If the Lord is willing, many years down the road when our hairs grey and our memory fades, I'll read out this post to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to remind us of the many blessed moments we shared as a family.

Sharing our family votes for the best nine family moments in 2016 - because the best nine is not just about the most-liked photos.

Photos from top row (left to right)

• We spent a whole day at Kidzania! From the time it opened to its closing time. I couldn't believe that all the three kids were still hyped up when we left, whereas I was exhausted just sitting around and taking pictures. It was an incredible experience as there was hardly any crowd and the kids tried out 11 establishments. Precious moments spotted when the siblings helped one another to complete the task, accommodated to K's walking speed by walking slower, brought K along to set up her bank account and collecting the 20 kidZos and many more. 
• We had a thrilling time at the Singapore Wake Park, challenging each other to see who will be the first to successfully wakeboard across the waters. Precious moments included cheering each other on when we couldn't make it to the opposite tower. Even K, who was watching us from the side, encouraged us and gave lots of thumbs-up. 
• We brought K on a bus ride because she started asking. Each time when we are in the car, she would point to the buses that pass by and say, "I want to go on bus." For a girl who has overcome so many challenges in her short life and has improved so much physically, it was indeed difficult for us to reject her request. The look on her face when she finally boarded one was priceless! So, so precious because it was her first. 

• We celebrated L's birthday at Zoom Park because he wanted the same experience that Ch had for her birthday. It was extra memorable because he had the company of 5 other friends and they expended so much energy trampolining for that one hour. 
• We finally saw enough weight gain from K and more progress at eating and drinking by mouth. Hence, we confidently pulled out her feeding tube! The family cheered for her when she took a photo with her tube dangling from her small fingers. And she proudly said "No more tube." Will 2017 be the year she accepts Gerber puffs, biscuits, cubed fruits and everything else?  
• We were pleasantly surprised with our luxurious family suite at the recent staycation at the Civil Service Clubhouse@Changi. A chalet it was, but it was more than the typical chalet we are familiar with. The kids watched tv whenever there was time and we had friends over for a barbeque too. A post about our experience to come soon.

Enjoy the little things in life. For one day you may look back and realise they were the Big things. 

 What about you, dear friend? What were your best nine family moments for this year?

This is the second post of the series featuring our collaboration with Nippon Paint Professional Painting Services. Read about our pre-painting site consultation experience and the surprise we got.

 - The day our room breathed a new look again -

The painting team from Nippon Paint Professional Painting Services reached our house on time with their tools and paints and started work promptly. Quietly, the two painters worked in tandem to shift the furniture to the centre of the room, tape the fixtures etc.

Job to be completed in 5 hours: walls and ceiling of my helper's room and ceilings of my Master Bedroom and two toilets.

Pre-painting preparation

Protecting all fixtures with Nippon Paint-approved masking tapes

Nippon Paint Plastic Drop Cloth to protect all the furniture and floor

Painting work starts

Adding a coat of primer (sealer)

Although the Vinilex 5170 or ExpressKote sealers might be more efflorescence resistant (hence providing more protection to the finishing coats of paint), the Nippon Paint 5101 Odour-less Water-based Wall Sealer was suggested by Alan (project manager of Nippon Paint Professional Painting Services) as we have young children at home. It emits a low level of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compound), hence is safer for them as compared to the other two types of sealers. And... did you notice the name says "odour-less" instead of odourless? Keke... true to its name, the water-based sealer does emit a little odour, but is definitely much less as compared to the normal paints, and it is almost unnoticeable.

The work was divided between the two painters. One painted the top coat of my helper's bedroom while the other worked on the ceilings and the toilets.

Top coats waiting to dry

Blistered paint removed from the toilet ceiling

Areas on the ceilings where the old paint blistered or peeled off were scraped and cleaned before applying the new coat of ceiling paint. The Nippon Paint Anti-Mould Ceiling White paint is formulated to have anti-mould properties against most species of mould - definitely what we need, considering the booklice feast on mould on the walls.

Just when the painters were going to clean up after completing the work, we found bubbles forming under the new coat of ceiling paint in one toilet. Thankfully, the painters rectified the problem immediately. They had to reapply new coats of paint after removing the bubbles and stayed on to check if the problem persisted. I am impressed with their work attitude because not once did they give me any "black face" for delaying the completion of the paintwork.

Cleaning Up

The painters worked fast to clean up the rooms and removed all masking tapes and drop cloths. As part of their professional painting services, they were supposed to reinstall the furniture in my helper's room to the original arrangement, but the painters told me to let the top coat dry completely for a few hours before doing that. I was more than happy to do it myself since they stayed almost the whole day just to make sure the ceiling paint dried up properly.

We love the new colours and a refreshed look for my helper's room. Stay with me for photos of the completed paintwork in my next post!

We have been neglecting the maintenance of the paintwork of our house since we moved in. Other than a new paintwork in 2011 at the foyer leading to our main door and the current bedroom which Ch and L are sharing, the rest of the house still retains the original paintwork that was done in 2003.

