Happiness is... dedicating time for family

We might not always travel far during the holidays and more often than not, we simply stay in Singapore or at most travel to Malaysia.

That has been the case for us this year because it's really costly travelling as a family of six and since the hubby is the sole breadwinner of our family, it's tough on him and we know there are luxuries that we ought to forfeit. So for goals like having a family holiday to Japan, seeing the northern lights or bringing Angel back to Sweden where she was born, going on a campervan holiday in Australia, well, they just have to wait.

That said, we are already very blessed to be able to travel to nearby countries, be able to afford to dine in restaurants, treat ourselves to good food every now and then, buy new clothes, play in arcades which can be really expensive, and bring our parents on short trips.

In June, we had activity lined up after activity since it was the school holidays and I just wanted to make the most of each day we had. In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about knowing the importance of family time.

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We had a sumptuous steamboat dinner with our parents and though it's been so many years, we still count our blessings to know that our mums and dads can get along and bond over beer and good food. They are a constant reminder that time with our loved ones is precious and finite, and we really need to cherish every oppprtunity we get together.

After all, they are not the only ones ageing. I feel old sometimes too and my kids are getting so tall and big these days already. If anything, I wish they will have learnt from us on how much we cherish kinship and how we make time for family, no matter how busy life gets.

Family runs? Bring them on.

While the hubby might not understand why we go through the hassle of driving so far, waking so early and queueing so long just to register ourselves, and waiting for hours for a short run, I see it as something we would otherwise not do on a weekend and end up sleeping in.

So we made it to Cold Storage Kids Run 2025 and the best part was seeing how Ansel would get down to run on his own even if he still asked to be carried for some parts of the 1.6km run. The older kids also ran an additional 2km with Papa to get to his car which was parked super far away. So yes, it was still a great Sunday workout for everyone!

If you haven't been on Luge before, you need to try it! The kids and I were stoked to visit Luge Sentosa and I think we went down the different slopes a grand total of five times.

Ansel still needs to ride tandem with me but you know what, it won't be long before he can ride solo like Korkor and Jiejies and I'm pretty sure I will miss this feeling of having a little one who needs my company.

The beach is also a nice place to hang out and I think we don't visit it enough. Well, at least we still do so from time to time and it's also nice to feel the gentle waves on our feet, step into the warm sand and feel the sun rays shining all around us as we soak in these golden moments.

I remember we used to go to indoor playgrounds aplenty when the girls were still little and I don't wanna shortchange the boys too. So we still head to playgrounds whenever we get the opportunity, we cherish every media invite and it's a bonus if the two teenager sisters decide to come along and play tag with the brothers instead of being glued to their devices.

Inflatable playgrounds are still very fun too and we visited this one at Marina Square that took the shape of our childhood playgrounds, including the iconic dragon one. I always love playing, running and sliding down with the kids instead of sipping on a cup of tea and rest nearby, because these years really do not last. And yes, I want them to remember me as the fun Mama who gets into the action with them and even makes a fool of herself at times.

We also made our way to the Nickelodian themed inflatable playground which featured characters like Spongebob, Dora and Paw Patrol. Besides jumping and running around for two hours and challenging ourselves to whizz down a really steep vertical slide, a highlight was seeing Ansel hug his favourite Pups, Chase and Marshall, for a total of six times. Haha. Yes, it definitely made his day.

Fans of BBT? Yeah, I guess we are, especially my two middle kids. So when we heard about the chance to attend a DIY Boba workshop, you bet we jumped at it. The kids had fun designing their own aprons as well as rolling and making their own bobas. Fun!

Movie lovers? Yeah we are, and I think this would never change no matter how old we get. At least, I hope so because movies are a good reason for the family to come together to spend time and have a meal after.

This month, we watched How to Train Your Dragon as well as Jurassic World and they were both pretty cool movies that we enjoyed tremendously.

We still make time to exercise together and go on night outings to the playground. I mean, the girls have prettt much outgrown slides and kiddy stuff but they still like swings and love monkey bars - see how they tried to make a heart shape by hanging upside down.

During the holidays, we also made cookies and pizzas at Kith Summer Camp and the kids enjoyed that hands on session very much. It's always nice to get them involved in such baking or cooking activities and get them off their screens.

The girls and I also had a DIY bookmark and card making session and did some really cute stuff using dried flowers.

Do you all like mookata? We do and it's one of those things we love to eat every once in a while. The hubby is usually with us too because he will take charge of the cooking and it also means the kids get to spend time with Papa during the precious weekend.

The airport remains as one of our favourite hangouts and one of the things we love to do after an event is to order A&W takeaway in Jewel and sit around the Vortex to enjoy our supper. Yes, curly fries and root beer float!

The boys still enjoy Zoomoov rides and kiddy play and it's such a blessing that these two have each other for company. Yup, the girls are growing too fast and I wish time would slow down a little at times for me to enjoy their childhood years a little more.

Another place we love to visit is IKEA! I mean, we can just go there without any aim in mind and still have a wonderful time admiring the showrooms, eating the yummy food and having the 50 cents soft serve afterwards.

