To progress or to hold back ?

On 9th June 2013, Xav went for his station 2 grading and yes, he cleared it with much confidence !

Well done, Xav !

He is now able to perform the following: - Front kick 10 meters
- Back Star Float 5 seconds
- Mushroom Float 10 seconds
- Confident Jump - water level
- Submersion - assisted ( 1 metre or less)
- Bubbles blowing - 10 counts (nose bubbles, no goggles )
- " 6 kicks 1 breath" Drill - 15 metres

The happy and confident little boy !

Apart from what he has achieved, we were actually caught in making a decision. Initially, we signed him up with the intention of improving his physical health as he has wheezing history and prone to cough easily. We wanted to expose him to water confidence as well as we felt swimming is an essential for all regardless of gender.

So far, his progress as per his coach's feedback is very positive. He has great motivation to learn and also the determination and drive to push himself to perform better than his peers. He is infact a source of motivation for his peers in his group, who looked upon him as a role model and are much more confident and have lesser fear when comes to submerging their heads in water especially, after seeing what Xav could do.

His coach did expressed that at the moment she can still cope with teaching the rest of the group who have not cleared Station 1 and at the same time teaching Xav the skills of Station 3. 

Now we are caught in this situation, should we remain him in this group under the current's coach coaching or should we "promote" him to another class ?

He is much ahead of his peers in the class and has infact hit the "roof" and should probably advance to a older class to learn new skills so as not to hinder his progression. We are on the other hand worried that if his confidence level be shaken if we "promote" him to a class with the older kids. Will he feel the stress if he can't catch up or perform as well as the older kids ?

Financially wise, our pockets are definately taken into consideration. Of course it will be better if Xav could promote to the next stage within the shortest time  (At his own pace).

What would you have done if you are facing such situation ? To let your child stay at this comfort zone or to advance ? Would love and appreciate to hear from all of you.

Thank you for reading and if you would like to stay tune for future updates, do follow me on : 

Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest.

Honeysuckle flowers & Chrysanthemum Drink

Another drink which have cooling properties to combate against this hazy period. One of the mummy bloggers from Peipei.Haohao shared this on her blog.

I normally boil either chrysanthemum flowers or honeysuckle flowers alone by itself when Xav started showing signs of heatiness. I will notice that his lips will turned "red" as compared to the normal pinkish lips and will do a tongue and throat inspection. His tongue will seem to be a white coating and if over heaty, the top of his throat will have some red spots appearing. Have found an interesting article on Tongue diagnosis if you wish to find out more.

This is when the honeysuckle flowers drink comes in and yes, it's effect is amazing. Drink it today and the red spots disappeared by tomorrow. But do keep in mind that take only in moderation and not too much, especially for children.

According to my tcm, if the red spots develops into ulcers, this will result in the fever kicking in. These tips which I learnt from her so far has been quite useful for me in looking out for symptoms of Xav falling sick.

She has taught me to boil honeysuckles flower drink with black sugar. The tip here is do not over boil as it will make the drink even more bitter. Same tip goes for the chrysanthemum flowers drink.

For chrysanthemum flowers drink, I ususally buy a bottle of "Tai Ju". Tai Ju is one special variety of Chrysanthemum flowers that have only partially bloomed - young flowers, well-preserved within their own built-in protection, and filled with flavour and wonderful health benefits. I do not add sugar and will just give a cup to Xav depending on how much he needs. Luckily he takes all these drinks well.

You can add a little wolfberries or dried lychees to make the drink more flavourful.

As for the properties of Honeysuckle Flowers :
- It is cold in nature and it helps to clear heat from the lungs and stomach channels.
- It is good in clearing the heart and stomachfire for detoxification.

Effects: Clearing away heat, detoxicating and expelling wind-heat.

Another function of the honeysuckle flowers, whenever Xav has insect bites, his sensitive skin will result in a bad swelling on the affected area. I will also boil the honeysuckle flowers, cooled it and then using a cotton pad, I will wash or apply on the affected area and the skin condition is kept under control.

This works well for skin rashes as well as diaper rash, the anti-inflammation properties of the flowers do have amazing results !

Back to how to boil this drink,  I boiled this based on estimation. if you want exact measurement, you may refer to the above link I have shared.

Ingredients :
1. Chrysanthemum flowers
2. Honeysuckle flowers
3. Black sugar or rock sugar to taste

Just bring the above 1 & 2 to boil, add in sugar, let it simmer for another 5 mins and turn off fire.

This is another remedy to counteract this hazy period. Do give a try !

Combat the haze - Lotus root soup with green beans and water chestnuts

Combat the haze with this Tcm remedy, shared by one of my friends on Facebook. I decided to try it out over the weekends and it tastes good ! With cooling properties, this soup helps to remove body heatiness.

Ingredients :
1. Lotus Roots 500g
2. Green Beans 80g
3. Water chestnuts 10 pieces
4. Soft pork ribs 300g
5. Salt to taste

Method :
1. Wash the lotus roots, removed the skin and slice.
2. Wash the water chestnuts, removed the skin and cut into halves.
3. Soak green beans for 2 hours before cooking (I did not soak as I'm using pressure cooker)
4. Blanch the ribs before adding into the pot.
5. Add in all ingredients, bring to boil and simmer for 1.5 hours (For pressure cooker, I turn off the stove when it hit three rings and I allowed the pressure to cook and soften and ingredients in the soup)
6. Add salt to taste before serving.