Parts of the ceilings in our toilets and Master Bedroom have blistered and cracked. The wall paint in my helper's room and the balcony suffer from the growth of mould and "scars" when stickers or Blue Tack were removed.

Problem areas on interior walls and ceilings

We have been thinking of giving the walls a new paintwork especially since the helper's room looks kind of dull, but ... you know how things are with work and kids around ya? The days turn into months and the months into years, with the problem areas still unattended to until we were invited to try out Nippon Paint's Professional Painting Services.

Helper's room cum play area for the kids

Pre-painting site inspection

What do you see on this bedroom ceiling?

Do you notice the tiny black speck at the joining of the ceiling and wall? That is actually a living thing!

A closer look under my microscope

It was a shock to see these pests which have been breeding on the walls in my helper's bedroom. Alan told me that these tiny insects (length about 1 mm) are booklice and they are commonly found in warm and moist conditions which are conducive for the growth of mould and mildew. The mould and mildew are their sources of food.

Booklice don't bite and they are not like head lice. They are generally harmless but they may cause skin irritation for some and are difficult to remove effectively. There are a couple of ways to eradicate booklice but since we were going to repaint the problematic areas, that would remove the thriving population.

Choosing the type and colour of paint

From macarons to room colour ideas

It's that time of the year where our labelling work gets intensive. There are school books, bags, water bottles, wallets, pens, lunch boxes, uniforms, etc, to label before the new school term starts.  

Very often, name labels either fade easily or peel off with time, with some lasting only a few months. But with Stickerkid stickers, we found that those name labels we received two years ago are still in good condition! 

That is because:

Stickerkid.com uses the highest quality material to provide you with the best possible stickers. We take great care in selecting the materials, papers, inks and machines used in completing your order. We took our time selecting the most malleable and flexible adhesive, allowing you to apply the stickers to any surface. Despite our extensive research, our adhesive does not work on Teflon. Our plastification consists of an extremely thin film, only a few dozen microns so as not to alter the flexibility of our stickers. But we use top-of-the-line material to ensure longevity in our product. Once applied, the sticker will resist the test of time for years. For our textile labels, we guarantee that they will withstand 45 machine washes at a temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius. These labels are washing machine and tumble dryer resistant. - Stickerkid.com

Stickerkid.com

I ordered the stickers from Stickerkid.com's website and within 24 hours, I received an email notification that the stickers were ready and off to the Swiss Post. Shipping to Singapore costs S$3 and is delivered directly to the letter box.

Other than the single items, Stickerkid.com offers personalised value packs that include all the essential stickers you need to label your belongings at the childcare, school or for a school camping trip. I've seen brands that offer cheaper value packs with more stickers included, but the disappointment comes when I realise the font and colour customisation applies to all the stickers in the pack, hence giving the same look. 

Unlike those brands, Stickerkid's value packs allow you to customise each type of sticker in terms of the wording, colours, font and picture logo. Best for kids (or mothers) who want a bit of everything! 

Choosing her own colours and picture logo

At this age, K is able to tell me which colour and picture logo she likes. She couldn't decide between a blue or a red background for her shoe stickers and if she likes ladybug or a princess better. I was amused while I watched how L helped her with the decision-making process.
The value packs also come with at least 30% savings! The extra savings can be channelled to fuel more coffee breaks for moms! Happy!

Various types of value packs from Stickerkid.com

Can I tell you how much I love Stickerkid's shoe stickers? I think this is such a clever idea especially for young kids, and our school-going kids. These stickers come in handy for popular brands/colours of shoes. I've seen two other friends' kids with the exact pair of shoes as K's, so the shoe stickers (and the amount of shoe dirt) help me identify her shoes more easily.

Customised shoe stickers for K

Name labels and Clothing labels from Stickerkid

Elephant Door label

Note: discount is not applicable for promo items.

Have fun customising your own name stickers!

Disclaimer: We were given Stickerkid personalised stickers for the purpose of this review. Names on the stickers were edited for privacy reasons. No monetary compensation was given and all opinion are ours.

[Media Invite] Wakeboarding is a water sport very alien but super cool to me, and one that I associate with rich people who can afford to rent a boat out to sea. I have never imagined that I will attempt this thrilling sport at my age (with stiff bones and a body that is so telling of the lack of exercise) because this seems more like a popular sport among the younger people. But I did it, and so did my kids! Thanks to the newly-opened Singapore Wake Park at East Coast Park!

What is wakeboarding or cable-ski?

Cable-ski, wakeboarding - they are "same, same, but different". From the little understanding I have, wakeboarding is a more general term to describe the sport where a person is towed across the waters on a board that is slightly smaller than a surfboard. The person can be towed by a motorboat or by an overhead running cable system (hence, the name cable-ski).

The [NEW] Singapore Wake Park 

Known as Ski360degree under the previous cable-ski park operator, the cable-ski park was taken over by the Island Lifestyle Group and renovated and re-opened to the public since end October 2016. Singapore Wake Park features two System 2.0s (70 metres and 140 metres) that allow the speed to be adjusted to suit the beginner rider, as well as a full-sized cable system with obstacles for those who are more competent to challenge themselves. More details about the park facilities here.

