“Can we reset, please?”

“Can we reset, please?”

It was a very frustrating afternoon. Nathan was eating his lunch exceptionally slow. He was fidgeting and distracted. It started with gentle reminders, then warnings, then threats, then screaming. He was obviously sad. I was obviously angry. We were both unhappy and I told him to just leave the table and go take a shower and go take a nap. I had quite enough.

I really dislike this kind of moments. I am always happy to have him come home so we can spend some time together, to learn, to explore or just to have conversations. Why must Nathan make it so difficult for both of us and totally spoil a peaceful afternoon together. It is just FOOD! 1 hr to finish a small bowl of noodle did not make any sense. All these thoughts were running through my mind as I cleared the dining table and oh my gosh, he even dropped noodle on the floor!

As Nathan left the table and walked down the short corridor to the bathroom, he suddenly stopped. He turned around and called out to me, “Mama, can we reset, please?” It was the softest puppy eyes you can imagine. I asked him what he meant. “I don’t like the feeling that you are not liking me and I am also not liking you. Can we reset?” Nathan said.

It broke me that moment. I stopped what I was doing, walked to Nathan and gave him a hug and said “yes”. We prayed together for God to forgive us. Nathan asked God to forgive him for being disobedient and making mama angry and “causing her to sin”. I prayed for God to help me to have more patience too.

As we concluded the prayer with a loud “Amen”, we looked at each other and gave each other a big big smile. It was so powerful. The atmosphere in the house changed. From anger, sadness, hatred to peace, love and joy.

The whole process did not take more than 5 min but it took someone a decision to want to make right, to want to RESET.

Meaning of Reset in the dictionary: (1) to set again or anew; (2) to change the reading of often to zero.

I am so glad Nathan decided to stop, to turn around, to come up to me, to speak up, so we can stop the breeding of negativity, bringing it to zero, and giving new life and new beginning to the relationship.

I recalled Pastor Trisha’s sharing on relationships at one of the AG convergence.

“A relationship-centered person fights for relationships. He or she will be willing to have courageous conversations to fight for the relationship to be restored in God’s love and wisdom.”

If you are in the midst of pain and sorrow because of a relationship so dear to you that is broken, will you take the first step- to stop, turn around, go to the person and say “Can we reset, please?”

-Mama Esther

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Mama Esther- @estherlaoshi

Papa Elvin- @elvinfoong

We published a book!

Why is Good Friday Good?

We published a book! Still find it surreal although it has been 2 months since the launch? Almost 800 books had gone out and we are so thankful to God for sending each of you supportive and encouraging ones. :)

This book is the brainchild of Mama Esther, who one day wondered aloud (this is perfectly normal behaviour in the Foong household, by the way): “Why are there so many children’s books about Christmas, but hardly any about Good Friday?” And once Nathan chimed in with his childlike exuberance: “And why do we call Good Friday, Good Friday?” we knew that we had stumbled onto a marvellous idea.

Why are there so many children’s books about Christmas, but hardly any about Good Friday?

And thus the wheels were set into motion for a children’s book about Good Friday that parents could read with and to their kids, and one that even adults would find imaginative and endearing.

So it was decided that Papa Elvin, the resident English major (more than 10 years on, I still have no idea why I majored in English and what good it would ever do for me) would write the story and Nathan, our 7-year old budding artist, would illustrate.

Papa Elvin and Nathan

While writing the story was a relatively simple affair, drawing and colouring the illustrations was a true labour of love from little Nathan. For a good 3 months, Mama Esther patiently coached Nathan as he drew page after page of beautiful pictures, based on his own understanding of what each passage meant to him.

The result is not just a series of incredible drawings, but an unique and wonderful look into a little boy’s mind and his personal interpretation of the Good Friday story. He surprised us many times with his fresh perspective of Biblical events, and his drawings reflect his simple but earnest desire to convey the message in a way that not only he, but other children can easily understand.

Of course, this being a family affair, Meimei Phoebe got to be involved too! We decided that she would help by drawing some of the motifs for the first page of the book - a letter template that people buying the book could use to pen their thoughts and wishes for the ones that they wanted to gift the book to!

The final product is the culmination of many hours of hard work and sleepless nights (not the kids, they got their 8 hours every night, please don’t arrest us). And it is our hope that as you flip through the pages of this book, you would not just enjoy the story or admire the illustrations - but you would feel and perceive our heart’s desire for you to experience the everlasting love of a Saviour who willingly gave His life for you, just to tell you that you mean everything to Him.

Thank you in advance for your support! If you like the book, please feel free to get a few more copies to bless your friends and loved ones with. Our goal is to get as many copies of the book out to as many people as possible - join us in making this dream an incredible reality!

With Love and Gratitude from all of us! :)

Dad's day out with the FeebZ!

