Monthly Archives: May 2013

Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild – Great for Kids too!

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Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild

Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild

Anya has swimming lessons every week and I usually have to lug along a big bag of our swim things and different types of sunscreen for her and for me. But the swimming bag is a bit lighter now because I only have to bring one sun protection cream that we can both use!

Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild protects skin from UVA/ UVB rays and contains no UV absorbers, alcohol, fragrance or paraben. That’s good news for people with sensitive skin. My skin is quite thin and sensitive so my face gets really irritated by products containing fragrance! And since it doesn’t contain any of the harmful stuff found in other sunscreens, this sun protection cream is perfect for kids too. Plus, it’s moisturising!

I have a bad habit of jumping into the pool right after applying sunscreen so I always end up getting sunscreen running into my eyes. Oh, the pain and suffering! This Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild sun protection cream claims to be water-resistant, so I put it to the test and it truly is. It really stays put!

My favourite thing about this sun protection cream is that it doesn’t leave a horrible white cast on the skin. I look absolutely normal after applying it instead of strange and pasty. And it is easy to apply with a convenient flip cap that allows me to hold, open and close the tube with just one hand. I’m seriously in love with this Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild sun protection cream!

GIVEAWAY! :)

I have three tubes of Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild sun protection cream (50ml) worth $62 each to give away to three lucky readers! To qualify, simply do the following by 6 JUNE 2013, 2359H:

1. Like the ‘In the Wee Hours’ Facebook page.
2. Leave a comment here telling me the most important thing you look for in a sunscreen!

RESULTS! :)

Thank you for taking part! Congrats to Ai (11), Angeline (27) and Eileen Lim (34).

Shiseido

Disclaimer: I was given a tube of Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protector Extra Mild sun protection cream for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

The Magic Porridge Pot

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We caught The Magic Porridge Pot on Vesak Day! It was nice bumping into so many familiar faces there. Anya was quite excited to see some of her classmates seated near her in the audience.

waiting eagerly

waiting eagerly

with the cast and some of her classmates

with the cast and some of her classmates

I didn’t really like the way the play started, with the cast members wearing masks and making random noises to communicate. I think it scared some of the younger kids (there was a fair bit of wailing) and didn’t add anything to the play. Some parts of the play were a bit wordy and slow-moving, e.g. when the mother was introduced and they were trying to establish that she’s a very forgetful character.

But on the whole, Anya and I enjoyed the performance. It was humourous, the songs were catchy and she was still singing bits of the songs a day later. The thief was convincingly portrayed and Anya would get very irritated whenever he appeared on stage, crossing her arms angrily and glaring in his general direction. I also liked that the cast stayed behind for photos after the show because it left us with a nice little souvenir of the performance!

Flipside 2013 at the Esplanade

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I read Debra’s post on Flipside at the Esplanade and went down to check it out with the Family and it was a lot of fun. We checked out some of the 3D optical illusions at the concourse area and took some silly photos there.

Flipside

Flipside

sitting on a 'chair'

sitting on a ‘chair’

Anya really enjoyed making her way through El Laberint, an open-air maze of doors and windows. Each door had to be solved to be opened. Anya’s favourite was one where she had to use a hook to pull up a small hoop. It was way too high for her so I had to carry her while she held the stick with the hook.

El Laberint

El Laberint

going through

going through

pulling on blocks to open a gate

pulling on blocks to open a gate

she pushed and I opened

she pushed and I opened

did this one for her

did this one for her

The kids were intrigued by the Human Trees, two people dressed up in costumes to look like topiary. We followed them around for a bit and managed to get a photo taken with them. Considering that the costumes must have been hot and uncomfortable, they were very sporting.

We also caught a bit of the Budak Pantai performance and listened to about 3 songs before the kids got tired and cranky. It was definitely a good way to spend an evening! Will look out for it next year because they have different performances and activities on different weekends.

Human Trees

Human Trees

watching the performance

watching the performance

Budak Pantai

Budak Pantai

Jewel Cafe & Bar

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We decided to try Jewel Cafe & Bar at Rangoon Rd two Saturdays ago. It’s one of those parallel park along the road type of places so we were lucky to find a lot near the cafe. It’s right beside Liberty Coffee, another place that I’ve been meaning to try.

Jewel Cafe & Bar

Jewel Cafe & Bar

outside

outside

inside

inside

ceiling

ceiling

I’d read some pretty good reviews of the place and the food was quite decent. I expected the coffee to be better though but my iced latte was just alright. I liked that my eggs ben had both ham and bacon on it and the bacon jam was interesting! It is somewhat sweet so I felt that it was more like a bak kwa spread than a bacon jam.

