Have you heard that there’s a Dolphins & Sea Lions Show in Malaysia? It’s held at Bandar Sunway in Subang, right next to Sunway Pyramid. It started on December 1st and if I remember correctly, it ends sometime in February 2010.

We brought Ryan to see the show and here’s our experience.

Parking was a big problem unless you decide to park in the Sunway Pyramid mall and then take a walk to the built-up tent where the show is held. Admission fee for a Malaysian adult is RM42. I think a child above the age of 3 enters for RM30. Children below the age of 3 can go in free of charge. If you go in a family of 4 – 2 adults and 2 children, then you get a family package where everyone is charged at RM30 each. The show lasts about 45 minutes.

It’s really hot inside when we were there. We went for the 3.30pm show so I guess that’s not the best of times to go. I don’t remember the show times, but I think there are 3 or 4 shows a day. So if you want to be more comfortable with your kids, go for the evening show. I think it’s around 7pm if I remember correctly.

Here are some of the pictures I managed to capture during the show. Note that only non-flash photography is allowed.

dolphins and sea lions show tickets
Our tickets to the show…

dolphins and sea lions show banner
Inside the Dolphins & Sea Lions Show

dolphins
The dolphins with the trainer

dolphins jump over hoops
The show begins…the dolphins jumping over hoops

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Ryan loves to sing. And he’s a good singer. He carries a tune better than me, that’s for sure. And his talent of singing doesn’t come from me. That’s for sure too!

About a week ago we were at a mall and he was having fun playing with sand art. The kind owners of the stall were talking to us and they also operated one of those twist-balloon stall.

As we spoke, they persuaded him to sing a song but he didn’t really want to. But then he was “bribed” with a prize if he sings a tune for them and he happily did so. He sang Michael Jackson’s Heal The World. Apart from receiving claps, he also got his prize, which is this funky bike:

balloon bicycle

I thought this is really cool. My 2-year old can learn to sing for a living! :D Today he sang his way to a Sugus sweet. Not much of a prize compared to the balloon bike, but hey, it was a treat for him because he doesn’t get to eat much sweets.

1 Comment

Homeschooling Do you think homeschooling will ever take off here?

Homeschooling is something that’s not popular at all in this part of the world. I do wonder if this method of education will ever take off in our region. I know of many parents who aren’t happy with the public education system. Their only choice is naturally to send their children to private schools if they can afford it.

For those who can’t, then they will still have to bear with a system they do not believe in. I guess that’s where all sorts of tuition classes and different curriculum online come into place as supplementary classes for the children in the hope that all these little extras will help.

To a certain extent I’m sure these additional classes help. However, I feel that loading a child with so much besides attending school can sometimes be detrimental. That’s my personal opinion, of course.

We’re not well versed with homeschooling curriculum here at all, otherwise I think that can be a good alternative to public education system for those who can’t afford to send their children to private schools. Don’t you think so? It serves many mothers well especially for those who would love to spend as much time as they can with their children at home.

Of course homeschooling is a lot of work for the parents, but who knows, it might be worth the effort and time because it means that we can teach our children what we feel is best. The downside of homeschooling is of course the social factor. Having a social life is equally important in a child’s life, and that is what is terribly lacking in a homeschool system. But if we think creatively enough, this aspect can be well compensated in other ways.

What are your thoughts on homeschooling? Any experience to share?

2 Comments

How to wake a kid up without the cries?

by Penny on December 13, 2009

Yesterday we put Ryan down for a nap. When it was just a little over 7pm, it was high time to wake him up, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to sleep later in the night. But he was so tired out that he just didn’t want to wake up.

He was quite cute and was still responding to my questions although his eyes were shut tightly. And when I changed diapers for him, he still helped by lifting his hips so that I can remove the shorts and diaper and then to slide in a fresh piece.

But he refused to open his eyes and he said he wanted to rest. He looked so tired with little dark circles under eyes. But for his own sake, in the end we still had to force him awake and he cried for quite a while. It took some 10 to 15 minutes to get him to stop and to lift his mood.

Anyone has any good ideas on how to wake a sleepy kid without all those protests and cries? He normally isn’t like that, but when he’s real knocked out and tired, he tends to oversleep his nap time. Any help out there?

1 Comment

Are breakouts common during pregnancy?

by Penny on December 11, 2009

pregnant mother portrait

That was a question a friend recently asked. She is a few weeks pregnant and is extremely thrilled as this is her first baby. I can understand all that excitement and even some worries that come with the magical experience.

But when she posed me that question, I didn’t know the answer. What I told her is that maybe it’s a personal experience. I don’t remember breaking out particularly during pregnancy, but I do know of some mothers who did experience it and some even had it so bad that they had to seek acne treatments.

What about you? Did you experience unusual breakouts during your pregnancies? Some people say that if you are expecting a baby girl, it is more likely to cause you breakouts than if you were expecting a boy. Is there any truth to this? Anyone can share their stories?

1 Comment

The sweetest endearment in my lifetime…

by Penny on December 9, 2009

When Ryan was just a baby, I would dream of the day that he calls me mummy. When he did first call me, it was Mama. I was already on cloud nine that my baby started calling me. But then again, I preferred to be called mummy and over time, with some adjustment on his part, I eventually was called the sweetest thing in the world – mummy.

Now that Ryan is 2 years old and is a great conversationalist (at least to me!), he knows many more words and I’m now known to him as mummy, mum, mother. He likes to tease me sometimes with mum and usually wakes me up with mother. I have no idea why.

But lately he’s given me a new term of endearment. To me, it will be the best endearment I’ve ever gotten in my life. Maybe it’s because of how he says it, the tone that he calls me by.

crown for princess

He calls me his Princess! And he says it all so gently and lovingly that no matter what he did that made me angry with him, it all goes away the second he looks at me and says “Princess…”

How can my heart not melt? This is something that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life as a mother.

3 Comments