Yes it's true... you read it right. After almost a year from the day we started this Facebook page...

Daddy Foong is finally posting something on the blog. (Can go buy TOTO liao. Win already don't forget to share with me.)

The FeebZ had a fieldtrip last week, and I got to go and hang with her, so I thought I'd share some thoughts on that with everyone, and hopefully this will also be a reminder to myself one day (or many days) of why we do what we do on this parenting journey.

On the bus!

We went to the Jurong BirdPark with her class, and I was firstly pretty relieved that I managed to take leave to go with her, because I think most of the other kids had at least one parent/guardian with them. I can't imagine how sad she would've been if she'd been the only one without mummy/daddy around!

As the day went on, I began to realise 2 things - firstly, just how much fun I was having just being with her. If I were to be honest, I was actually a bit apprehensive about the whole thing before I went (this is my first solo outing with the FeebZ, usually the wife does it or we go together). Was she going to be whiny and complainy? (It was a really warm day.) Was I going to be there just to make sure my daughter didn't go missing or get eaten up by vultures? (I wasn't and she didn't, thank God.)

But she didn't whine, she didn't complain. In fact, she was incredibly happy. Much more so than I had ever really seen her before. And that was the second thing I realised, which made me understand why I was having so much fun:

She loved having me there with her. She loved being able to hold my hand and bring me around. She loved being able to point things out to me as she observed them happening. She loved introducing me to her teachers and friends. She loved that Papa was willing to do silly things to make her and her friends laugh.

She was so incredibly happy because Papa took leave from his work to be there with her. And ultimately, that's all that really mattered to her. 

And I suppose that, in the end, just being able to spend those fleeting moments with her is all that really matters to me too.

Waiting for the Birds of Prey show to start! (She was terrified of the fake dead cow in the field lol)

RAWR I'M A LION (eh wait wrong place leh)

Photo op with her centre's principal, Ms May (who is AWESOME, btw... I mean, if you can make a living out of being with seventy preschoolers everyday, you've got to be a saint of some sort. Or deaf.)

I owe Ms May $2 for this photo cos she helped me pay first. I better remember to return her the money.

Hooked on books? Visit Hook On Books!

Have you been to a place that stirs up those buried interest, passion and dreams and you leave the place feeling so happy and alive? 

The Foong Family visited 童言童语 (Hook On Books) a few weeks back and it is one of those places. It was especially so for Mama Esther (me!) who used to be a Chinese Teacher.

Personally, I find Chinese Language a very beautiful and Creative language. Think about it, which language's written characters were originated from how the object or scenario looks like? And how a portion of the character can tell you its material or the pronounciation? Just the word "carry" can be expressed in different degree in Chinese: 拿、提、扛、背、带、载、搬、抱、拎、抬！

Sadly, the Foong kids' level of Chinese language is not that great. Lack of exposure and environment to speak and limited time to practise (we only have our evenings as a dual income family) could be reasons (but cannot be convenient excuses).

Creating interest is important. With interest comes motivation and learning will be a joy. :) Saw this place on my NIE lecturer's Facebook and off we went!

What welcomed us at first sight are those big 卡通体 words! 童言童语！I felt as though I was in Taiwan!

“这是属于你的华文华语小天地…”

Before you enter, this beautiful board gives you the instruction how you can enjoy this space.

At Hook On Books, other than purchasing books and stationeries, you can also go to a little corner to take a read. The books here are donated by public and quite a big collection of different genres.

From top left: books for sale, starioneries and traditional games, surprise bags and recommended reads.

Even the toilet is nicely done with a soundtrack of birds chirping playing in the background.

If you thought that this is just a book shop, you are so wrong! You can handmake notebooks, cards and dried flower bouquets at a very reasonable price. :)

Notebooks

There are two sizes that you can opt for: 

A5 for $8.50

A4 for $9.90-10.90

You can choose the papers for the cover and inner pages. I especially like the inner pages: single lines, Chinese squares or calendar. 

The shop was very generous with the materials provided. Dried flowers, little wooden decorations and animal templates that the ladies cut out themselves!

A special mention of the ladies at the shop! They were patient and spoke very pleasantly. Nathan and Phoebe had a fun time just decorating and drawing!

Here are their beautiful end products that the ladies have bound together using strings and little brunches!

We were in the shop for a good 1.5hrs and we ended the session with a yummilicious fruit juice!

Here's the details of the shop! Don't say I bo-Jio! :)

Let's pop some corn!

POP POP POP!

When I was young, my mum used to pop corn kernels once in a Long while. We didn't have a pot with a transparent glass lid so each time, I would just stay near to hear the sound of the kernels popping and hitting the lid. The sound tickled me and it was always a very happy moment for me. 😆😆

Last night, I decided to make some popcorn with the kids and I found this confirm-won't-fail method that would make sure your popcorn comes out not burned and will be crispy!