This was the last time Asher could enter the kids' playground too as he is growing taller (the maximum height is 130cm). So it was a bittersweet moment as the boys spent their last hour in the play area together and the next time we come, Ansel will be all alone there. But oh well, life stops for no one, right?

It's a good thing that my kids enjoy karaoke as much as I do and even a better thing that there is a Teo Heng outlet in our neighbourhood. So we love to dabao dinner over and just sing our hearts out for a couple of hours. This is precious family bonding time to me and I hope they will still make time for such sessions even when they are older.

Another activity we would do every week is swimming and while the firstborn is not a water lover, the other three still love to splash around and have fun playing in the pool.

As for arcade, it's something they all love because there are so many different fun games to play. So it's usually a treat for them during the school holidays and it's even more fun when the hubby and I join in the action and we can have friendly competitions with each other.

Lastly, we also went on a 17-pax family trip to VIP Fishing Resort and Desaru and I will share more of our trip in the next post. It's never easy yet it's such a huge blessing to be able to plan for such trips and we are so lucky that our parents can still travel with us.

One of the highlights was releasing our own fireworks and I didn't do it because we had limited quantity and because I was always the one filming. But I loved seeing my parents and kids experiencing it and glad that I captured that moment for each of them.

Being the adventurous mum, I took the kids out to kayaking despite the fact that the crew said there might be jellyfish in the ocean. I insisted that Ansel ride with me (in the same seat) while Asher was in front of me so I can take care of them. And guess what? Ansel slept for more than the journey and we still managed to have a good time together. Yes, I continued to paddled while supporting weight on me.

It was also my parents' first time kayaking and kudos to them for not going back early or giving up halfway despite some hiccups like how my Dad stepped nto the water instead of into the kayak and how they went further and further and needed a guide to help pull them back. I am so proud of you, Mummy and Daddy.

Yup, I will share lots more details about the trip soon but meanwhile, that concludes our eventful month of June and it was a good break that we all enjoyed.

No matter how busy life gets, we must always make time to spend with our loved ones because one day when you look back, these are the moments that matter most and you will be glad that you made the most of them while you had the chance to.

Till the next post of "Happiness is"!

Happiness is... celebrating others while not forgetting yourself

It's too easy, for me at least, to put focus on the wellbeing of others and neglect myself in the process. I mean, I was the friend who would stay up till wee hours to weave friendship bands, who gave out handmade Christmas gifts, who would write personalised good luck cards and hang goodie bags onto hostel doors to wish every friend best of luck for their exams.

So when I became a mum in a foreign land, especially a stay-at-home one whose life revolves around the kids 24/7, it was easier to even forget that I exist. I planned parties and celebrations for the kids, I made videos and took photos of them, I did the incessant household chores and cooked the dishes they liked, I went to kiddy places like playgrounds and watched more cartoons than dramas.

With the need to solo parent the kids on most days, it became hard, like really hard, for me to do the things I like to do. I guess that is why I love blogging and taking videos so much, because at least they symbolise my own passion in life, and are a reminder that I still exist as a person with hobbies and dreams.

With the kids getting bigger, I have slightly more time on my hands these days and thus, I am making time for myself to, well, just be me. Like going for a hot yoga class, watching The Good Doctor, eating the snacks I like and just relaxing and feel guilt-free about getting takeaways when I don't feel like stepping into the kitchen. I mean, half of my life is over and while I love my kids more than anything, I also want my second half of life to be more than just them. I want to re-discover me.

In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about celebration others while not forgetting myself in the process too.

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Family outings are always cherished, especially when the hubby makes time to join in. This month marks his birthday and we celebrated it with a nice meal in Changi Airport and a fun workout session in Griddy Grid.

Like me, he is one who tends to forget about himself so I was glad we managed to have some fun time on his actual birthday as a family. I don't want to be the kind of parent who films the kids and watches from the sideline, I wanna be the one who joins their team, gets into action and run, laugh, play and bond with them. And so we did.

Badminton was the thing that brought us together when we got into NTU Hall 6 and alas, we don't play the sport ad much as we would love to. That is simply because courts are hard to get and weekends are too precious for us to be spent on travelling and training every week. Still, we love playing badminton leisurely and letting everyone come together just to have some fun.

If anything, I am just glad that we have always remained a sporty family and are game to take up new sports, go on adventures and try new experiences. Sports has an amazing way of building resilience and of course, it is crucial that we stay fit no matter what age we are and I hope we can continue to make workouts a way of life.

Talking about that, the girls and I still go for spinning classes together and it's pretty awesome that we've kept it up. This month, we also made our way to the stadium to try sprinting 100m and 200m together. I used to run in my primary school days and was totally flabberghasted to see how far behind these two girls I was and how hard I was gasping for breath. Gosh, 不认老都不行，so I better get down to training my stamina and get fitter even as I age. When there's a will, there's a way!

Aside from that, we also factor in lots of time for play and enjoyment. One of it is going for movies, something that we all love and have been keeping up for nearly two decades. Be it cosy movie nights or at home or movie trips to the cinema, we love both and appreciate every chance we get to watch awesome shows.

