A blog for Justin and Isabelle

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August 25th, 2008 by shoppingmum

I seldom appear in the photos because I’m holding the camera most of the time. So, I decided that I should just try snapping my own photos with my kids instead of waiting asking for help.

While we were waiting for our ice-cream at Swensen’s on Saturday night, I tried a few shots…


Not bad, but senget to the side liao…

 


Again, still senget, and Isabelle was doing her sad sad expression.

 


Justin suddenly joined in the fun and Isabelle was totally blocked. LOL!

 


Oh, everyone’s in. However, Justin is only 50% and my smile is numb. Isabelle is so cute but the shot is blur…..Aiyo

In conclusion, I better just ask hubby to help la…So hard to do. Any tips on snapping photo by yourself? My arm was kind of sore holding the camera far far away!

August 9th, 2008 by shoppingmum

I’m out all day because my kids don’t need me at all. :P They would rather stick to their cousins and “forget” about mommy for a while. My ex-maid attended to them all day long too, so I could knit as much as possible.

Right now, they are having more cousins around and my house is full of kids. They hardly need mommy or daddy around, so I can just “hide” in my room for MSN and blogging. How nice huh? :)

July 26th, 2008 by shoppingmum

Justin has always loved to play with Isabelle. They are pretty close with each other, but they fight occasionally over toys and stuffs just like most siblings do. But I notice that they are getting closer after a week at school. Maybe they don’t see each other that much and once they are in the office after school, they can’t wait to play with each other. They adore baby Thong Thong, but sometimes, they “kicked” her out from their pretend games.

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Baby cannot come in!!!

Actually, not only baby cannot go in the room. Even mommy is also being pushed away. Aiyo…

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Mommy also stay out of here. 

But anyway, it seems like they are enjoying each other’s company more, so mommy can concentrate on doing my job. I am only busier in the late afternoon, so the timing is right. At least I don’t have to crack my head between work and kids and cause myself more acne. LOL!

July 25th, 2008 by shoppingmum

This is the first week of school for Justin and Isabelle, and things are getting busier for hubby too. We can only go home after 6.30pm, and by then, it’s too dark to bring the kids for a swim or to the playground. They cannot do this in the morning anymore because we are rushing them to school. I know that they miss playing with hubby like they used to before they started school.

We haven’t thought of doing anything yet this weekend. Maybe I should bring them to the park this weekend and let them have fun playing catch with the Baseball Gloves. I found some kiddie baseball gloves the other day, but I haven’t bought them. Maybe they won’t be able to catch the ball, but they can still learn how to do so and one day they will master the skill.

However, Isabelle’s hands are very small. I wonder if she can fit in the glove? LOL! But anyway, she can enjoy throwing the ball and she is very good at that. They used to do this when we were back in Ipoh as the house compound is much bigger. But over here, I hope that they won’t accidentally throw the ball at other people at the park unless I know how to say “sorry” in Thai!

July 21st, 2008 by shoppingmum

My kids remember Ayutthaya very well. It’s the place where they had their first elephant and horse cart ride when they first came to Bangkok last year. We went to Ayutthaya again yesterday. SIL wanted to do some prayers at a temple, so we went along and brought our kids for a picnic.

There are a lot of temples in Ayutthaya, and most of the temples are very crowded. SIL said that most Thai people pray very often. Maybe I don’t need any Chicago personal injury lawyers in the future if I pray as much as they do huh? LOL!

We didn’t bring the kids into the temple, and they spent most of the time by the river feeding the fishes and watching others releasing some fish, water snails and eels.


What are they doing woh?

 


A father showed his daughter how to release the fishes.

 

After visiting the temple, we went to a nearby park for our picnic. My kids loves picnic, so they were very excited about it.


All of us…except hubby who snapped this photo la…

 

 


Makan loti, which is very popular in Ayutthaya.

 

 


The happy kids enjoyed their corns and sandwiches. Baby Thong Thong also makan bread. :)

 

After that, the kids went fish feeding again.


Mommy, we feed fish here leh…

 

My kids have been going for fish feeding numerous times. They are experts in doing this already, but still, we have to watch out of them so that they don’t fall into the water full of hungry fishes!


