Bub & Me: Bring Your Kids to Work Day! @ Mummy's Office!

On Wednesday Lil Pumpkin followed me to the office for the day. An unofficial "Bring Your Kids to Work Day" of sorts since my organisation doesn't have the culture of hosting such an event. However, thankfully I've an amazing boss who is a family man and values work-life balance, and understands when we have to bring the kids to work sometimes.

This is the first time I've had Lil Pumpkin at work for almost the whole day actually, although she has been to my office a number of times before, and her preschool was actually located at another end of my workplace.

It's the school holidays now in Singapore so Lil Pumpkin doesn't have any classes in her primary school, although she still has her enrichment classes for Maths {see Comparison of Popular Maths Enrichment Classes}, Chinese, gymnastics and CrossFit. When she was younger, my mum used to help take care of her during the hols but now that she's older and easier to care for, Lil Pumpkin follows the boy to the clinic {she's a "Vet for a Day", everyday!! haha} and wherever he goes while I'm at work. It's more convenient since the boy doesn't have to make trips to so many different places and her enrichment classes are near his clinic. 

She still goes to my mum's place once in a while though, especially if her cousins are there :)

Wanted to give the boy a break to go for a back massage after his morning shift as he sprained it during aerial yoga {the teacher was too hardcore..} so he dropped Lil Pumpkin and me at the office in the morning.

Lil Pumpkin made good use of my "makeshift bed" {aka thick exercise mat} hehe and actually slept most of the morning away until lunch-time. When she woke up, we went for a sumptuous Western grill lunch and I was pretty surprised that she finished most of her steak!! 

Ever since she was a baby... I always loved seeing her eat well and full hehe.

Brought her around a bit and it's nice showing her snippets of what I do, who I work with and why Mummy is away most of the day. It's always hard shaking off the working mum's guilt and nothing much has changed ever since I wrote "What's A FTWM's Worth?" 2 years ago.

Every other day I feel guilty about not spending enough time with Lil Pumpkin, every other day I worry that I'm missing out on her childhood milestones.. But yet every other day I feel at peace with my choice and am grateful to be able to share hubby's burden, help with the household finances, give Lil Pumpkin some luxuries in life, show her that women can succeed professionally, and also have a little "me-time" with stimulating adult conversations.

I always think that I have a rather uninteresting office job but nonetheless, I'm really happy to have shared my day with Lil Pumpkin. She was a really good girl in not disturbing me when I had to concentrate at work by doing her holiday homework, reading and working on her latest craze - crossword puzzles & word searches haha.

Thank you for keeping Mummy company at work that day, my darling! I hope to have more of such days with you again soon ♥

Do you bring your kids to work?

How does it benefit you and your kids?

Tweet

Home Living | 3M Post-It Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface

I first saw the 3M Post-it Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface in stores a few months ago and thought they were pretty cool.

All you needed to do was to just peel and stick, and you can transform any ordinary surface into “instant whiteboards”. No extra tools needed and no worries about destroying walls!

Using a proprietary dry erase coating so that it erases cleanly every time from whiteboard markers, the Post-it Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface is a rolled, self-stick film product that easily adheres to horizontal or vertical surfaces, converting them into a pristine, dry erase board.

You can apply them to painted walls, steel, finished wood, glass and even existing chalkboards. Unlike some cheaper versions, the stain-proof writing surface makes it easy to write and erase smoothly, and is less susceptible to scratching or marker stains.

I like that it can easily cut-to-size to create customized whiteboards or fun doodling surfaces. Think about the possibilities!! If you ever thought of getting one of those hipster blackboard walls for your kids to unleash their creativity at home but cringed at the thought of painting a whole wall black and cleaning up the chalk-dust {I sure did haha}, you should really consider getting the 3M Post-it Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface.

You can cover a whole wall with it, or even tables and chairs, and let your kids draw freely to inspire and encourage a nature of creativity or even do school work on. If after some time you feel like redecorating, you just have to peel it off and reuse it somewhere else. No need to repaint any walls at all!

Personally, we've peeled if off a few times to adjust / realign the surfaces and our walls seem fine. We've been using 3M tapes for years and I usually find that they do not damage my walls but do note that results may vary for you, depending on the type of walls you have as well.

At home, we use it in our mini gym {yes we have one.. used to be Lil Pumpkin's kiddy room haha. More on that later!! You can read about our basic equipment from Primero Fitness first} for the boy to write out his WODs and fitness goals.

Why write down fitness goals? Well, if you have a set clear, written goals for the future, you will make specific plans to transform your dreams into realities :) It's highly motivating and all committed athletes do it.

With them clearly out on the Post-it Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface, it's highly visible and motivating!

Since it’s flat and doesn’t jut out to take out any extra space like a traditional whiteboard, we don’t have to worry about hitting it with any of our bars or gym equipment when lifting weights too.

I think children get a reaaaaaaal real kick out of writing/ drawing on walls haha and Lil Pumpkin does like to use it to doodle and practice her spelling or maths sums too.

