and adults had lots of fun wrapping the "siew mai". Some added too much meat paste, and their "siew mai" turned out broad and flat .
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| See how engrossed everyone was under the guidance of the "Siew Mai Shifu"! |
Some of us gave up in the end, and just added the meat paste to the dumpling skin and folded it. Nonetheless, the taste was still good!
 |
| "Siew Mai" party, so we had dim sum food like popiah (fried spring rolls), glutinous rice, steamed buns, and of course, "siew mai"! |
+ birthday cake. L had great plans about his birthday cake. This time, he wanted two cakes so that there would be enough cakes to feed everyone. Plus, he wanted a chocolate and a vanilla cake. His reason - those who prefer chocolate can eat the chocolate cake, and those who prefer vanilla can eat the vanilla cake. Isn't that sweet and considerate of him?
And...
I promise this is gonna be the one and only time where you are invited for all their birthday celebrations 3 times in a row. And to myself, I am reminded never to give in to them and/or make myself busy over their birthday celebrations 3 times in a row too.
I've learnt to appreciate the lyrics of the hymns as I sing, and over the years, I realise I do get uplifted by them when I ponder upon the words and not just focussing on the tune. This hymn is dedicated to my friends and family who are experiencing discouragement, physically or emotional pain, and for all who need some encouragement to what is happening in their lives.
Tempted and tried
Farther Along
Tempted and tried
we're oft made to wonder
why it should be thus all the day long,
While there are others
living about us,
never molested tho' in the wrong.
Chorus:
Farther along we'll know all about it,
Farther along we'll understand why;
Cheer up, my brother,
live in the sunshine,
We'll understand it all by and by.
When death has come and taken our loved ones,
It leaves our home so lonely and drear;
Then do we wonder why others prosper,
Living so wicked year after year.
Faithful till death said our loving Master,
A few more days to labor and wait,
Toils of the road will then seem as nothing,
As we sweep thro' the beautiful gate.
When we see Jesus coming in glory,
When He comes from His home in the sky;
Then we shall meet Him in that bright mansion,
We'll understand it all by and by.
The school holidays are coming, and if you are still planning what to do with your school-going children, I strongly recommend the BASF Kids' Lab workshop.
As the world's leading chemical company, BASF's portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF also focuses on science education realizing that today's students will be the thinkers, innovators and leaders of the future. BASF developed its global Kids' Lab program comprising of hands-on experiments and interactive Q&A to encourage children ages 6 to 12 to gain a better appreciation of how chemistry contributes to our everyday life. This makes Chemistry learning more tangible and memorable for our little ones.
This is the 11th year BASF is holding Kids' Lab in Singapore and the program is offered free to participants. For this year, the the children get to perform two experiments to learn more about water. They will be able to test the water storage capacity of sand and superabsorbent polymers (SAP) through a water storage experiment. They will also learn about the importance of water as one of the most precious, limited natural resources and produce their own "dirty" water followed by basic purification methods to remove solids and dissolved particles in their water in the second experiment. This experiment simulates how wastewater is being purified in sewage plants.
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| Children get to wear a lab apron and don their safety goggles! |
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| Facilitator briefing the children about the program and the safety rules. |
For workshop sessions open to the public, the children are paired up for the
experiments. Do note that parents will not be allowed into the session. There are student facilitators to help the children if they face any difficulties and to guide them through the experimental procedures. They are also patient and friendly in answering the children's questions and there is always a healthy two-way discussion between the children and the facilitators.
experiments. Do note that parents will not be allowed into the session. There are student facilitators to help the children if they face any difficulties and to guide them through the experimental procedures. They are also patient and friendly in answering the children's questions and there is always a healthy two-way discussion between the children and the facilitators.
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| Co-operation to carry out the experiment to check the water storage capacity of sand. |
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| Recording their observations about the SAP. See how focussed L was! |
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| Preparing their "dirty" water! |
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| Taking turns! Co-operation to the max! |
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| Getting dirty with carbon and finding out what it does to their "dirty" water! |
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| Water in the measuring cylinder after being purified in a few easy steps. |
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| Children saw how "urine" is quickly absorbed by the SAP in a baby diaper! Of course, there were a lot of "ew" and "yucks" from them. |
As a Chemistry educator for 13 years, I am especially interested in fun and engaging workshops which can bring out the wonders of Science for my children. I hope they will love Science as much as I do, or even more! And today's workshop fulfilled my expectations. I saw how simple Science experiments brought out the awe in my children, and how they practised their soft skills of turns-taking, respecting each other's opinions and listening to instructions, on top of science practical skills like handling the apparatus and materials appropriately, making observations, making inferences from their observations and even tidying the workbench.
