Dinosaurize Me! at Plaza Singapura this June Holidays!

It's the school holidays and dinosaur season! Okay wait, I don't mean our kids are dinosaurs...or maybe they are in their little unique way!

There are a couple of ongoing dinosaur events happening around us on this tiny little island, and if you have children interested in dinosaurs the way mine are, then you absolutely must check out DINOSAURIZE ME! at Plaza Singapura just because it's the best one yet! 

You cannot miss the gigantic Argentinosaurus the moment you step foot into Plaza Singapura, because it;s feet are huge enough to crush you, and it's goes up as tall as three floors high! There are many ongoing activities for children going on at the atrium, and I actually sneaked up to the third storey while my kids were immersed in their activities to take this picture!

Let me introduce to you this replica of the gigantic specie. He is the Argentiosaurus, and no prizes for guessing where he originated! He may look huge, but he is pretty harmless as he is a herbivore! How do I know all that? Well there are shows every weekend that teaches you about the facts of dinosaurs. For a twenty-something year old, I actually learnt a lot from the show, and came home relishing what I've learnt! Don't even mention my kids, dinosaurs are all they talk about now that they know more about these creatures!

Timings: Saturdays & Sundays, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:30 pm

Also happening at the atrium are workshops for children, facilitated by the Science Centre who is in collaboration with Plaza Singapura for this event. Hence, you can be assured that all the workshops are done pretty well with good facilitation by the staff. Each workshop cost only $5, and the kids get to bring home the crafts they made, so it is pretty worth it if you ask me!

The first booth the kids tried out was the dinosaur fossil crafting booth, where children got to try out using clay and mold to make their own clay dinosaurs. I recommend doing this craft first because it takes around half an hour to dry up and harden, and once the kids are done with the other booths, it would be just nice to collect the ready made mold. This workshop is best suitable for preschoolers, as it is sensorial and easy to do for those tiny fingers. 

The second booth the boys tried out was a geological timeline activity, which involved a lot of cutting and pasting and is best suited for slightly older aged children since apart from the cutting and pasting, it would be better if they actually knew the dinosaur time zones. My boys knew nothing about the timeline of dinosaurs but enjoyed themselves nonetheless, because they enjoyed seeing it come to live when everything was done. It was like a hanging mobile, which we have now hung up in the boys' room. 

The last booth is a superbly interesting one. It is the Dino Stop Motion workshop. At this area, my kids were given a printed paper of dinosaurs to color, which they did. After which, they had to cut their individual dinosaurs out and place it on a given background to tell a story. The facilitators will then use the mommy's handphone to download an app called Stop motion, which they will use to record the storytelling process. This workshop was by far the coolest one, as kids got to use their imagination and story-telling skills to tell their own unique story!

This was my kid's story: All the dinosaurs moved away from the volcano except two of them who decided to play near the volcano, when it erupted and they got into a lot of trouble thereafter!

If that was not all, there is also a  fossil digging sand pit that kids can pretend play as a paleontologist, and dig to their hearts content! My kids spent the longest time here, and even made friends to construct the dinosaur after finding all the bones. Definitely can't go wrong with the messy play with these guys!

I highly recommend bringing your kids down to Plaza Singapura for this fun-filled Dinosaurize Me! event at the atrium because it is really that fun! My kids spent a total of close to four hours, in a mall, which is almost hard to believe because they hate malls, and would rather run wild outdoors. 

To find out more information on DINOSAURIZE ME, visit here!

There is just two more weekends left, as the dinosaurs leave us on the 14th June, so be there or be square!

When: 29 May to 14 June 2015
Where: Plaza Singapura, Level 1 Main Atrium

The boys could not get enough of dinosaurs, so we continued with some dinosaur activities at home, which I believe could go on for quite awhile!

Build a dinosaur with blocks

A dinosaur sensory bin

Dinosaur Mulberry Paint Art

And guess what, we did another stop motion animation, this time with dinosaur stickers!

Now, go have fun with dinosaurs already!! :)

Foodie Friday: A Soho Lunch at the Side Alley.

Every trip away from Singapore, we always return with a dish that we rave about, and will haunt us till the next overseas trip. Like a couple of years ago when we were on one of those honeymooney trips to Kata Beach, we had some very amazing grilled calamari. I am not the squid kind of person, but that calamari actually had me try it for the first time and made me fall heads over heels with squid. Then there was the brilliant Rendang Sapi we had at Como Shambhala Bali that we fell head over heels over that no other Rendang has been able to beat to date. In Bangkok, we would never forget the club sandwich we ordered in for room service. It tasted so so good after an entire day of shopping! Of course there were the many other Thai food we had during our yearly Phuket escapade too. The last trip down under had us raving about the Beef and Turkey Panini at The Chocolate Factory at Swan Valley.

This trip to Western Australia was no different. Our holiday had ended two weeks ago, yet we are still raving, craving and salivating for the dishes we each had at SOHO. The husband had Spicy Prawn something topped with lots and lots of cheese, while I had Meatballs Napolitana which was honestly the best spaghetti meatballs I have ever tasted. The beef meatballs were tender, moist and tasty and the spaghetti was just well done. The husband's spicy prawns were really moist, succulent and nice too, I had a couple of noms myself! The best part, the waiters came around to serve mozz cheese in big bowls instead of those tiny shakers. So trust me, they were very generous with their cheese!

