Our boy loves Maths. Every night, I ask him to complete one page of addition from his Kumon workbook.

He completed this page within five minutes, and he said, “I’m super clever!” He gave himself five stars!

I’m just glad that he loves Maths, just like ME!

Project 365: My Daily Photo Journal. Shot using my iPhone Instagram Apps.

Honestly, prior to this invitation, I’ve been thinking of doing a professional family photo shoot since early this year. However, Little Edison has not been very cooperative lately, especially when it comes to taking pictures of him. He will hide his face whenever we say, “Boy, say cheese!”

That is why the plan was brushed under the carpet until recently.

Joshua Sim is a young and talented photographer with an amazing eye for photo opportunities. It was like he knew instinctively what settings and angles would make the perfect photographs. He made everyone of us feel at ease during the photo shoot, and he’s able to capture excellent shots of our boy who can never stay still. I just don’t know how he did it.

The photo shoot was done at Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden – one of our favourite family hang-out. I truly admire Joshua’s dedication, professionalism and attention to details throughout the process. He arrived half an hour earlier to scout for locations for our shoots. So, the moment we arrived, we knew where to start off.

The photo shoot was a smashing success. The weather was awesome. Our pictures are gorgeous and full of life.

A picture paints a thousand words, just take a look at these pictures and you’ll get what I mean.

That’s our family! From left: my FIL, my BIL – Kenneth (who is also Little Edison’s Godpa), Little Edison, me, my MIL and V.

No words could adequately capture the love between generations, especially between grandparents and their grandchildren, and these pictures capture it all. These pictures of my parents-in-law holding Little Edison’s hand are so heartwarming!

And this picture shows two handsome young man (my brother-in-law, Kenneth and V) standing with their proud mother! She is still looking great and youthful in her 60’s.

These pictures capture our son’s personality so perfectly – active, enthusiastic, positive and sociable.

Last but not least, these pictures make me realize that black and white photography can be far more striking than conventional colour photography when it is shot by an experienced photographer.

We truly enjoyed our outdoor photo shoot experience. Again, a big THANK YOU to Joshua for spending the afternoon with us. My next project is to make a photobook with all these fantastic pictures!

The Beautiful Moment Photography

Website: http://www.the-beautiful-moment.com/

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/thebeautifulmoment

Well, the good news is – TWO issues that have been bugging me for the past few weeks have been resolved now. Yay! First, it’s about finding a Chinese Enrichment class for Little Edison, which I’ll be sharing in this post. Second, it’s about the search for our part-time helper. I’ll blog about it when I have time.

Learning Materials from Hua Language Centre

I read a lot of reviews on the various Chinese Enrichment schools in Singapore, and I’ve also gathered some feedbacks from my friends. After some discussions with V, we narrowed our options down to THREE. These are the 3 schools that we’ve shortlisted:

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Hua Language Centre (at Greenwich)

• Course fees per term: $380, Material fees per term: $20 [Total: $400]
• Duration: 2 hours per session, 10 sessions per term

This is the most expensive school among the three. Hua Language Centre has recently opened a new branch in Greenwich V. At this point, I don’t see a lot of students yet. In general, the school is highly- recognized as an effective Chinese Language enrichment program with good track record in PSLE Chinese results for the past 15 years. I have no doubt in their teaching method.

We wanted a Sunday morning class, and fortunately, there are still vacancies available. The language is taught through a special reading program, games, sing-along, story-telling and oral activities. He will be trained to recognize Chinese strokes, their variations and the order in which they are written.

We paid $38 for a trial class. After the two-hour lesson (which I think is quite long), our boy walked out of the classroom in a daze. Maybe he was confused or over-loaded with too many Chinese words. I spoke to the teacher and she commented that our boy didn’t pay much attention in the class and his proficiency in Chinese Language is still very limited.

When she found out that we never speak Chinese at home, she began to understand his lack of interest in the language. Nonetheless, it’s still not too late to enroll him and she believes that he’ll be able to catch up after a few lessons.

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Berries (at Hougang Central)

• Course fees per term: $385.20, Material fees per term: $5.85 [Total: $391.05]
• Duration: 1hr 45 mins per session, 12 sessions per term

Berries is indeed the most popular Chinese Enrichment school in Singapore. The weekend classes are all fully-booked. The only available timing is weekday 5:00pm, which is not favorable for us. Our boy usually naps at 4:30pm and I can imagine his grumpy face when he has to wake up at 4:45pm to go to school.

Furthermore, I don’t wish to add additional responsibility to my parents-in-law to fetch him to and from enrichment class on weekday. We were placed on their waiting list for Sunday class, but I don’t expect to get any miracle call from them.

…..

Tien Hsia (at Kovan Heartland Mall)

• Course fees per term: $290, Material fees per term: $0 [Total: $290]
• Duration: 1.5 hours per session, 10 sessions per term

This is another highly-rated Chinese Enrichment school. They have very limited vacancies for weekend classes now, and we were offered a Sunday afternoon slot as well as a free trial class. The duration of each session is 1.5 hours, which I think is most ideal.

After the trial class, I spoke to the teacher. This time, I was not surprised when she told me that our boy was not paying attention in the class and his complete lack of interest in the language. What really puzzles me is that our boy refused to attend the class anymore.

