Trip to port of lost wonder

The children have been stuck at home for the past one week except a trip to the library. I have been searching for a place that they have not been to. I want them to enjoy and de-stress themselves before end of year exams. I am not really much academically inclined parents despite warnings from parents about the hardships that the children will face once they become adults. However, I still stick by my beliefs that childhood should be fun and engaging. I also believe in learning through play #earlychildhoodinfluence. I searched through the net and googled and googled and I stumbled upon Port Of Lost Wonder. The children have gone to the zoo waterpark, Jurong Bird park waterpark and IMM waterpark. They loved such places. So Port Of Lost Wonder it is.

We went public and took the train to Sentosa.

The entrance fee is $10 (weekdays) and $15 (weekends) for children and accompanying adult enters free, opening hours:10am to 630pm #quiteagooddeal. As we were travelling in a large group #myfamilymummyhelperandthebrotherfamily, we decided to take the train to Sentosa. As you can see from their faces, they were super super excited. It is within the walking distance as you alight from beach station via monorail. Let me tell you what you will get for $10/$15 SGD.

 

Each child will receive MY PORT PASS and 10 Curio coins worth 100                               

                                   

                                   

You will get an orange tag for the children and also a green tag for the parents.

                                                

The children were so excited to go in the port of lost wonder. They were happy looking at the exterior of the place.

The water park looked like a pirate ship. There was a lot of things for the children to play with. Even though there was a crowd, the place does not look congested. There was plenty of room for the children to move. I love that the children were free to roam around. However, I have to admit I was kinda bummed at the size of the water park. I envisioned it to be bigger. Putting that aside I love how there were other activities to keep the kids occupied rather than just the water park. Looking at the other activities, it justified the $15 entrance fee. For those wondering whether the entrance fee applies to babies too, yes it does if the baby is going to be playing in the water park. i didn't want baby Arrian to join in reason being he is too young and he might get cold #paranoidmotherof4

#preventionisbetterthancure. Let the pictures do the talking on how much the children enjoyed themselves.

Weekend programmes.

The children decided to join one of the activities planned. They decided to join the foam party #kecik2dagfoamparty. It accommodates children below 12 years old. However, strict supervision is needed. As I am not much of a water person, hubster was the one who did the supervision accompanied by my brother.

It looks like so much fun but I really think that it is important to have an adult supervising no matter how old your child is #paranoidmotherof4.

There were more activities but by the time it was already 5 pm. We packed up and headed home

Things I love

• I love how they incorporated pretend play and the water park
• There were plenty of rooms for children to move about
• I love how there is a nursing room available, complete with hot and cold water dispenser. Plus point it was clean
• There were lifeguards patrolling the area to ensure that the children followed the safety guidelines #againparanoidlaaku.
• Again I love how there were different activities planned out for the children throughout the whole day.

Things that i didn't like #roomforimprovement

• As no outside food and drinks are allowed, you have to purchase from the cafe inside called port belly. The funny thing is it is not halal certified and contains pork. So I think it is pretty unfair for us muslim patrons.

Well that's how I spend my remaining maternity leave. #countdown3moredaystoreality.

Majlis cukur rambut/Hair cutting ceremony

The "cukur rambut" ceremony has been a tradition that I practiced since the birth of my second child. It was explained to me that it is somehow the same as the baby full month. However, 7 years later, things have changed a lot. Nowadays ceremonies come which a cradle and some even has a mini dais. I did not do it for Arrian Deris because the hubster  doesn't want an elaborate event. We actually discussed it for the longest time and I tried my best to persuade him. My Hubster is a very practical person and he believes on doing things for its money value. He even commented how it is already our fourth and how I have enjoyed elaborate birthday parties and also baby ceremonies. I go for appearances whereas hubster is very practical and go for money value. Therefore I decided to just go with his ideas as he is the one forking out the money. However, I am blessed to be able to have a cradle and full setup during my nephew's ceremony. It looks superbly adorably fantastic. We engaged this lady from matynmishel. You may want to check out their Facebook and Instagram. They even have henna for the mother.

This was taken during my nephew ceremony.

As you can see from the picture, it was pretty. I even did favours for the nephew. Maybe I should change my vocation to be a baby event planner or even a pregnancy concierge. I would love to go shopping for pregnant mummies and also plan their full months. Major love.