The service left much to be desired, however. When we got there, they weren’t crowded but no one showed us to a table so we just sort of picked one for ourselves. Then we had to go to the counter to get the menu because nobody bothered to give us the menu to look at. I noticed that some people at the other tables had to do this as well.

iced latte

iced latte

eggs ben

eggs ben

breakfast

breakfast

bacon jam

bacon jam

The thing made me very unhappy was when Anya said she had to pee and I tried to take her to the toilet but both the male and female toilets were closed for repair. If you have a young kid who is toilet-trained but sometimes has accidents, you can get quite frantic when she announces that she needs the toilet, right?? So I asked a server where I could find the nearest toilet since theirs were closed. She consulted some people in the kitchen and they had some debate about why their toilets were closed and after some delay, she turned to me and said, “Our toilets are closed because they are choked up, not because of cleanliness.” I was so irritated by then because I just wanted directions to the nearest toilet and couldn’t care less about why their toilets were closed!! Really annoying.

I probably won’t make any special effort to return to Jewel Cafe even though they have quite an interesting menu. There are just too many similar establishments that offer better service and amenities.

funny Gandalf sign on the back door

funny Gandalf sign on the back door

Havaianas for the Little Ones: Disney Princesses & Cars!

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Anya got her very first pair of Havaianas when she was about 16 months old. They were a very tiny plain white pair that I’d bought from Brazil and were the smallest possible size. Can’t believe her feet used to be so teensy weensy!

her first Havaianas

her first Havaianas

Havaianas now come in so many interesting and adorable designs for children. I wish that some of the kiddy designs came in grown-up sizes too! The kids were each given a pair of Havaianas from the Disney series recently. Anya chose a Cinderella pair and Adam picked a blue pair from the Baby Cars range.

They wore them to the pool the other day and were happily stomping around in the comfortable slippers for the rest of the day. Anya couldn’t stop admiring her Cinderella flip-flops and Adam was just so chuffed to have slippers like his sister’s.

Cinderella and Cars

Cinderella and Cars

perfect for a pool day

perfect for a pool day

with his first pair of Havaianas

with his first pair of Havaianas

Anya tries to wear her Havaianas everywhere, even if they don’t match her outfit, and we usually let her unless we’re going to a place requiring something a little more formal than flip-flops. Adam loves his Havaianas too and tries to wear them every single day.

she loves wearing them everywhere

she loves wearing them everywhere

The Disney Princess, Kids Minnie and Baby cars collections are available at motherswork and Mothercare (except Causeway Point) at $29.90 for Disney Princess and Minnie, and $26.90 for Baby Cars. Here are some of the other designs in the Disney series!

Havaianas kids slim princess_C_ama (299x450) Havaianas Havaianas kids minnie_C_amarelo bebe (300x450) kids minnie_C_branco (300x450)

GIVEAWAY! :)

I have one pair of Havaianas from the Disney series to give away! To qualify, simply do the following by 1 JUNE 2013, 2359H:

1. Like the ‘In the Wee Hours’ Facebook page.
2. If you are a Twitter user, follow Havaianas Singapore on Twitter.
3. Leave a comment here answering the following question, “If you could be a Disney character for a day, who would you be and why?”

Looking forward to reading all the comments! :)

RESULTS! :)

Thank you to all who took part! I really enjoyed reading your creative comments! Sadly, I can choose only one winner. Congratulations to Oliomok! To the rest, I am having another giveaway for Shiseido sun protection cream ending 6 June 2013.

havaianas

Disclaimer: I was given two pairs of Havaianas for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

A Very Pink Princess Party

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We celebrated Anya’s cousin’s 3rd birthday at The Tiara Society last week and it was a very girly affair. I don’t think I’ve ever been to such a pink place in my entire life! It’s a pretty place and although the space is not very big, the area is used in quite an efficient manner for maximum princess-ness.

carriage

the kids loved climbing up and down this carriage

Anya and Adam

Anya and Adam

little reading corner

little reading corner

tea table and baby doll corner

tea table and baby doll corner

something for the non-princessy type

something for the non-princessy type

the mice from Cinderella made an appearance

the mice from Cinderella made an appearance

The birthday girl got to dress up before everyone else and she was absolutely adorable in an Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) gown. She even got her nails and make-up done and she was beaming away. I guess little girls really do like dressing up.

