December 2016 – Deardyan

New York City Day 5

December 19, 2016February 7, 2017 Dyan

We went to see Statue of Liberty on this day! Since we didn’t purchase the New York pass, i searched for my own tour package and found it over at Viator. Got ourselves a Statue of Liberty Express Cruise by Zephyr at US$17.99 per pax.

It was pretty straightforward. We took the subway to South Street station and then walk to South Street Seaport. They have different departure timings per day so u choose which you prefer but i would recommend going there at least 1 hour before departure time to exchange your paper confirmation for an actual ticket.

We dropped by a Supermarket at South Street before heading to the Pier to get lunch! Love the supermarkets there cos they sell these quick takeaways cos the New Yorkers are always on the go! So we grabbed some sandwiches, Mac & Cheese, drinks & just hang around the pier till it’s time to get onboard.

Our nasib a bit kentang on that day cos the weather went up to 28 degs unexpectedly! After days of enjoying cooling weather, 28 degs macam lemau sikit. Tak sedar diri, padahal negeri sendiri weather 30degs upwards hari2. hahaha.

We were quite lucky cos we saw the queue forming up and then quickly join in cos the queue behind us was snaking long! If we didn’t queue up early, i don’t think we can get the good seats we got! So yes, part ni bagus ada trait singaporean kiasu.

We took the seats outside cos boleh enjoy sea breeze and unobstructed views cos no windows and all!

The Cruise covers the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island, Liberty Island, Empire State Building & Brooklyn Bridge. A bit menyesal tak explore Brooklyn Bridge but honestly that day macam hari malas pulak nak jalan jauh2. Should have just went ahead with it, tapi takpe lah. Dah balik singapore pun.

The much awaited Statue of Liberty. Kecik jugak seh the statue. Is it just me or i expected it to be really huge? We didn’t opt for the option to drop off at the Liberty island also cos malas nak rempuh the crowd. So yeah, this was good enough!

If you ask me if it’s worth travelling down to South Street, i say Yes! Even if you don’t like Liberty, the cruise itself was quite nice, worth the $ and the trip downtown!

DIY Project, Motherhood, Nadya Raessa

Homemade Play Dough Recipe!

December 19, 2016 Dyan

So i made some play dough for Nadya last week and got a lot of request for the recipe.
To be honest, this is the best recipe i’ve tried so far! It’s really easy & quick and most of the ingredients are things you can already find in your kitchen.

The texture of the Play dough is also the best. It’s soft & pliable but does not stick to your fingers. The first recipe i tried, i had to knead it like crazy, i was sweating like a mamak prata. But this one was done in less than 10mins!

Obviously i also had my hands on it too. That’s a bowl of Mee Soto, Epok2, Pizza and fishballs. HAHAHAHAHA.

Recipe & also how to do it is in the video below!

Motherhood, Nadya Raessa, Playdate

Busy Tables

December 14, 2016December 14, 2016 Dyan

The other playdate we did last week, this time with Asyura & Yusuf!
We went over to Busy Tables at Rochester Mall! Been wanting to try this but it was quite a distance but when Asyura asked if anyone in the group was interested, i instantly said yes!

Thumbs up to this place for it’s great learning resources! They have practically everything and also great for me to agak2 which ones Nadya love playing with and then consider getting it for her.

and guess which one was her favourite?

Not surprising actually cos Nadya is a touchy feely kind of girl. She loves her Sensory play sessions, loves exploring new things using her sense of touch so she spent most of her time here.

She also love the Teepee & the tent! It’s so cute, she just masuk dalam & lepak cam rumah sendiri. lol

The place is smaller than expected but they managed to put so many learning resources / activities at every corner of the room so there’s always something for them to try.

Also love this light box room! I’ve always wanted to DIY a light box for Nadya but too busy to get started with it and so far, this is only place we’ve been to that offers the light box!

If u’re keen to explore Busy Tables, they’re located at Rochester Mall, which is across Star Vista.