This is a playground for both children and adults, from cable-ski thrills to lounging by the lagoon. Learn a new sport, get sun-kissed, end the day with a big smile on your face. This is also a pit-stop for runners, cyclists and skaters to take a break and watch the Park in full adrenaline swing. - Singapore Wake Park

Our first wakeboarding experience

We went during the evening to avoid getting a sunburn. Night cable-skiing is cooling and made possible with powerful floodlights to illuminate the park. After we signed the Liability Waiver Form, the lesson started with a short safety briefing and we were issued our cable-ski equipment (a buoyancy vest, helmet, and a wakeboard/kneeboard).

Can young kids wakeboard? Of course yes!

With no wakeboarding experience, we started out with the System 2.0 course as this is a safe learning environment to master the technique of balancing on the wakeboard with confidence. In fact, because it is safe and easy to use, children from as young as 6 years old and able senior citizens can have a try at wakeboarding.

The System 2.0 caters to one rider at a time so we had full attention from the instructor. He suggested starting off on a kneeboard for us to get accustomed to the forward pull. As the cable tightened, the initial tug on the handle caught us by surprise and we almost lost our grip on the handle, but we got the hang of it quickly and whizzed across the 70 m of water.  The ride was exhilarating!! We quickly requested to be "upgraded" to the next board.

Types of boards for beginners

With the Easy Up board, the whole ball game changed. The aim is to hold the sitting position while launching off and slowly standing up to balance on the board with the right stance. Ch and I had a little competition to see who would be the first to make it to the end successfully.

We fell into the water multiple times. Being thrown into the water after losing balance is as fun as the cable-ski experience itself although hauling ourselves and the board onto the white floating walkway was no easy feat. I was a little embarrassed when I could not pull myself up the first time and felt myself panting while I tried to "sashay glamorously" back to the starting point. The extent of body aches the next morning is evidence of the full-body workout I received. Strangely, my kids didn't have any muscle aches at all. Tsk tsk!

It's very fun and I like swimming to the walkway when I fall into the water. - L

Wait-time for your turn to cable-ski depends on the size of the crowd. We had close to 10 rides each and all three of us managed to progress to the wakeboard by the end of the session.

I learnt from Singapore Wake Park that the water in their lagoon flows directly from the sea (no wonder we tasted salty water) through a filtration system, and the repeated flow of seawater ensures the quality of the water in accordance with NEA's guidelines. The filtration system also ensures no debris enter the lagoon, apart from small organisms like sea grass and little fishes which we noticed during our rides. Before the Park opens and after it closes, the crew also clears any sea grass/fallen leaves on the surface of the water and floating walkways. The water quality levels at the Park are checked every 3 to 6 months to ensure that it is consistently safe for its riders.

That one-hour wakeboarding session was a precious family experience and one that we would still talk about it fondly. K cheered for us from the deck nearby with many "good job!" and thumbs-up hand-sign and the determination to conquer System 2.0 was strongly evident in Ch and L. They just kept going despite swallowing water when they fell into the lagoon. And although L is a non-swimmer, he was able to make his way to the floating walkway confidently with the help of a life jacket.

To progress to the full-sized cable system, beginners have to successfully wakeboard across System 2.0 three times in a row. None of us managed to, but you can read more about the system here.

If you want to see how the Park looks like during the day, hop over to Sengkangbabies to read about their day cable-skiing experience.

Our wakeboarding instructor

Coastal Rhythm cafe with a semi-alfresco dining interior

Feasting on finger food at Coastal Rhythm

More information about Singapore Wake Park

Opening hours: Mon to Fri, 10 am to 10 pm | Sat, Sun and Public Holiday, 9 am to 10 pm
Address: 1206A, East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449891
Telephone: 6636 4266
Singapore Wake Park Website | Facebook | Instagram

Park rates:

*** SPECIAL GIVEAWAY! (7 Dec - 14 Dec) ***

Special thanks to Singapore Wake Park, one lucky reader will get to win TWO Weekday 1-hour Passes (worth $80)!!

How to enter the giveaway:
Compulsory steps:

1. Visit Singapore Wake Park's Facebook page and Simply Lambchops' Facebook page. (While you are there, we'll appreciate a lot if you could "like" the page)
2. Leave a comment on this Facebook post with:

• your email address (for contact purposes if you are one of the winners),
• and tell me who you will be bringing along for this great experience.

Sharing is caring, so do share this giveaway with your friends! 
This giveaway ends on Wednesday, 14 December 2016, 23:59 hours. Results of the random draw will be announced here.

Giveaway terms and conditions:

• This giveaway is only open to people residing in Singapore. 
• Winner will be contacted by email for info to redeem the prize. 
• The passes are valid until February 2017.
• All incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries will be verified before the winner is announced. To be fair to our sponsor, 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. 
• 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. 
• Please note that this giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook. By taking part in this giveaway, you agree to provide your information to Simply Lambchops and the sponsor.
• All personal details provided in this giveaway will be kept confidential.

Disclaimer: We were invited for the wakeboarding experience for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was given and all opinions are ours.