Friday, February 27, 2009

Digital Life – Need your help :)

Just saw this Advertisement from Digital Life!

They are searching for the Top 50 websites in Singapore, and they are looking for recommendations from readers.

These Websites vary from giving tips on childcare to offering free games to teaching you how to encode or use Photoshop!

If you came across any good sites, you can email your recommendations to stdled@sph.com.sg by March 4.

And if you have nothing in mind, you can recommend this blog !Open-mouthed

3 kids part 2

I hope all of you have enjoyed reading about my adventures with the three kids and would like to put in a good word for me!

Check out my promo line:

Ed Unloaded - Where else in the world would you find a hands-on daddy blogger with 3 kids, who offers parenting tips from a male perspective?

Your recommendations are much appreciated!

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Got Paid by Nuffnang

nuffnang

I just got my 2nd Cheque from Nuffnang!

I got my 1st Cheque in July 2008, and so I am elated about the continuing cheques from this advertiser.

As compared to other advertising firms in the market, my personal opinion is that…

Nuffnang really pays!

Even when I shifted house and I was wondering whether my cheque was lost…the staff at Nuffnang have been prompt in their response and answering my queries.

A big thumbs up to them!

In contrast, I did not have such a pleasant experience with another local advertising company.

I was asked to write an advertorial for them last year, and after informing them about my contributions, I received ZERO responses to my 2 emails.

In other words, I think they act blur…

As a result, I lost patience with the company and removed their ads from my blog. Sigh…

If you are looking for a local company to make some money out of your hobby…

I would suggest Nuffnang!

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Buy Thomas the Train - Which thomas to buy

Nathan has really been going crazy over Thomas the Train (See his Thomas Video).

Every morning, when he wakes up, he comes to me and says “Choo-Choo!”….He drags me to his train set, and insists that I get it moving!

This is his current train layout:

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The train track currently occupies 50% of my living room area…and he really likes it!

Is it difficult to buy a “Thomas the Train” toy set?

Well, it’s more difficult than you think, as you will find many different editions at the local department store. It also gets more complicated, as the toys allow for “Expansion”. This means that you can join the railway tracks together and have a really big railway city. This is the cool part for us fathers, as I like to see the railway tracks get longer and longer…

Here are some tips for parents, who may need to buy a “Thomas the Train” toy set soon.

What should I look out for?

1) There is the British Version of ‘Thomas the Train” which has wooden railway tracks

thomas the train

The Engines are also made of Metal Die Cast, and the trains are usually non-motorized.

The accessories are usually very “classy”, but a bit more expensive.

I will generally avoid this range, as it is a bit ‘hard’ on the pocket.

2) The Japanese version made by “Tomy” is a more affordable range.

Tomy also features a battery powered Thomas the Train module, while the British one is manuel.

tomy

However, things can also get a bit more complicated with the Japanese “Tomy” range.

The problem arises with the fact that certain sets are not expandable.

One can identify the difference via the colour of the tracks.

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  • Blue Tracks are Expandable.
  • Gray Tracks are NOT Expandable

You will realize the difference, as you look carefully at the tracks on the box.

The photo below shows a train which is NOT Expandable.

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Notice the Grey Tracks!

I will avoid the Non-Expandable range (Gray tracks), as you cannot add to the train set, and they just take up stand alone space in the house. The Thomas the Train found here is also battery operated.

There is legible price difference between the 2 editions.

If you are still confused about which train set to buy, bring a father along…I spent about half an hour at the toy store, looking at the boxes, before I roughly “guessed” my way around.

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Friday, February 20, 2009

Eye Patch

We just bought the Eye Patch for Nicole...but we came home too late to try it out on her.

Something really funny happened at the clinic, that I just have to pen down:

In order to test Nicole's eyes, they had to put some eye drops into her eyes. This meant that she had to receive 3 doses of eye drops every 15minutes, in order to make sure that the pupils were dilated.

This would aid the doctors in their examination, as they examined her eyes through their sophisticated equipment.

Only thing is that, by the 3rd dose or eye drops, you will not be able to see clearly,

Being a concerned parent, I asked Nicole in my Perfect Singlish,

"Nicole, Can you see CLEARLY?"

"Daddy,Who is CLEARLY?!?"