Personally, I dislike the environment in this branch. The lift leading up to the school stinks because of the durian stalls in the street level. The corridor and waiting area outside the school are crowded and chaotic when the classes dismiss, and the toilets are dirty.

The pro of this school, however, is that it doesn’t require any deposit, registration or material fee. It’s the cheapest among the three, and their trial class is free too!

…..

Conclusion

Our aim is to provide Little Edison with more exposure to Chinese Language so that he will cultivate interest in it. We enrolled him at Hua Language Centre. If any case, if we’re so lucky to get a miracle call from Berries, we will still be able to switch from Hua to Berries (if we want to).

Now, we have English Phonics class on Saturday and Chinese Enrichment class on Sunday. It’s going to be FUN! What’s next?!

There are three main product lines here – Women Collection, Women Casual and edc by Esprit. I focused on the first two collections, which I think is more suitable for my age.

In my opinion, all the collections in Women Collection are perfect for work in an office environment, with elegant details, and at affordable prices. There is also a spectacular array of blouses, tops, pants, denims and shorts for weekend casual outings in Women Casual.

The first item that caught my eye is this wrap-over effect jersey dress in green. The material is soft and it provides great comfort and maximum freedom of movement. After I tried it on, I felt that maybe green doesn’t look good on me. If I wear this to work, my colleagues will start speculating that I’m expecting my #2.

Next, I tried on a belted black dress. This piece looks simple off the shelf, but when I put it on, I love it so much for its femininely fitted cut and a leather-look belt. Perfect for work or attending business lunch. In this picture, I was wearing a size “M” so it looks slightly loose at the sides. Then, I tried on an “S” and it looks so much fitter.

The next item that I picked is the beige business trousers paired with an all-over print stretch top. I seldom buy pants from international brands because most of the time, I need to send them for alteration as they are always too long for me. However, this piece caught me by surprise. I was wearing a size 32 (UK size 6) and it fits me perfectly! No alteration is needed at all!

This top has a loose, figure-skimming cut with an elasticated gathered waistband. I like the striking cut-away shoulders and retro print design. If you like this design, you can also try out the dress. And it’s exceptionally comfortable too!

I also tried the slim fit ¾ pants in stretch cotton. It is made of dense fabric with a soft handle and stretch for maximum comfort. White is always my favourite colour as I can pair it easily with any tops.

I also tried out on the denim. In this picture, I’m wearing a low-rise, extra slim leg ¾ cotton denim. It’s robust with a soft stretch and a gentle washed-out effect. This denim is extremely comfortable as it is made of 99% cotton.

Esprit also has a fantastic collection of shoes. I like their trendy wedges so much. My personal favourite is the denim wedges with a platform of approx. 3cm (top left in the picture). It is made of dark denim with a comfortable, genuine leather insole. The open-toe flat strappy sandals (bottom in the picture) is the perfect choice for weekend outing – especially if you’re going out with the kids or going on a long shopping trip.

If I had to choose a favourite among all the collections that I’ve tried on, I’d say that the cotton denim ¾ pants is my favourite. But the beige business trousers and the retro print top looked great too. And the black belted dress. Tough call.

At the end, both of us picked three sets of outfits each. These are all the collections that we brought home, and we were extremely satisfied with our shopping spree.

A big THANK YOU to ESPRIT for sponsoring our shopping spree. We also like to thank Pei Ling, our stylist, and Shumin for this extraordinary shopping experience at ESPRIT. We truly enjoyed ourselves!

I’m sure all of you knows Esprit. It is an international youthful lifestyle brand offering smart, affordable luxury and bringing style to life, with product lines encompassing women’s wear, men’s wear, kid’s wear, edc youth as well as shoes and accessories.

Our shopping spree took place at Esprit Liat Towers. This flagship store has 12,000 sq ft of store space that is spread over two storeys. It’s our first visit to this store, and we were amazed with the extensive collection of the brand’s various lines, which include Women Collection, Women Casual, Men Casual, edc by Esprit, Accessories and Esprit Kids.

When it comes to children’s wear, I like bright colours, practical designs, comfortable and durable materials. Now, I have them all here at Esprit Kids! I chose a few items and outfits that caught my eye, and I got our boy to test them out. So, here they are!

This is my favourite outfit among all – green checked cotton Bermuda shorts with elastic waist, paired with a white cotton printed T-shirt and a blue cotton zip hoodie.

Coming up next is the tight straight leg bleached jeans, paired with a blue printed T-shirt and a dark blue jacket in soft denim for a more rugged look. Little Edison loves this one too!

He also tried on the blue cotton Bermuda shorts, yellow printed T-shirt and a red 68 cap. I can’t tell you how much he adores this red cap, because it makes him looks like “Little Bill” – his favourite cartoon character!

The blue Bermuda shorts proved to be a perfect match for this grey printed T-shirt too! All the Bermuda shorts come with elastic waist, so we can adjust accordingly as our kids grow and for maximum comfort.

After this shot, our boy started to lose patience with the numerous changing of outfits. So, I let him take a break while I took the pictures of the remaining designs that I’ve chosen. These are all my selections.

They are all so beautiful! Deciding which ones to pick is so difficult because I want them ALL!

Now, which outfit do you think looks best on Little Edison?

In my next post, I’ll share with you their women’s collections and you’ll see me modeling them. For the first time. So, please stay tuned!