The public sessions will be held from May 31 - June 7 at the Jurong Regional Library. Each session is 1.5 hours long. I heard from the organisers that all the workshops are now fully booked, but you may want to try going down on the day you are free to see if there are last minute cancellations.
Do visit the BASF Kids' Lab facebook page and "like" the page to receive notifications of the future Kids' Lab workshops. There is an on-going contest on the page where you can answer a simple question to win a water bottle and a pair of safety goggles.
You can also visit The BASF Magazine to read how chemistry helps to meet global challenges and create a sustainable future. Topics like resources, environment and climate, food and nutrition and quality of life are interesting and applicable to everyday living. Parents can read the articles together with your child to develop their scientific literacy skills and in the process, strengthen your parent-child bond through discussions on the topics read.
We thank BASF Kids' Lab and Playeum, The Play Museum which is the official programme coordinator, for the privilege to attend a special preview of this year's workshop. Ch and L had fun today and they love the workshop. They even commented that they want to attend the workshop again next year! The excited kids showed Daddy the photos we took today, and he conducted an extension of the second experiment to talk about the purification method in our air purifier!
K is admitted to the PICU of NUH for the third time (admitted on 28.04.2014). This time, it was due to a lung infection caused by the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and made worse by her existing pulmonary hypertension problem.
According to Medscape, "Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in infants and young children. Each year, 4-5 million children younger than 4 years acquire an RSV infection, and more than 125,000 are hospitalized annually in the United States because of this infection." Usually, a child with RSV can recover in about 1 to 2 weeks, but those who are premature, children less than 2 years of age with congenital heart or chronic lung disease, and children with compromised immune systems due to a medical condition are at highest risk of complications arising from a RSV infection. Adults with compromised immune systems and those 65 and older are also at an increased risk of severe disease.
This hymn is dedicated to K and my whole family to remind us that there is always good in everything we experience in our lives. We may not understand why unfortunate things happen, but we just have to lean on God for strength and wait till the storm passes by.
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
According to Medscape, "Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in infants and young children. Each year, 4-5 million children younger than 4 years acquire an RSV infection, and more than 125,000 are hospitalized annually in the United States because of this infection." Usually, a child with RSV can recover in about 1 to 2 weeks, but those who are premature, children less than 2 years of age with congenital heart or chronic lung disease, and children with compromised immune systems due to a medical condition are at highest risk of complications arising from a RSV infection. Adults with compromised immune systems and those 65 and older are also at an increased risk of severe disease.
This hymn is dedicated to K and my whole family to remind us that there is always good in everything we experience in our lives. We may not understand why unfortunate things happen, but we just have to lean on God for strength and wait till the storm passes by.
Till the Storm Passes By
In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face,
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place.
'Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry;
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.
Chorus: 'Til the storm passes over,
'til the thunder sounds no more,
'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky,
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand.
Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by.
Many times Satan whispered,
"There is no need to try,
for there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by."
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies.
When the long night has ended and the storms come no more,
Let me stand in Thy presence on that bright, peaceful shore.
In that land where the tempest never comes,
Lord, may I dwell with Thee when the storm passes by.
The worst of the storm seems over. K is improving and there are plans to extubate her (be removed from the ventilator that supports her breathing) tomorrow. She is still suffering from some withdrawal due to high doses of sedative drugs (ketamine, fentanyl, precedex and some others) but has been given an anti-withdrawal drug to help her cope with the discomfort of the withdrawals.
Thank you for walking through the storm with us. Your words of encouragement, SMS, donations, gifts, hugs, actions of love, visits to the hospital, and volunteering to bring Ch and L out have comforted ZY and I during this period. I know we are not alone in this trying period, and God is watching over us and guiding us through each step we take.