Princess H holding court

Princess H holding court

getting her nails done

getting her nails done

having tea

having tea

hanging out in the carriage

hanging out in the carriage

They played some games before having a little banquet and, for once in her life, Anya actually took part in a party game and she didn’t throw a fit or burst into tears! I was pleasantly surprised. You can see that her fingers are in her mouth in the photo and she does that whenever she’s feeling very self-conscious and a bit unsure. But at least she tried!

game of Musical Tiaras

game of Musical Tiaras

be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test!

be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test!

sometimes they look alike!

sometimes they look alike!

princess banquet

princess banquet

food for the adults

food for the adults

After the banquet, the kids got to dress up! I think it was the moment that they had all been waiting for. Anya was very excited and she hung around waiting to ensure that she would be the first in the dress-up area so she could get the Cinderella costume. Cinderella is the only Disney princess she knows about because I’ve deliberately not exposed her to any of that until very recently.

She was ridiculously happy to dress up as Cinderella and she just lit up from inside when she looked at herself in the mirror. Adam got to dress up too but there were much fewer options for the boys. The sleeves were way too long so I rolled them up and he kept running to me with his arms flapping whenever they rolled back down. Managed to find him something in a colour that matched his sister’s gown so he looked like her footman or something.

dress-up time!

dress-up time!

my Cinderella

my Cinderella

there was a feathered cap he refused to wear

there was a feathered cap he refused to wear

brave knights

brave knights

attempted a cousins photo

attempted a cousins photo

birthday song time

birthday song time

a group photo

a group photo

There was a princess dance session after the singing of the birthday song and cutting of the cake. Anya went quite mad spinning around and jumping up and down to tunes like ‘Moves like Jagger’. Adam attempted to dance as well in his own little head-bobbing way.

posing for a photo before the dance

posing for a photo before the dance

Princess H dancing with her daddy

Princess H dancing with her daddy

It was a fun party and the birthday girl looked really happy, but I think she was ready to collapse at the end! I’m just glad the six cousins got to hang out. Here’s hoping that Anya doesn’t ask to have her next birthday party at the same place because her party guest list is mainly made up of boys!

managed to get all six in one shot!

managed to get all six in one shot!

Volkswagen Family Weekend – Fun for the Kids!

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We went to the Volkswagen Family Weekend before our Mother’s Day lunch and it was so much fun for the kids!

VW Family Weekend

VW Family Weekend

The first thing we tried to do was take a human-powered photo at the Photobox. We didn’t manage to take one so I think Adrian wasn’t powerful enough! I love that Anya was sitting patiently in there with her arm around her brother though.

trying to take a human-powered photo

trying to take a human-powered photo

The kids were instantly attracted by the display of colourful Smart Trikes. Anya’s currently in a phase where she thinks only purple and pink are ‘girl’ colours so she made a beeline for the bright pink trike instead of her usual favourite green. Adam insisted on having the shade down while Adrian pushed him around on the trike. He’s not so good at working the pedals yet. Despite having clearly-marked lanes and traffic signs, there was an accident!

checking out the trikes

checking out the trikes

dangerous rider on the phone

dangerous rider on the phone

knocked over a pedestrian!

knocked over a pedestrian!

There was a food art corner by Nutriville and Anya spent quite a bit of time there stamping with vegetables, painting with coffee and moulding some dough. I love the art ideas and will try to do something fun with vegetables during the holidays so she won’t hate them so much.

stamping with vegetables

stamping with vegetables

painting with coffee

painting with coffee

making something with dough

making something with dough

I think Adam’s favourite part of the day was the food. There were chicken mini burgers, roasted potatoes and, most importantly, ice-cream! I don’t even like chicken but I thought the burgers were yummy and Adam liked them too! Anya was too busy with her mango ice-cream to bother about the rest of the food.

enjoying his chicken burger and potatoes

enjoying his chicken burger and potatoes

ice-cream with sprinkles

ice-cream with sprinkles

We test-drove the VW Sharan as well. It’s a spacious 7-seater that offers a really smooth ride. Adrian and I were quite amazed at how much quieter it is inside the Sharan than our current set of wheels. Adam looked a bit confused that we were driving around in a strange car but the kids enjoyed the ride.

I like the glass roof which our car also has, but the one in the Sharan opens up to serve as a sun-roof as well. And I appreciate the fact that the air-conditioner can be set at different temperatures for each side. I’m always too cold in the car! The husband likes that the car is powerful and feels good to drive.

the Sharan

the Sharan

hard to get lost

hard to get lost

told the husband to suck in his tummy

told the husband to suck in his tummy

the kids in the back

the kids in the back

It was a really enjoyable morning for all of us. I bet the kids wish we could have as much fun every time we test drive a car!