Arrian's favour from www.babyinlove.com.sg

Irfan's ceremony favours. I love doing the booties.

For those who are not aware or unsure what exactly is this ceremony about, let me give you a brief account of what you need to do

Things/services that you need

• Venue - I chose to do it at home as I only invited around 70 people. Some may do it in a restaurant whereas some are even doing it at the void deck #malaystyle
• Food - you can either cater the food or chose to DIY - as for me, my mom and dad volunteered to help me to cook
• Ceremony favours - You can DIY like I did for my nephew or you can go to the net to google for the items, based on my research, most of it starts at 5 SGD onwards #mahalseiutkbabydamcmorgkahwin #mmgpunmcmorgkahwin - Arrian's favours came from this vendor from babyinlove  *check out their website at www.babyinlove.com.sg
• Marhaban - These guys are the ones offering blessings and reciting prayers for your baby. My mom has asked this YUSOF marhaban. His group has been the one doing the marhaban for my babies since day one.
• Lastly, money - I spend around 1.5k - 2k just on this ceremony. However seeing my friends and families coming together was priceless.

Basically, during the ceremony, the marhaban group will recite prayers which may last around 30 - 45 minutes. They will mention the baby name and what the parents wants for the baby e.g a healthy and pious child #somethinglikethat. After the prayers, the father will bring the baby and each member will cut a bit of baby's hair.

We went traditional with the tikar and all and minimal setup.

The father seems happier than Arrian

Arrian was well behaved 

"What is this pakcik doing to my hair"

Pakcik offered his blessings. I nearly cried.

The uncle was helping to hold the tray that holds his scissors and hair.

Atuk also was part of the action.

That was how the ceremony looks like. If you want to know more, you can simply google and you can see the different ways people does it especially in Malaysia, it is super elaborate. Some even include candy buffet which I wanted to DIY but I know that it will be tiring. So I opted for a simple cosy ceremony. There is a lack of photos of the food or the family is due to the fact that I was super exhausted (I slept at  5 am on the day of the ceremony) from the cooking and also entertaining guests that came. This ceremony also marked a significant hurdle that I overcame. I invited friends over to my house. I have never invited friends over to my house due to several reasons. One of the major reasons was I was afraid of being judged and also doesn't know how to entertain guests #yesiamkentalliketat.

Gifts from my friends from Seed Institute

I am glad that I took that step and overcame my psychological barrier. Some of my friends asked me what they are supposed to bring for the ceremony. My friends bought clothes for Arrian. It was such a nice gesture. However, you guys might just want to give green packet #melayutakbyktakcerewet. All this is based on my own experience. Some of you may think "islam doesn't require all this and all" but what's a little blessing for the little guy and a little gathering for the friends and family. It's really up to u, like i emphasise it's a tradition that I did for my babies. I feel there's no harm in doing it.

POST CEREMONY

We went to scissors paper stone@suntec city to shave his hair. He is officially a botak head.

After the ceremony, we are supposed to shave the hair and derma some money to the mosque #welltatswhatididtothebestofmyknowledge. So Arrian is now officially a botak and a cute one too #everymomthinkstheirchildisthecutest.

P.S: Another day during my maternity.

End of my maternity leave

My maternity has been great so far. I have gotten the rest that I needed and wanted. I was able to learn how to bake cup cakes.

         

        Learning has no barrier

I am also able to celebrate hari raya with a new family member. Arrian turned 1 month. We were supposed to be doing the "cukur rambut" but we have to push it the 3rd week.

Baby Arrian was able to wear baju raya too.

                                                        

We chose Studiofrost for this raya

Girls and their selfies

I have an additional family member. She came in the form of my helper win win. I have been blessed to have her.

This year was slightly different as we managed to go jalan raya with the husband's side. I really enjoyed getting to know his different aunties and uncles. I believe that hari raya is a great chance to catch up on things. It is also a great opportunity to seek for forgiveness. I was actually super on (a singlish term) to go jalan raya as I was on maternity leave and doesn't need to worry about WORK. I am also grateful that baby Arrian was well behaved and wasn't cranky at all. Alhamdulilah.

Basically, these are some of the things that had happened during my maternity leave. It's been forever that I have updated. Anyway, I will be updating about Arrian's cukur rambut or hair cutting ceremony tomorrow.