It doesn’t come with any accessory holder for the markers and whiteboard eraser, but no biggie - you can buy it separately. I do hope that they come out with a magnetic version soon though so that we can also stick notes and messages on it too.

3M Post-it Super Sticky Dry Erase Surface {60.9cm x 91.4cm} retails at S$55.95 {w/ GST} and is available in selected Popular and leading bookstores.

Promo: 15% OFF retail price in Popular and selected Self-fix outlets for the entire month of April 2017.

 *Disclosure: This is a review for 3M Singapore. All opinions are my own.

Tweet

Bub & Me: Vet for A Day @ Clinic For Pets

Quite some time back Lil Pumpkin attended the 'Doctor for a Day' programme at Mount Elizabeth Novena where children can get a taste of what it's like to be a doctor. It was about an hour's program and she went around tending to patients and responding to various make-believe medical scenarios in the hospital.

I thought it was a very good experience made even more real with the white doctor coat she was wearing so when I saw a Vet costume on sale at ELC, I couldn't help but get the set for her to wear when she goes to her daddy's vet clinic to have her own fun "Vet for A Day" experiences haha.

In case you didn't already know, my mother-in-law is a vet too and Clinic for Pets, the vet clinic that the boy works at is a family business. My mother-in-law opened it in 1980 and its been around for almost as long as the boy.. 36 years!!

Ever since he was a small boy, the boy has been helping out in the clinic too and that's where he first got his inspiration to be a vet. Keeping up with tradition and also out of necessity sometimes due to our busy schedules, the boy has also been bringing Lil Pumpkin to work and she's at the clinic once a week. 

When he has time, the boy will teach Lil Pumpkin about the animals and even give her hands-on experiences in helping him check the animals and preparing for the surgeries. She loves this special time she has with her daddy and has told us on a few occasions that she'd want to be a vet when she grows up too. Of course on these occasions, we took the opportunity to tell her that she would have to study very, very hard then and make sure she performs academically :P

Personally, I think it's wonderful if she can carry on this family business but even if she doesn't, I still like that she's learning how to care for and be kind to animals from her daddy. Nowadays, we often hear many stories about animal abuse and abandonment.. if we can raise one little human being to prevent this and spread the word about loving the animals properly, it would not be one too many.

Bringing Lil Pumpkin to work is beneficial to her in so many ways. She gets to see first-hand the ups and downs of her daddy's job {being a vet doesn't mean just playing with animals - sometimes they have to clean poo & vomit too!}, his responsibilities and learn the value of hard work and persistence. Yup, she understands that money doesn't drop from trees haha.

Lil Pumpkin also gets to build her confidence and communicate with people from all kinds of backgrounds as she sits in her daddy's consultations and hangs out the clinic staff & neighbouring shopkeepers {if the clinic gets too busy my MIL will bring her out to eat and play}. When she gets assigned small, tasks like folding towels, walking the animals or packing the medicine, it exposes her to new way of working, thinking and moving.

For the boy, having Lil Pumpkin in the clinic also motivates him to work harder and set a good example so it really is a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, I can't bring Lil Pumpkin to work with me as we don't have that culture in my organisation but she has been to my office more than a few times in the past when the boy sent / dropped me off at work. I've actually suggested to our HR to have "Bring Our Kids to Work Days" but so far, they haven't given it the green light yet haha.

Do you bring your kids to work?

How does it benefit you and your kids?

Tweet

Glitter Glam Fashion Models for the Day! ✿

If you're a long time blog reader or follower on my other social media sites {Facebook, Instagram etc.}, Glitter Glam shop needs no introduction from me. Ever since early last year, Lil Pumpkin and I have been big fans of this local brand and have been wearing their collection of matchy-matchy mother-daughter clothes.

I don't like their clothes just because the clothes are matchy-matchy {they have non matchy-matchy ladies wear too by the way}. I like them also because they are very well-made and use good quality materials that last a long time through many washes, parties, events and rough play.

We are still wearing our first few dresses, even up to now!! Although they are kinda short on Lil Pumpkin now hahaha...

For those that are new to the blog, Glitter Glam is a home-grown Singaporean brand that was started in 2007 by the mompreneur, Mary. As a working mother herself {and also one of the nicest brand owners I know}, she creates clothes with strong character, excellent fit and great comfort not just for successful career women, but also for mummies who, let's face it, have one of the toughest jobs in the world, and deserve to celebrate their hard work in style. Remember, there's still Me in Motherhood and no shame in dressing well for yourself!

Mary Had A Little Lamb is basically a mini-sized version of Glitter Glam collection... because what's good enough for mummy, is good enough for our little girls. The spin-off line is meant to celebrate motherhood and the extraordinary connection between Glitter Glam's female clients and their children.

On and off, they have small collections for boys too so mums with sons can look out for that. I think they have a capsule collection coming up early next year for the whole family. Yes, including pieces for dads too (★^O^★) 

Anyway, back to how we came to be their models for the day...

America's Next Top Model is one of my fave TV shows #nojudgementplease and Lil Pumpkin watches it with me. Maybe she was influenced by it, or maybe she misses doing "fashion shoots" with me {sorry, no time!!} but one day she suddenly asked me if she could "be a model and have her photos up in the shops".

