our recent outings hv been fab... so nice to just spend time together with mums i've known for ages, and watch the kids just hv fun running about, interacting, and enjoying each others' company.  these hols, were it not for e contatcs i hv with these ladies, i wdnt hv known half of what's going on, and our holiday wdnt be half-as-much fun! ;)  so tq ladies for all yr emails and sms's...keep them flying! :))

-the new safra pool at jurong:

e kids loved it. me too! it's so nice and spacious. lots of different areas to spend time in. and because of e direct sun it receives all day, the water is also v v warm.

-the gym upstairs at e new jurong safra:

we had a free trial. altho' we cant go again because of distance, i found e coaching to be of a high standard. e chap was friendly but good at eeping class control, and in guiding the children to behave in a safe and responsible manner. he was also quick to correct poorly-executed moves, and offered simple solutions to improve form. altho i cdnt attend their classes, he gave me a list of coaches i cd contact in our area to meet our needs. for a juniour fun gym this place wd be a good start. it's bright, airy, plenty of natural ventilation, and very organised in their approach. i like it!  (ky gave e same feedback...)

-the 4-story high 3d maze at e new safra: 

we all got in free which was fab. (in fact we had 2 tkts each...) the big boys went off on their own rt from e start, while i stuck w kay. hadnt gone far when i felt qt claustrophobic... combination of e noise from e ppl, machines, and e all-encompassing net 'walls'. so i sat quietly in 1 spot and helped kay and a few other littlies to catch and feed some balls in the 'bezukas'. as our time ticjked by, i realised i'd hv to head up through e tiny crawl-spaces, in order to get to my mtg point w ky... which was rt at e top exit. i belly-crawled my way through some tight spots with my darling kay leading the way, and got to e top just in time... only to be told that e only way down was by a super duper long slide... which thankfully kay refused (i cdnt hv done it either!) "so back the way u came from" we were instructed... oooh no. by now i was feeling rather giddy and there was no way i was gonna crawl top speed back down where we'd just come from! thankfully 1 chap knew of some stairs which ran outside e building (e fire exit in fact), so kay and i happily jumped our way down. and ky?...he'd app been up and down twice, got too dizzy, taken 2 shorter slides, grazed his elbow, and ended up at e bottom...sending himself to e 'lost property' section while we traversed our way down. "mum i'm so dizzy" was explanation enough... none of us wanted to go again! :) but at least we've done it once :b

-toa payoh puppet shows by artsfest:

we loved this! 'stayed a whole lot longer than we should have. i liked the interactive set-up. the kids were really involved. this aspect was very "un-singaporean". it showed creativity in the set-up and used e space well. community involvement was high. very fun!

-t/p safra 3d maze and safra pool: 

e littlies are now old enough to go off and play in a little group on their own... with the older boys racing around, and only appearing for food and drinks now and then. :) the pool was our 1st visit. it's small and 'safe'...ie easy to keep an eye on even a large grp of kids because of it's size and 'walled-in' design. e water was warm and clean, and only 1 or 2 other swimmers. the older boys had swim-races with me and i won :) and let them win too a couple of times! then we chucked coins in and let them dive for sunken treasure. the littlies also got some coins in their little pool, much to their joy...

-dino exhibit and activities @ plaza singapura:

the 2 chaps presenting e show were full of energy. they presented very well... kept a nice vibe going throughout... made the topic sound very exciting :). having the dinosaurs so near to us in the mall kind-of reminded me of "the night in the museum" show that we'd just seen. kay was happy to see them and asked to be photographed alongside.  she even went back to wave bye-bye to one of them when we went off to buy drinks :) . the boys were happily occupied at the activity tables and needed no supervision, which left me free to help kay stick her dino labels in her little dino-book, and go do some shopping.

-marina barrage:

we took mrt to marina, and free shuttle-bus there and back. altho' it was super hot we were very fortunate... the buses ran regulalry and we didnt hv to wait both ways.... which was a blessing with all the kids! :)   the big boys wasted no time in dashing straight into the fountains...while e girls were more interested in taking their time to eat 1st, and making a point to request sunblock. well done girls! cant forget to take care of yr skin...never too young to start! :b  after that they only came back for food and drinks... later we went up to the roof and watched a few kites, and the kids excitedly sourced for sprinkler valves (yeh, of all the things they cd be looking for!!!) then they headed down the spiral slope, with little R taking a tired tumble. then we headed straight up again and made our way through e viewing gallery... the kids were surprised to lose one mummy along the way ;) or was it planned that way?... so they cd go ard a 2nd time? :) we noticed they werent too keen to leave, esp e big boys... tho the littlies were already fading.

-ben10 show at united square:

i'm not into this really, (but kay app is!)... and a friend mentioned it in passing just e day b4.  so as we needed a place to hv dinner, and as dh wasnt going to be home til late...i decided to stop off there for a couple of hrs on our way home from town.  as luck wd hv it, a show was abt to start just as we finished our dinner...so e kids happily stayed. some scarey 'monsters' went amongst e kids during e show and a few ran out crying... trying to find their mums n dads who were shopping. :-/ eeks! glad i was near e entrance. checked for kay...but she was fine...head held high, and leaning forward to get a better look... so i sat rt back down again to enjoy my chocolate gelato... :)  yes, my little me-time...even if it's just 15min i think i deserve some tlc occassionally :)