Admission fee is $15.00 for 2hrs of play.

Motherhood, Nadya Raessa, Playdate

Kids STOP!

December 13, 2016 Dyan

It was a busy week! We had two playdates for Nadya last week and one of it was at Kids Stop with Ain & Zafran. I LOVE THE PLACE!!

I’ve never thought Science Centre would be interesting for toddlers (apart from the waterplay area) until we tried Kids STOP.

Kids STOP is great for Pretend Play cos they have different Exhibition Galleries and most of them are suitable for toddlers 18mths and above. I guess as long as they can walk on their own, it’ll be fun for them to explore the place.

This is the Built Environment so they can pretend play as Construction workers. So adorbs lah, them with their construction uniform. Lol

This is the Human Body exhibit where older kids can learn more on what the human body can do. Thing i like about Kids STOP is, the exhibits are really interactive & informative. Great for the older kids since the young ones probably won’t be interested except to touch & role play. They have a clinic theme here, so they can be doctors!

Nadya’s favourite exhibit! She spent most of her time here! They have this Supermarket area where they can pick out their own groceries and place them in baskets. They can also play cashier here, which is one of the kids favourite area cos it’s always crowded! lol

Also one of her favourite area is the Kitchen! And look at the uniform! So geram!!!

They have so many more areas for them to explore.. I think we spent 2 hours in Kids STOP and even i had fun!

I’ve made a short video here to show more on the place & the exhibit galleries they can explore. This is one place you should bring your kids to especially toddlers!

I know it’s pretty similar to Kidzania but i probably won’t be bringing Nadya to Kidzania till she’s much older cos i don’t think the entrance fees would be worth it for her now since she don’t really understand all these pretend play? She’s only interested in playing but she don’t really know she’s supposed to be a doctor etc? So maybe Kidzania would appeal to her more when she’s older. For now, Kids STOP would be a great alternative!

Operating Hours:
They have 2 sessions per day.
9.30am – 1.30pm & 2.00 pm – 6.00 pm
So you can choose either session.

Admission Charges:
18 mths – 8 years old:
$5.00/child (Mon – Fri)
$10.00/child (Weekends / PH & School Holidays)

Adults
$2.00/child (Mon – Fri)
$5.00/child (Weekends / PH & School Holidays)

The rate above is for Singaporeans & PRs only.
Please check here for other visitors.

Kids Stop!
Singapore Science Centre
21 Jurong Town Hall Road
Singapore 609433
Website

Vlogs

Deardyan Vlogs!

December 7, 2016December 7, 2016 Dyan

Pretty obvious from the title that i’ve finally started vlogging! Slowly but surely!
Been procrastinating on this for so long cos first of all, i didn’t think i’ll be comfortable speaking on camera. Asyik tersasul je and if you know me personally, you’ll know i have a high-pitch voice. Kadang aku dengar, aku yang annoyed. HAHAHAHA.

And then came Snapchat & Instagram Stories, i yakked non-stop. Tak comfortable lah konon tapi bebual tak stop apa cerita. So yeah i figure i’m comfortable enough to speak on camera and to be doing it in public. But not comfortable enough to be doing beauty reviews ke apa so we’ll stick to vlogs for now.

It’ll probably be as & when i’m free to take videos and edit the short videos into a proper video (hopefully less than 10mins) although i hope to do it consistently.

If you’re wondering why i’ve decided to vlog and i’ve mentioned this to some friends before this, i really want to preserve memories of Nadya’s childhood as much as i can. Videos of our daily life, of her growing up would be really great to show when she’s older and this might sound really morbid but when Allah takes Nadya / Rusly away from me someday, i hope these videos will provide me comfort knowing i can watch these videos again & again. Likewise, when Allah takes me away from them, i want them to be able to watch the videos and understand how i feel from behind the camera. 😦

So yeah, if you want to have a peek into our daily life, you can watch or subscribe to my channel here.

Sama-sama kita doakan aku tak semangat maggi. Ok bye.