Haha!!!....Sometimes she just cracks me up!

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Eye Doctor – Part 2

Sorry for the delay, but it is now time to update everyone about Nicole’s visit to the eye specialist.

It is official – Nicole has got to keep on wearing her eye patch!

According to the doctor, the faster we start her on it – the faster are the results!

The doctor says that the best time for treatment is the first 3 to 4 years of life.

Nicole needs to wear the patch for 2 hours a day! She will need to go back for a check-up 3 months later.

How long will she need to wear the patch?

There is no exact science. But after the age of 9 or 10 years, the eye usually retains the vision it has developed and no longer needs this kind of stimulation.

Therefore, it boils down to Nicole’s eye development. As long as the squint diminishes, she can get rid of the patch.

If not, she will need to wear it till she is about 10 years old!

Oh well, the good thing is that the doc says that she has great eye sight and she does not need glasses!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

My 3 year old visits a eye doctor

I am now in the waiting room in one of the clinics at Gleneagles hospital, and typing away on my Blackberry.

Nicole is here to see the consultant regarding a squint in her eye. If left untreated, it could become a lazy eye!

Here are some facts that I discovered, as I was reading the literature in the waiting room.

A newborn cannot see as well as an adult.
Vision continues to improve over the 1st few years of life, reaching adult levels by 4 to 5 years of age.

For normal vision development, both eyes must be straight or aligned, and each eye must see a clear image all the time.

When an eye constantly sees a blurred image,the brain will "turn off" the eye. The visual system does not develop normally, and the eye will become lazy or amblyopic.

Amblyopic is therefore poor vision in an eye that does not develop normal sight during early childhood. It is sometimes called a "lazy eye"

Ok, get ready for part 2, as we are going to see the doctor soon!

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Nathan the Page Boy

Nicole has had 4 opportunities to be a flower girl, and she has enjoyed every occasion!

Nathan is going to have an opportunity to be a "Page Boy" soon, and we are eagerly anticipating this milestone in his life.

Just recently, we went down to "Tangs" in Orchard Road, and we got him to try out some of the suits.

Auntie Weng was so proud of him, that after she dressed him up in his little suit, she made him parade around the mall for us.

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He was so adorable that I took out my camera and started cam-whoring as well!

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Daddy's heart is gushing with pride, so I did not use Photoscape on any of the photos...

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We liked the suit so much, that we bought it immediately in preparation for the wedding in March.

If you are looking for "Page Boys" and "Flower Girls", the kids are available :)

Btw, It is official - Ps. Kong Hee is on Twitter. If you want to catch up with live updates on his life, Sign up for twitter today!

konghee

What's more - He personally replies tweets sent to him. Ask Delphine, She got a personal reply from Ps on facebook! 

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Cheap Italian food

If u are really looking for great spaghetti at affordable prices, head on down to the market at Old Airport Road.

Located at the furthest row from the main road (#01-35), Modern Italian food serves great pasta in a hawker center.

Managed by 2 locals, our family has frequented this store, as it serves better spaghetti than a lot of restaurants we know.

At $5/pasta, it might be a good idea to buy some back for your valentine's dinner, and tell your husband/wife that u cooked it!

We found it one day as my wife walked past the store, and realized that it has been featured in the papers before. With the endorsement of 'The Straits Times', we decided to give it a try, and we have had NO REGRETS!

I am typing this as I am waiting for the food, it looks like my food is nearly ready.

Hope u guys like this place, as much as me!

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Daddy, I can see my…

My little girl has been making me laugh again!

This post is classified R(A)

As we drive the kids home from our everyday excursions, we will test them on the their sense of direction.

As Nicole is the only one who can talk at the moment, we will ask her, “Nicole, are we near our house yet?”

She will reply “Yes” or “No”

To really help her find her way, we will teach her to look for landmarks along the way.

She is supposed to look out for things like the McDonalds at the traffic junction, and recognise the colour of the nearby flats.

Reaching our rented place, I asked Nicole, “Are we home yet?”

My 3 year old replied, “Yes Daddy!”

Out of Curiosity, I asked her, “Nicole, How do you this is your house?’

She replied…

“I can see my panties hanging by the window!”

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The whole car laughed…Nerd

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Praying in the morning

Prayer week has started in City harvest, and we are having meetings over the whole week.