This month, we caught two shows, the first being the live remake of Lilo and Stitch, one of my favourite animated films because of its theme on Ohana. It was so good and we all had a fabulous time from start to finish.

We were also at the preview of Karate Kid - The Legends because we love Jackie Chan movies and the film starring Jaden Smith was really outstanding, and we have watched that several times. This one was not as good as its predecessor but we still had a swell time too.

I don't love cooking but I like to cook for the kids. Yeah, if you get what I mean. It brings me joy to see them enjoying the simple dishes I whip up and nowadays, I remind myself to not just cook what they like but to remember what I enjoy eating too.

On weekends, the hubby returns home so we can usually have some family time together. Sometimes we go for hikes, sometimes we head to indoor playgrounds, sometimes we eat out, sometimes we just stay home and watch a movie. I used to want to be present all the time with the kids but nowadays, I also take a quick break here and there, like letting it take them for a swim while I just rest.

I am forever grateful that Ansel came into our lives because with him around, the boys can form a duo who plays together all day long. With the Jiejies fast growing up, liking to hang out with friends and sticking to their devices all day long, it's nice to see the boys playing with toys, cooking in their kitchen, pretending to fight and just growing up in each other's company.

I give myself a break every couple of days and will bring the kids out for meals or ordee food in. Yes, with no helper, I find it simply too tiring to cook every day! Besides, the kids are bigger now and it's nice to still be able to hang out with them and go for meals together.

The one who spends the most time with me is still the youngest. I love picking him up from school and exploring new places with him as we go on what we call a mother-and-son adventure. 

I love going on school excursions with the kids and am super thankful that I still get to do it with the lastborn for a couple more years. This month, we made it to Children's Museum and had a fun time exploring all the exhibits. He is such a sweet boy who holds my hand endearingly on the bus and tells me how happy he is to have me beside him.

Well, just let me cherish this precious phase before he becomes a big kid like the rest of them, yeah?

Me-time is still very limited for me since the youngest goes for three hours of preschool only. Still, I've been making time for myself like going for workouts, relaxing at home and I even went to the park to do a solo photoshoot this month too.

Mother's Day means we get to gather with the extended family and show our love for our mums. The hubby and my fil, the best cooks in the house, will usually whip up some dishes and we will have a nice time eating and catching up. 

This year, the hubby bought these super pretty floral cakes and I also got these cute 4D-themed plates for our mums. 简单的相聚，满心的欢喜。

Do you ever ask yourself, for how many years more can we do this and come together to celebrate? It might be morbid to have such thoughts but I always remind myself to cherish our time together while it lasts. Our parents are ageing, the kids are turning into teens and adults, and every year is different than before. 只能珍惜，只能把握。

These handmade cards from the kids mean the world to me and I always love reading every word they write. Angel's drawing of a carnation, which the sister accidentally pronounced as coronation, is significant to me as she is at the age where she doesn't wanna do any card for anyone - she just doesn't see the point - and each card takes lots of effort on her part. Of course, every of the sibings' cards mean the world to me too and I love seeing their creativity too.

We also had simple family BBQ because we simply love barbecued food and it's always nice to come together to eat, swim and celebrate. The hardest job is the hubby's who prefers to buy the BBQ ingredients to marinate and cook himself, so yeap, lots of effort and sweat goes into it. For that, we count our blessings and are deeply thankful.

This time, I also made guacamole because some of us for craving for that to go with chips and it was a hit cos' the kids and I finished it so fast. Good way to eat avocado which is a really nutritious fruit.

I wanted to jot this incident down because I was really proud of myself and felt so accomplished. Well, we had been smelling this rotten egg smell in our kitchen for some time but no matter how we looked, we couldn't seem to locate the smell. Then, our fridge was also not getting cold and we knew there was a fault somewhere but didn't wanna get a repairman as the quote they gave was too hefty.

I thought it might be a dead animal somewhere behind the fridge so I pushed it out myself to check. Then a thought hit me and I decided to check the condensation tray. To do this, I needed to completely shift out the fridge, unscrew the coil and unscrew many other stuff before I could even reach the tray. Lo and behold, I discovered the piping was stuck and there was why there was mould, dirt, water and a very bad stench that had formed on the tray.

So I spent hours clearing it, enduring the smell, then fixed back every part onto the fridge and pushed it back into its original place. Not only was the smell gone, the fridge worked well after that too. Yayyy, mission accomplished by Mama! And for free!

May also marks the hubby's birthday and we had a simple but much appreciated celebration with the extended family. We know he works very hard to support our family and we are lucky to have everything that we have in our lives now. So thank you, dear, and hope you enjoyed your birthday!

I cannot stress how important it is to carve out family time and it is crucial to keep doing so even as the kids grow into teens and adults. It keeps the family close even as everyone has their own social circles, work and activities.

It is also important to find time for ourselves and celebrate us for who we are. We also need to constantly finetune our aspirations and dreams, our short-term and long-term goals, our life priorities and so on.

Promise me that no matter how busy life gets or how overwhelming your daily routine is like, don't forget about yourself, okay? You deserve so much more than you think and you are doing such a good job as keepijg it all together. Let's 加油 together!

Till the next post of "Happiness is"!