Swensen's Kids' Club

I received an email on a promotion that Swensens is running and was doubtful about its authenticity. Sign up before 31 March and upon approval, she/he can redeem free ice cream sundae every month till she/he reaches 12 yrs old! Hmm.. sounds too good to be true.

I checked out their corporate website and it stated that an applicant needs to send in the form together with receipts totalling not less than S$80. Not FREE as stated in the email I've received!

The last thing I want is to fall prey to such hoax so I sent an email to ABR Holdings Pte Ltd to verify. It took them 1 working day to get back to me with a reply. And yes! The application is free!

Should I apply? Most probably yes!

March Holiday Journal

Before the school holiday, I've thought of a list of things and places to go with her... like the zoo, the swimming pool, Singapore Discovery Centre etc. While still mobile and hands-free, I'd like to spend as much personal time with her as possible. But alas! Rynae went down with a persistent cough and running nose that last the whole school holiday! The weather for that week was also temperamental with unbearable sunshine one moment and rainfall the next. Daddy took 2 days' leave and while on medication, we brought our gal out for retail therapy, visiting malls like Suntec City, AMK Hub and Vivo City.


Splashing good time at Vivo City

Fruitless Eye Check Up

I noticed that my gal likes to frown her eyes when she watches television thus I've long suspected that she could be short-sighted. Well, mum is, so there could be a possibility she could be inherited with imperfect eye-sight. Guilty enough, I've been procrastinating the eye check-up for her because of pure laziness. Finally, in conjuction with the school holidays, I brought her to the polyclinic today for her 4 year-old assessment and an eye check.

After a short 'ice-breaking' session, Rynae was asked to sit down in a children's chair where she needed to put on an eye mask to cover one of her eyes. Her relaxed mood took a 360 degree twist and she showed embarassment and discomfort with it. Though I had pre-empt her that she would need to speak up when doctor asked her what she could and could not see, our friend refused to cooperate. No cajoling could make her wear back the eye mask so mum tried holding it and even using my own hands to cover her eyes. She didn't budge. Her excuse was she couldn't see the numbers with one eye! Duh...!

The nurse was a wonderfully patient and understanding woman and she suggested that I come back in 3 months' time. But what if Rynae still refuses to cooperate then? Does that mean I've gota keep coming back? The 2-hour wait in the polyclinic today was already grueling and antagonising and I don't think I want a taste of it again. Furthurmore, they do not check for astigmatism. Hence, I consider the option of going to KK Hospital or TMC.

So long... polyclinic...

Creative Puppet Making

Raffles City SC is currently running a PUPPETrazi workshop organised by Act 3 International where they encourage all ages to come forth to make their own puppets from recycleable materials. Mummy has no planned intention to participate but because we were 'stranded' in the venue (Daddy's at IT show), I had to find something to kill time! When asked what she wanna create, Rynae was fickle-minded. At first she suggested a sunflower, thereafter changed mind to guitar and finally decided on maracas. I ended up participating too. I made a guitar from a shoe box, bamboos and nylon strings. Our friend changed mind last minute (again) and her final product was a sunflower in a vase made from Yakult bottle, stuffed with styrofoams.

Well, did anybody realise that this is a workshop to make PUPPETS? I didn't until I write this post! I thought we were required to make toys! Guitar and vase aren't puppets at all thus we had completely digressed from the topic! Gosh... what a blunder.

Combating Diarrhea

We had a panic attack last Wednesday night when Rynae suddenly fell feverish. Besides not being able to finish her dinner, she had no sickness symptom prior. Must have been caused by the eccentric weather. I went on graveyard shift that night to check on her temperature constantly. We were hoping it would go away in a couple of days but instead, it worsened to include diarrhea the next day. After eating Doctor's medicine, she still has the runs. 6 to 8 times in a day. It was so serious that she'll wake you up in the middle of the night to tell you she's squirting that very minute. Cannot wait!

Milk was cut off and I put her on Vitasoy for 2 days. I started her on milk when her diarrhea seemed to improve but it aggravated her condition. 3rd visit to Doctor and she advised to stop milk for 2 weeks else could run the risk of causing her to suffer from lactose intolerance. Which means, she cannot consume milk or milk products with lactose (milk sugar) in future! This sounds serious. Daddy and Mummy sought desperately for unchilled, nutritious soya milk alternative that would last at least a fortnight. Vitasoy is not a long term solution as it's packed with loads of sugar.

There weren't many options and we bought Dumex Step 2 Soy Special Follow-up Formula. It was a gamble. We didn't know how it tastes like and if Rynae will take to it well. Our fears were met when Rynae refused to drink it. No wonder it was stated 'for babies above 6 months' on the packaging because only babies with immature taste buds would drink this yucky beverage. It has not the slightest taste of sweetness and has raw, beany smell. Even adding Ribena cordial could not enhance its flavour. There goes our $26.55!

Daddy went back to supermarket shelves and came back with Unisoy 100% organic soy milk powder in convenient individual packs. At least it tastes much better than the previous. Mummy added a little Ribena cordial during the preparation. Thank god Rynae accepted it. What a relieve...