We sat at the side alley instead of the main restauranty area, because we had children and we prefer the outdoors so that the children could be free to explore while we lunched. I liked that they had the alfresco dining option, that came in a side alley that was rustic and so funky. It even had a small side stage that hosted music artists from time to time. That afternoon, our boys were our entertainment for the day. They went up the stage, sang and danced for us while we dined. Now, they can safely say they have tried their thing with singing onstage in a public place and it was not too bad at all!

I guess even though we missed a chance to dine at Jamie's Italian, we still managed to taste some pretty fine Italian downunder too!

Linking with:

Warning! You could miss a flight if you left it to the husband to be incharge of the flight itinerary.

I never really thought the day would come where I would miss a flight. I mean come on, don't these things only happen in the movies? As dramatic as I may be, missing a flight is the last thing on my agenda, especially when a vacation is always the biggest priority in my schedule. Surprise surprise, I can now list "missing a flight" under the craziest things that happened before I turn thirty.

We had a family vacation planned for the beginning of February, and everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I had a school assignment due the day before our flight, and I was up to my neck finishing work up amidst packing for the family. It was mayhem in the household that very night, as I rushed from place to place to settle last minute stuffs while stuffing socks, clothes, undergarments, toys to keep the children occupied into the luggage. All this happened while the husband very coolly informed me that our morning flight was delayed. While I settled all the back end stuff, I left the plane itinerary as well as our travelling itinerary to entirely to the husband, assured that he would not make a mess out of it. After all, getting the flight time right was relatively easier than packing for the two children right?

Wrong. 

The morning of our flight, I jolted out of bed when I saw that it was already 10am. The husband was first to wake, and was in the kitchen feeding the cat. The children was still asleep at the time, and I was almost frantic to know that we had an hour to get ready and leave for the airport. I panicked and asked the husband "it's 10! Why didn't you wake me up?" His reply? "Relaxxxxxx, our flight is at 1330. And he was relatively still very calm. 

I got the boys ready at the speed of lightning and called for a cab to pick us up. The husband then dropped the bombshell that we needed to drop by the moneychanger to get some currency before heading to the airport. Tick tock. Tick tock. By the time we reached the airport, it was 1230. Yes, and our flight was at 1330. Technically, we needed to check in at least an hour before the flight time right, so technically we were still on time right?

Wrong.

The husband (I could so strangle him for this) saw the delay to be till 1330, when it fact it was for a 1310 flight. Which meant... We were late for check-in... Which meant we could not board... Which also meant we missed our flight. 

The lady at the counter refused to check us in, the pilot rejected our pleas, and we were at our wits end. The husband frantically went from counter to counter to check for the next available flight by any other airline and it felt like an amazing race moment if you ask me, only that we were not in a race for a million dollars, and no one was willing to help us at the time. The only glimpse of hope was to book for a budget flight flying to our destination in three hours, but it would cost us 1.5K for one way tickets. 

1.5k? I said no way, hosei. Until the kids came up to us, and asked how long more till we board the plan, totally unaware of the stress we were facing. How could we bring them home with their packed luggages when they were excited for this trip for the longest time ever? I couldn't do it, and neither could the husband. 

So we burnt our pockets, and paid for it. We went on with the vacation, $1500 poorer... $1500 above our initial set aside budget. It was a very painful price to pay for a stupid, silly mistake. I hated the husband for killing our shopping budget for a stupid mistake, yet this experience also made me realize how patient I could be with someone I truly loved. I mean I could have killed him for it, it could have started war between us, but you know what? It didn't. We hugged and cried, and knew that we were in this together. Through thick and thin, even if it cost $1.5K! We went on the flight, stronger than ever, and enjoyed our trip, more than we expected. :) 

Alas, it's the end of six weeks of Fun, Fun, Fun!

It's been a very fruitful holiday for me, though it is officially the end of my six week break, and I am back to busy mode. Over the past six weeks, I did manage to tick a couple off my bucket list, and we had fun as a family. We did food, we did fun, and we did all the things needed for good family bonding.

Of Rollerblading. Swimming. Cycling.Football.

Of Alphabet Fishing. We're going on an Alphabet Hunt. Print Painting. Playground Fun. At the Beach. Inline skating. Collecting Twigs. Alphabet with Twigs.

The Sun, the sand, the sea.

Of Adrenalin Rushes and Thrilling Rides. Megabugs and Premieres.

 Of Special Days and Celebrations!

Of Coffee dates with Friends. And playdates too.

And lots and lots of cooking. baking. eating. too.

Of course, now that I am back to busy bee mode, it would not mean that I would be neglecting the family. The family fun stays, although perhaps just not so much time spent on baking, and cooking new meals. Learning to sew and bake remains on my bucket list, for my next holiday. Let's hope for new projects up my sleeve if time permits!

A bucket list for the holidays must dos.

I am finally back after a really long hiatus. I've been around, but I did not stay around for long. The past months have seen a year passing by, many months of being swarmed with work, and days of sleepless nights. Now that my school term is over, I can finally spare some time to do up the things I have been meaning to do. Procrastination is a no-no, because I know six weeks will sprint past me within a blink of the eye.

Ten things on the list. 

Ten things to do, that consists of "Must dos" and "Need tos". 

Ten things. I really am not pushing it, am I?