Mervyn Hoe: My Daily Happenings

That is... MacRitchie Reservoir. This is really a superb place. Still can remember my secondary school, I go there just for cross country run, and managed to get a pen every year as I emerge the top 50 runners. And that place didn't change much in terms of nature. The human aspect has changed as they have included more carparks, restaurants, water features and play grounds for visitors. Look at the scenic view and there are so few people present there. Really so amazed by this place. The place is so windy that I can let my (spikey) hair down! The reservoir has no visible fishes though. Probably it was sunny and the fishes went to hide. However, it doesn't matter. The trees, rustling of the leaves, the sound of the waters just calm your soul. People should come here often to be with the nature, and realize that nature is just so beautiful. 3 girls enjoying the breeze. Kate loves to eat her nuts and she really enjoys herself. When you se...

Yes! Recently we made Josh's performance props. And we were one day late in the submission for it! Oops. And we made use of cardboards. Didn't know they are so useful for art and craft. Josh chose purple for the colour of the snake. And for the patterns on the snake, we asked him whether he prefer dots or stripes. He chose tripes and began to draw stripes on the purple snake! We added some stripes at the corners of the snake to make it nicer. And he pasted the eyes, which was originally meant for the Lego toys. Nice art piece right? T for tree. And I'm so amazed that Josh is able to colour well for the leaves. And for the tree trunk, he chose a mixture of light brown and pink. And he drew the smile on the tree too! So proud of him. The eyes are a little out of place, but it's ok. It's a child's art, isn't it. I'm really amazed that both my children love painting so much. Kate coloured this special dark apple. And it...

It's really amazing whenever I get to see photos of my three children. 5 years ago, it's only the two of us. And now these 3 additional children are god-send and we are blessed by them too.  Recently, we called our father-in-law to take some pictures of Gwen, as she has turned three months old. And the older children are also part of the photo taking too! These photographs are taken on our house sofa. DSLR cameras always have the special touch for the pictures. I will really need to spend time to learn! Josh, Kate and Gwen all are different individuals, with their features all partially copied from us, the parents. That made them look different too! It's really a wonder how the genes can just mix and match. Oh. I love this father and daughter picture. Gwen happens to grin when the photo is taken. I didn't know that she's so cute in this picture! Totally feel that children are gifts which money can't buy or replace....

Honestly I find that in the hustle and bustle in our lives, we ought to just spend quality time and meals with our loved ones. Today, we went to a nearby place to munch at Ichiban Boshi. It's fun and we get to have some time with each other. Meals doesn't need to be that expensive. And we just need to remove our gadgets and phones and just have a simple meal together. Other things can just wait and you will realize that it's enjoyable to just eat and the food is delicious. It's the company that makes the food extra delicious!  Eve likes to buy this cod fish set, having the sauces separated as she prefer the original taste of the food. The sauces tend to make the food salty and masks the original taste of the food. Hence, next time if you want to order, maybe you can try this method. We really love the mint leaf at the salmon plate. So yummy and super fresh! I didn't manage to take a picture of the food plate that I ordered. It's s...

Well, today we had an impromptu trip to the zoo and luckily, there wasn't much people there today. I'm really very happy that all of us enjoyed the short trip today! Josh and Kate observing the complex train tracks! As it is a public holiday, we had to purchase our own tram rides. Adult is $5, and child above 3 is $3. It's worth it as we needed some mode of transport around the zoo. And the three of us love tram rides! We bought tram tickets. Even though we are Friends of the Zoo, public holidays do not apply for free tram rides. We managed to get a staff to help us take this picture at the crocodile station. I'm quite surprised that there are 3 crocodiles spotted today. I always thought that there are 2 crocodiles. A group picture at the crocodile area. This is a group picture of us on the tram. We can actually sit for 2-3 rounds, just to rest our legs! Ha. Tram! Our favourite mode of transport there! At the Frozen Tundra, we manage...

Yes, this must be balanced. And EVERYDAY, it's different for all of my family members. All these are possible with Eve's planning of meals as well as the activities we do with our children. Meal planning We have downloaded an app that enables us to plan out the rough meals we can prepare for our children and for ourselves. The image is just a sample. It's half done though. Eating out is the last resort if I am unable to cook at all, or somehow we are unable to prepare the dinner that day. We prepare simple dishes such as this. Asparagus with some portobello mushrooms and prawns. I love to dice and throw everything into one dish, makes things so easy. Steam fish is my children's favorite as well as ours! And it's so easy to prepare! Wash the fish. Place some slices of ginger, cherry tomatoes and add some soy sauce as seasoning. Steam it for 8-9 minutes! Healthy, economical and delicious! We love to prepare meals for ourselv...

We really love visits to Botanic Gardens as they make us feel really calm and relaxed. And the best of all, there aren't much people there. And sad to say that Singaporeans seem to be the minority present at Botanic Gardens. We have passed by lots of tourists, Caucasians residing here and domestic helpers strolling the dogs. Simply don't feel like we are In Singapore at all. We went there during Gwen's third month birthday and we saw people planting this plant. These bird of paradise are really beautiful and the earthworms in Botanic Gardens are HUGE. Can't believe it. Think the birds should just come here to eat them, rather than to live near the coffeeshops and eat left overs (so unhealthy). These greeneries really make us feel very happy. We passed by a Heritage tree and I tell you, it's such a huge and special tree, and it even has a camera! How cool is that! Tembusu tree has such strong branches! Really sturdy. Ha. It's actually ...

Our children's version of MBS! How creative right? With the use of Legos, they constructed the three towers, together with my father-in-law. The funny thing is that they placed toilet feature at the top level, together with the shower! Josh remembered that there was a shower area at the swimming pool. The people standing at the ledge are so 'real', viewing the nice scenery at the level 56! I wonder whether this year, will we be going there for another staycation. It's quite enjoyable last year, and all of us loved it. Lego is a great way for stimulating children's as well as adult's minds. Make you imagine and create the imagery from your head to actual model. Of course it can't be that real and fantastic, but we had great joy playing this last night! These Legos are called Duploy, larger version from the normal ones.  Well, MBS is iconic in Singapore as well as iconic to Josh's heart. Whenever we are outside, he will exclaim with ex...

Yes. This is my ever first post on an old, yet awesome TV serial, The Unbeatables 双天至尊. The story line is exciting and I just feel that there are so many good actor and actresses around. Totally amazed by their acting skills, their screenplay with the cards and dices as well as how each episode managed to attract you to go to the next episode! Zoe Tay and Li Nanxing were able to act out so well in both the characters and really hats off to them. Black horses I want to mention some of the actors who did such great job but probably were not edified enough. They are Cassandra See, Hong Hui Fang and Zhu Hou Ren. Cassandra See is natural in her role and funny too! I wonder why she has stopped her acting. Great talent. I still remember she had some other TV serials which are comedy related, however I forget the names. In this TV serial, her greed for money and fame, slowly led her into the gambling world of casinos and she became the CEO of the casino! I feel she did an even better...