See how close they were by the water?

 

Justin and Isabelle spent some time running around and playing horsey horsey ride too. We didn’t bring them for elephant or horse cart ride this time, so they only played on the grass.

I think we will try to go for a picnic more often. It’s definitely better than shopping with their shopaholic mommy. :P

July 14th, 2008 by shoppingmum

My kids love the farm. They haven’t been to any REAL farm, but they have been reading a lot about it. Besides that, they love horses. Thus, when BIL suggested that we bring the kids to the farm days ago, Justin was very excited about it. He woke everyone up early on Sunday morning, didn’t fuss at all when he’s taking his shower and breakfast and even called BIL and asked him to come to pick us up FASTER. LOL!

It took us about 2 hours to reach Farm Choichai. It’s a famous farm at the outskirt of Bangkok, and it has 8000 acres of land with cattle, horses, plantation, a dairy factory and some restaurants selling its famous steak. I would suggest that you come to this farm too, if you have more time to travel around the outskirt of Bangkok. Since it’s a Sunday, the place was pretty crowded with the locals as well as some tourists.


We took at photo at the lake before entering the farm.

 

Every tour group has a fixed time to get into the farm, so while waiting for our turn, we went to the cafe to grab some ice-cream. Don’t miss the milk ice-cream and fresh milk, they are simply yummy!


Ice-cream from Umm.. Milk!

 

My kids were a bit impatient at the waiting area, but thank god they had some cowgirls accompanying them, and there is a fish pond with lots of koi fishes.


I wear my cowgirl hat already woh, why still cannot go in?



My dream girlfriend, a cowgirl. LOL!

 

Finally, we were allowed to attend the farm at 2.20pm sharp. We went into a mini theater to watch a clip about the history and origin of the farm so that everyone will have a better understanding of the place. After that, everyone went to wash his hands, have a body spray and wash off the dirt at the bottom of his shoes. A moment later, we walked into the farm area. The tour was done in Thai, so we were pretty clueless about the explanation about the tractors. But once we got to the milking parlor, my kids were all excited again.


Oh…ini macam keh my milk milk come from.

 

 


Dairy cows for auto milking

 

Some of us were asked to try milking with hands, and Justin was eager to try. Too bad kids are not allowed…So, next time la boy.


Milking with hands.

After that, we went to the milk collecting center to watch a clip on how cow milk is processed into pasteurized milk and how ice-cream is made.

After that, we went on a tour around the cow farm on the “tractor”. Justin called it a tractor because the tractor pulls all the units together.


On tour with this…

 

There are thousands of cows here, so don’t expect to them to smell like perfume. But nonetheless, this farm is pretty clean. My kids were excited to see the cows feeding on the farm.


Cows makan makan

 

We could see some plantation on the tour, and I think they have sunflower plantation as well as dragon fruits here. Maybe there are more but I can’t understand Thai that much. :P

We arrived at the cowboy village and then again, my kids were basically screaming seeing the horses. LOL!


Mummy, horses!!! Horse carts!!!

 

My kids were eager to ride on the horse, but too bad, you need to be at least 140cm to ride on one. So, they were quite disappointed. But Justin said he will eat more so that he will grow taller and bigger faster. :)


We rode on the fake one first…Gee…the horses are so tall.

 


The rocking horse he has always wanted…but daddy said cannot buy. :P

 

To perk them up, we went for a ride on the horse cart. This is their 2nd horse cart ride, if I’m not mistaken. But they are still as happy as ever.


Very fun la…

 

There are a few shows on this farm like the animal show and the dog show, but I think the cowboy show is the best.


Cowboy show

 


Dog show

 

There is a petting zoo on the farm, and my kids didn’t want to watch the animal show. They were more interested in feeding the deers, lambs, and milk feeding the calves. We missed the rabbits so Justin said next time we better don’t forget them.


The Petting Zoo

 


Feeding the deer.

 

 


I give this calf milk milk with bottle. LOL!