I was pretty surprised since she never makes requests like that. She shows interest in some things e.g. singing, dance, drama etc. but she would not usually ask to specifically attend classes or pursue those interests. Usually, we as her parents would notice what she is keen on, ask her if she'd like to do more of it, and then she will tell us yes or no. 

But since she requested so explicitly this time, well, Mummy has to try and help her make her wish come true, right??

Truth is, Mary and I have discussed about shooting a campaign for one of her collections some time back. It's just that I've been reeeeeeaaaaally busy due to work, my fitness training, family commitments etc. and not able to make any of her shoot dates.

It's good that things have started to wind down for me the past 2 months. I broached the subject again to her and since Christmas / New Year was coming up soon, she asked us to model for that collection. Sweet!

Mary and her team at Glitter Glam x Mary Had A Little Lamb did all the arrangments - booking the studio, photographer, make-up artist... even arranging for the clothes to be sent to our home for fitting and collecting them back to iron/ prep for the photoshoot.

All we had to do was to turn up for the shoot on a Saturday morning early this month (●´∀｀●)

Before that I'd told Lil Pumpkin that we were going to be models for a day and do a fashion shoot for Glitter Glam x Mary Had A Little Lamb. She was soooo thrilled and couldn't wait for the shoot day to arrive!

I'd to preempt her as well that the photo-shoot will take around 3-4 hours and she will have to change clothes & pose many, many times to take many, many shots. Maybe she was too excited to care but she gamely said, "no problem Mummy!"

I had my doubts though as knowing her, she will get bored and distracted after 1-2 hours max. Which I guess is pretty acceptable for young kids.

If I take her shots for "fashion shoots", I usually make sure that we keep within the hour and do it chop chop kali pok. Because after her patience and enthusiasm runs out, even if she does stand still and let you take her photos, it will all show on her stunned-like-vegetable-stop-taking-my-photos-when-will-this-end face (≧∇≦)☆

On the photoshoot day, everything went pretty well actually! There were a few hiccups like the make-up artist arriving 1 hour late {!!} and Lil Pumpkin's energy running low after the first few outfits, but overall we managed to take shots for around 10 outfits each.

It was pretty fun and such an eye-opener. Modeling isn't all about just looking at the camera, smiling and posing.. you need to follow directions, think about your facial expressions, think about your hands and leg placements, move to show the outfits in the best angles etc. Of course, Lil Pumpkin and I aren't professionals and lacked the experience, but we tried our best to "work it" haha. Appreciated Mary and her team for making us feel so comfortable on set too.

Mary's little girl {she's Mary Had A Little Lamb's inspiration & brand model} came along to the shoot as well and although the last time they met was more than a year ago, Lil Pumpkin was overjoyed to see her again and the two of them chatted like old friends o (◡‿◡✿)

Both of them modeled and took some shots together. I love their natural, playful innocence!

All the outfit photos in this post were taken that day and goodness, thank you Glitter Glam x Mary Had A Little Lamb for taking such beautiful photographs of Lil Pumpkin and me!!

As the main photographer of our family, it's rare when I can just relax and let others do the work of composing and taking the shots while I stand in front of the lens. And that's why I love it when we have our family photo-shoots (*⌒∇⌒*)ﾉ

Thanks for all these lovely memories and the opportunity for us to be your models for the day, Mary. I thought it would be a good chance for Lil Pumpkin to appreciate how hard people work to earn their keep, and learn what goes on behind the scenes for a model too. After we went home that day, she told me she wanted to do it again haha... maybe next year darling.

Oh, our photos are all up now on on Glitter Glam's online shop so Lil Pumpkin did have her wish fulfilled too heh. Please pop by to support her, see the rest of our shots or purchase any outfits you like in this post, although some will only be released in a month or so. You can also buy in their physical boutique at Harbourfront or counter in any Isetan stores.

If you sign up to their mailing list, you'll get S$10 off your first purchase immediately. Follow Glitter Glam on Facebook and Instagram for information on new releases and giveaways too!

More Glitter Glam and Mary Had A Little Lamb posts below: 

How to Work the Matchy-matchy Mini-Me Fashion Trend

More Mother-Daughter Matchy-Matchy Dress Finds

Going Matchy-Matchy for the Festivities

Matching Cheongsams for Mums & Little Girls

 Happy 7th Marriage Anniversary

Our family photoshoots:

Indoor studio photoshoot with Essence Studios

Outdoor photoshoot at Marina Barrage

Outdoor photoshoot at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Outdoor photoshoot at Chinese Gardens

Outdoor photoshoot at East Coast Park beach {for a #SG50 book & exhibition}

Indoor fashion photoshoot with Glitter Glam

 Outdoor photoshoot at Gardens by the Bay {East}

P.S. If you like my motherhood stories and random musings, please vote for me at Her World Plus Social Media Awards here. Voting ends 15 Jan 2016 and you just have to do it once, not daily! Thank you!!

Tweet