Morning prayer starts at 630am and the centres have been packed.

Took this photo from Heart of God at Paya Lebar and it is standing room only.

Evening prayer has also seen rooms that are packed! Yesterday, we had to up 4 more additional rooms to accomodate the crowd. Looks like we are having a prayer revival in CHC!

If u have not gone for a meeting, do join us tommorrow. U won't regret it!

Ed from his Blackberry

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Latest craze - Twitter

Get Twitter - the latest social networking application.

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

In other words – It is like a SMS of 140 words, that you can send out to all your friends at just the click of a button.

The Straits Times just reported about it last week, and this form of micro-blogging is the latest rage on the internet.

A lot of my colleagues are on it, so it is a great fuss-free way to catch up with each other’s lives.

U can also get updates from me by following me (ED UNLOADED) by clicking here!

twitter

For those of you who want to access twitter just like MSN from your desktop – download this application.

If you have a blackberry like myself, you can download this application called Twitterberry from your BB.

Visit http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/ on your BlackBerry

Follow the instructions provided, and you are ready to send and receive updates via your blackberry.

In the United States, updates can be sent via SMS. However, this service is currently not available in Singapore yet.

twitter 2

So, What are you waiting for?

Come and join the revolution and start FOLLOWING ME!!!

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Monday, February 9, 2009

Bubble Birthday for a 2 year old

Today we had a Big Bubble Birthday Bash for Nathan... our little boy is now two!! It was a wonderful time with all his friends and family. Check out our photo journal:

The invites on bubble bottles

highInvite 2Invite

The food - Frankly, Mc Donald's works every time!

My daughter seems to think that a party, is not a good party, until you have Mc Donald's!

loving it

Games Time

Games

Then it RAINED!! So we did a ultra quick move to the Function Room. Over there, it was rest and makan time. Then came Cake Cutting.

We wanna thank Patty Tan who baked us this lovely cake and Edmund Tan who generously provided the props! The cake was delicious!

We recommend her as a baker who provides good affordable cakes & pastries, and you can order these yummies and pick up from her shop near Vivo City.

highDSC_0106cake

The whole party was really tiring, as we had to run and jump along with the kids, but it was worth it when we saw Nathan enjoying himself.

We also want to thank all the mummies, daddies and kids for coming to the party! You made it so fun! Also to our ever supporting family--You are the BEST!

friends

friends 2

Finally, special thanks to Uncle Raj who provided the Bubble Machine. It was a BLAST with the kids! And to all our helpers-Amber, Bear, David, Delphine, Kailin, Richard, Santhi, Xiao Shi and Yan Ming...you all really made a difference. Thank you for your love for our family!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Tower Club – Panoramic Views

During the Chinese New Year Holiday, I was invited for lunch at the Tower Club.

tower club

Located at the 64th floor of the Republic Plaza, this private club is a premier business club for the elite in Singapore.

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The club is only open to members and It was truly a rare excursion for me. Many Thanks to Stan and Abi for inviting me and my wife.

tower collage

As the building was built next to Raffles Place MRT, we managed to get a really panoramic view of the city, as we dined in the restaurant.

It was really high, and the Singapore Flyer looked like a tiny wheel in the distance.

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This is definitely a “chill out” place for the rich and famous…and it was nice…experiencing the ‘air’ up there.

Hopefully, I can get to come back here more often !Open-mouthed

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Sunday, February 1, 2009

Toyota Wish – Children’s Cup Holder

Recently, I was reminded how things change when you become a parent.

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This is a picture of the dashboard of my Toyota Wish.

I am used to driving my car and having my favourite can of Coke Light or Red Bull in the Cup Holder. In fact, the cup holder found in the lower half of the picture, is the resting place for all my beverages.

Things have been like that since I got my 1st car…

However…

Nicole loves to sit in front!

Whenever I pick her up from school, she is always asking to sit in front.

Being the nice father that I am :), she gets to come to the front…however there are consequences to that decision!

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I have lost all controlling interest of my cup holder!

Now…My cup holder is occupied by a PINK DORA WATER BOTTLE!!!

My coke bottle has been relegated to the back seat and DORA seems to have won the day!

First…You change your car…now you lose the essentials :)

To all Male Drivers – BE PREPARED!!!

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