I doubled the portion for the ingredients as I cooked the soup for both meals. The texture of the soup is slightly different compared to using Huai Shan. Try this recipe out for this hazy period and drink loads of water !

Take care everyone !

Thank you for reading and if you have enjoyed reading my posts, do follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram !  

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6

Arty Hi-Tea @ MUSEO

MUSEO (pronounced as moo-zay-o) which means museum in Italian, managed by the same management behind the sister cafe - Arteastiq Boutique Teahouse.

Come and experience a total new experience at MUSEO with a space for social painting and yet at the same time indulge in their extensive range of tea collection and beverages. You'll love their dining-in-a-cup concept as well !

An exquisitive dining restaurant

We love the concept of the restaurant, especially with the plush and comfy daybeds by the windows where you can have an overview of the luxurious yacht packed at Sentosa Cove.

Cosy and relaxing settings with the plush day beds

For social painting lovers, an elevated platform with easels, canvas board, brushes and paints all nicely set up.

An area set up for the art

     

Tub of arylic paints

Xav told me he wanted to paint and ocean and started with his sktech.

I'm ready to paint !

Adding on colours

Almost done !

Touching up with the clouds

Thumbs up for the session ! I love it !

We proceeded to one of the daybeds as requested by Xav and spent our remaining noon, indulging ourselves in the beverages and food and yes, I spotted Xav was enjoying the jazz played in the playground as well.

Day dreaming away ... Perhaps hoping he gets to go onto a yatch !

Ice cold Lychee Tea

Picasso's Blues (Deep fried prawns with dipping sauce infused with lavender fragrance)

Refreshing Ice Cold Pomelo Tea

Sweet potato chips

Thank you MUSEO, we had a great and relaxing afternoon spent in the tranquility settings! Great and friendly service from Ms Angela and staff. We look forward to our visit again for a Hi-tea buffet this coming weekend to celebrate the daddy's birthday !

Connect with MUSEO on Facebook for their updates & promotion.

MUSEO is located at :
Quayside Isle
31 Ocean Way
#01-22
Singapore 098375

Opening Hours:
2pm-1am (Mon-Thurs)
1:30pm-2am (Fri-Sat)
1:30pm-1am (Sun)

Tel : 6734 8066
Email : quaysideisle@mu-se-o.com


How to get to Quayside Isle by Public Transport :

- MRT: Take the North-East Line or Circle Line and alight at the HarbourFront Station.
- Transfer onto Sentosa Express, located at Level 3 of Vivocity. Alight at Beach Station and hop on to complimentary Sentosa Bus 3 and alight at Sentosa Cove Village.
- Walk about 5 mins to MUSEO.

Do note that the shuttle bus service comes at an interval of 30 mins.


Disclaimer : We were invited for a session of art jamming from MUSEO. All opinions are of my own.

BBQ under the Stars @ Port Of Lost Wonder - June Holidays Special

Want to experience something different? Port of Lost Wonder comes alive after the sunset on every Friday and Saturday evenings for this June Holidays.

Thank you Angeline from Princess Dana Diaries for inviting us along! Last saturday, we were invited this special event - BBQ Under the Stars @ Port of Lost Wonder - Sentosa.

Our lil' one here is excited ! We came here twice in the day and once for a birthday party but this is the first time we are coming in past evening !

Pirate Xav visits !

The moment we reached, our lilttle pirate headed straight for waterplay !

While he was having splashing fun moments, dear dear and I went to check out the event place. Apart from one main course that is included in the ticket, be indulged in a range of delectable buffet spread !

A selection of fruits, cakes and freshly baked bread pudding !

Sweet treats

Fresh fruits

Cheng Tng and Ice Water

The healthy salad station

Have a bowl of piping hot pumpkin Soup

Mee siam station

Curry Rendang Station

Alcohol Section - Wine and Spirits

The BBQ Chef behind the well grilled food !

And dear dear was found to be lost in thoughts in the laid back and slow pace settings !

When night falls, it's a total different ambience ...

Main Course - BBQ Sambal Dory

Main Course - Sausage Platter with wedges

Mini burger set for our lil' pirate

After his dinner, our lil' pirate went to catch a movie under the stars while we continued with our meal and chit chat amongst the adults. Sunbeds were made available for those who wanted to watch the movie.
 

Catch a movie under the stars !

This special event for the June Holidays is most perfect for daddies and mummies who wants some couple time alone while the kids can have fun on their own ! It is also recommended to come together with friends for a get-together !

Here, I must comment that the customer service of the staff is great ! They made sure the heavily pregnant me, gets seated most comfortably and ensure every request of the guests are being attended to.

Thank you Port of Lost Wonder for the invitation ! We had a awesome evening ! 

BBQ Under the Stars
Dates : Every Fridays and Saturdays for the month of JUNE
Time : 6.30 pm - 9.30 pm
Ticket pricing are as follows : Adult : $35 per tix / Child : $30 per tix
POWL & NTUC members gets a $5 off per ticket  (One free Housepour/ Drink with every ticket purchased )

Do check out POLW's Facebook page for more events and promotions !

I had a great night !

To end the night, we took a cable car ride back to Harbour Front Centre. So what are you waiting for ? Come and join in the special event just for this holiday !   

Disclaimer : We were invited to this event with a complimentary maincourse and drinks. No monetary compensation is involved and opinions are all of my own.