 

But somewhere near the zoo, my kids got the highlight of today’s visit. Any children with the height of 90 - 140 cm can ride on the ponies! Isabelle just barely reaches the height. :)


We can ride on the ponies! So happy leh…

 

And then hoh, when Isabelle was riding on her white pony, her pony stopped to poop for a while. Until now she keeps telling us “Mei mei horse mmm mmm wan er”. LOL!

The tour ended after more than 2 and a half hours. My kids were exhausted, and Justin felt asleep when we dined at the steak house. Isabelle was starving and finished one whole plate of macaroni all by herself!


My dinner… premium T-bone steak!

 

In short, it is a fun day, and my kids are looking forward for another visit. But this time, we will go for a stay…

 

Camping at the farm sounds like a lot of fun!

July 11th, 2008 by shoppingmum

To save me from an acne treatment and some stressful hours with the kids at the office, hubby came out with a solution this morning…He has to go out to visit some customers so he brought Tom and Jerry for the kids.

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They are concentrating on…

 

 

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Tom but where is Jerry? LOL!

 

My kids love Tom and Jerry and so do many children I know. The cartoon looks pretty stupid to me, and I don’t think children can learn anything from it. But nonetheless, it’s like one of those all time favorites that will never fade in time. How come huh? Maybe it’s straight forward, the cat chases the mouse but the mouse always wins. It’s funny and it’s short, but comes with a few episodes in a CD. Kids can rot watch with the cartoons and parents can goyang kaki do something else.

Tell me, your kids love Tom and Jerry or not? You let them watch this cartoon or not?

July 8th, 2008 by shoppingmum

My kids haven’t been to Siam Paragon, but hubby and I went there before. I wanted to get some books, and if you are new to Bangkok, most of the book stores don’t have Chinese or English books, but you can find them here at Kinokuniya, Siam Paragon. So, we took a taxi to Siam Center and walk a short distance to Siam Paragon.


At the main entrance of Siam Paragon

See the MRT at the back? Justin wanted to go on a train ride, but we didn’t know where it’s going or from. I will find out one day and maybe we will bring the kids on a mini train ride in Bangkok city.

I didn’t shop that day, but only got some books. I bought some cook books too, so I don’t have to crack my head on what to cook for 6 days in a week. LOL! As usual, my kids bought their kiddie books and hubby got more Thai learning books. We went to the food court for lunch, and if you think the food court in KLCC is big, come and see the food court at Siam Paragon. Wa lau leh…very big la…

Justin’s camera skill has improved a lot. Here are the photos he took for us…



Justin took these photos at the food court.

 

Not bad huh? I will let him have this blog when he can type. LOL!
After that, we went to Siam Ocean World, which is the aquarium at the lower ground of Paragon. Don’t miss this place if you are here with kids, even if they have been to aquarium, like my kids, they will still have fun looking at sharks and fishes on the glass bottom boat ride. For adults, go diving with sharks. I was tempted to try that, but I know my kids wouldn’t let me.

On this trip, I’m really surprised to see how much my kids know about water creatures. Maybe it’s only a day after the aquatic fair, and they have read a lot from books, both of them can actually name some of the species now. :)


Justin corrected me that they are spider crabs when I said King Crab. :P

 

 


They saw seahorses but they complained that they couldn’t find leafy sea dragon

 

 


Moray eels, they are Isabelle’s favorite. LOL!

 

The boat ride was great, but too bad it’s only for one small circle. Nonetheless, I’m glad that it’s over soon. It’s a bit creepy being on a boat above so many hungry fishes lurking for meat. :P


We have kiddie safety jackets on.

 

 


A family pic on the boat.

 

 


Sharks at the bottom of our feet…

 

My kids were tired but they still wanted to finish the tour. We went on to see other aquatic creatures, and I can’t even name some of them!!!


Tell me the name of this creature, if you know!!! Please………

 

 


Now only I know that water rats are so big…

 

 


Dunno apa fish…

 

 


Justin was playing with the playful penguin which followed his hand at the glass.

 

 


But the penguin ignored Isabelle. LOL!

 

 


Isabelle was looking at a yet-to-be-classified sea creature

 

 


More sharks…

 


At the tunnel…still looking at the sharks! Of course, there are stingrays and other fishes too.

 


We sat here looking at the fishes while my kids had their milk. Nice hoh?

 

We managed to watch the clown show and shark feeding too. After that, we went to the 4D theater, but Justin felt asleep on the stroller. I carried Isabelle on the show, but she didn’t like it. She was sleepy and tired, and she couldn’t fit on the 3D glasses too.

Anyway, my kids enjoy Siam Ocean World Bangkok a lot, and so do we. Everyone was exhausted, but went home happily! :)

July 6th, 2008 by shoppingmum

We are regulars to Future Park because it’s the nearest shopping mall from our office. When I’m bored at work, I will surely hope that we can drop by the mall for awhile for some “shopping refreshment”. LOL! My kids saw the brochures and the booths being set up for days at the mall, and they could hardly wait to see the aquatic animals and crocodiles! So, hubby and I skipped work yesterday and brought them to the fair.


They were totally excited after days of waiting!

 


Isabelle kept looking at the catfish, maybe they reminded her of the catfish feeding we did last week.

 


Looking separate ways. LOL!

 

This place is totally crowded. As usual, which part of Bangkok is not crowded? So I was all paranoid about losing my kids again. :P Anyway, they were happy to see the real crocodiles. They only saw them a few times at the zoo, but not the crocodile show. My arms almost broke carrying Isabelle high up for a better view.


Crocrodiles

 


The crocodile show

They are selling crocodile meat too, but none of us tried. I ate once, and I don’t like it.


Baby crocs

 


Crocs eggs on sale

 


Fancy some frozen croc meat?

 


Makan buaya

 


Hubby said can buy and cook soup. Yucks!!! (it’s the palm of a croc…)

 


Unique home deco? LOL!

 

There are lots of fishes, clams, starfish and corals here, so my kids enjoyed looking at them a lot.


Mei mei you see?

 



Some aquatic animals.

BTW, there’s a weird looking fish call Asian Upside Down Catfish.They swim upside down!!!


Asian Upside Down Catfish

 

Furthermore, my kids had a chance to see some reptiles they read from books….


Giant Snapper

 


Gharial

 


Soft shell turtle

 


Snake neck turtle

 

For fish lovers, don’t miss the fishes on sale. There are a lot of them! I like the koi fishes, but too bad we don’t have a pond!


Koi fish

 

Somewhere at the fair, there are some booths from a hospital. Hubby was hesitating if we should show our kids the specimens, but then I said just go ahead. My kids have been reading some books from Grolier and they have some understanding about our body systems. So, they saw the real human lung, brain, heart and etc for the very first time. But the most interesting onces will be a pair of twins with the umbilical cords and placenta, as well as a dead baby about a few months old. What a great way to learn science huh? :P

Oh ya, here are some photos of us again…


Should ask someone to hold the camera huh?

 

We spent a few hours at the fare and my kids were totally tired and hungry. We went for a quick lunch before heading to the booths again. We bought something for the kids that day….and here they are…

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Their first pets…turtles!

July 5th, 2008 by shoppingmum

Our sales jobs have not fully started, so we can still manage to leave work early most of the days. Besides that, Isabelle will be screaming “Go home, I want to go (back to) mei mei’s house NOW!!! Go back NOW!!!” in the office, and it’s totally annoying. :P

So, in order to let the other staffs have a peace of mind in doing their work, we cabut fast fast with our kids. LOL! My kids will go to the playground mostly, but sometimes, hubby will bring them for a swim. We have a pool in our neighborhood where the residents can use as part of the facilities. I will come along if my dinner is a quick fix!


We go swimming loh!

 


This is fun la…

 


Water very cold!!!

 

See? Isabelle was having so much fun but Justin refused to get a good dip. The water was kind of cold that evening, and he hated it. But after a while, he began to enjoy himself floating with hubby’s help. Both of them can’t swim yet, and we are not sure how to teach them properly. They will have swimming class later and it’s part of their PE activities. I’m not sure about the age group though, but maybe they will learn how to swim from school.

BTW, they haven’t started school. We still need to fly back in August to fix our visas. So see how first la…