And I'm gonna share it with you!!!!!

You need:

(1) corn kernels (cheap cheap from Sheng siong)

(2) canola oil (don't use olive oil, it burns too fast!)

(3) butter (I used salted butter to give some balance to the sweetness)

(4) icing sugar

Making the sweet but light coating

I used a microwave-safe container with lid that would be used to store the popcorn later because I don't want to wash so many things.

Melt some butter in the microwave and stir in the icing sugar until totally dissolved. I added a little bit of water to aide the dissolving process. 

Before

After

Now we are going to pop pop pop the kernels!

Step 1: Pour some canola oil in the deep pan on medium high heat

Step 2: Put in 3 kernels and wait for them to pop. 

The reason for this step is to Ensure the heat is just right for the actual popping.

Step 3: *important* Pour in the amount of kernels you wish to pop AND remove from heat and count 30 secs!

The kids and I counted together loudly and as we counted, the popping started! The kids went crazy, going into this all giggly mode!

Step 4: Return pot to medium heat and shake the pot here and there to trigger more popping. You could tilt the lid a little to let the air out so the popcorn will be even crispier and drier. 

Step 5: when the intervals between the popping drags out to a few seconds, remove from heat.

Step 6: Pour the popcorn into the coating mixture we prepared in the beginning and keep tossing until evenly coated!

You are done!

Look at these happy faces!

I had to stop the kids before they polished off the entire box!

You could make the session more meaningful by teaching about:

(1) POPCORN (when corn pops, it become pop-corn!)

(2) 爆米花

The popcorn indeed looks like a flower (although I was told there are the mushroom species and butterfly species and the kernel we used belong to the butterfly shaped popcorn, I cannot be confusing them by saying 爆米蝶！).

So 玉米🌽 ➡️爆炸💥➡️爆米 ➡️像花🌸🌼➡️爆米花🍿！

Alright, now it's your turn to try! Have fun!

[Singapore Zoo] The Feeding Trail!

How do you usually plan your visit to the zoo?

Do you just go in then just walk and look see and maybe try to go for 1-2 shows then have KFC and then go?

We figured we have been doing just that over the past few years when we visited the zoo. Earlier days, we were more concerned for a rest area and the timing that kids have to sit down to have their meals. (Now, we are much chillllllllllllaxxx)

Back to the main point.

Today the Foong Family decided to visit the Singapore Zoo with a different itinerary!

We went with a theme in mind: lunch time for the animals!

(We had previously visited the zoo at another timing hoping to try out another trail but it started raining so heavily, we could not complete what we planned. 🙁)

The rain stopped about 9+ this morning and the weather looked very promising 🌤and we headed out at 11.30am after just bumming a bit a home.

We reached the zoo about 12pm. The kids wanted to watch a show so we thought we could accommodate that before we begin our quest. We reached the Amphitheater at 12.15pm. It was a fast walk, we stayed focused and we did not really stop to look at any animals along the way.

The thing about themed visit is you have to keep to what you have planned. Else, the trip would end up with you missing one planned activity, then snow ball to missing subsequent ones and end up becoming a usual roam around visit.

I think one disclaimer is there is NOTHING WRONG about casual walk about. We just wanted to make things a little different since we frequent zoo quite a bit. :)

After the Rainforest Fight Back show, it was about 12.45pm. We took a casual walk to the circled area in the map below.

Along the way, we were well entertained by our Orang Utans! We were watching a mama orang Utan hugging and cleaning a baby orang utan.

We read a book about Meerkats previously and we observed them for quite a while! The posture and behaviour is exactly like the book! Amazing!

Alright! It is time! This is the trail we embarked on and I'm going to give you the ultimate tip!

We reached the white rhino enclosure at 1.15pm sharp and there was already a big crowd. For token feeding (indicated on the website with an asterix *), you have to reach early to either queue or get the queue number. For example, the giant tortoise feeding (which is Super fun!!!!) there are only seven cards for grab. You get to enter the enclosure and walk side by side with the tortoise. U can even touch the tortoise! You will be brought around by the zookeepers and briefed on how to feed Cherry tomatoes to the tortoise. 

WHITE RHINOCEROS

For the white rhinos, the zookeepers will issue you with a basket of melon slices after you put a minimum $5 donation into the sealed box. I say minimum because you could give more to the conservation funds if you want to. :) you will stand on an elevated platform and feed the rhinos!

(Taken from http://cdn.secretearth.com/production/12475/banner_12475.jpg)

AFRICAN LION

**this is where the trail really begins!**

The lions were all in front of the glass viewing chamber and we were waiting to see the viewing there since 1.20pm! After waiting for 10min, there were no sight of the zookeepers but we saw the lion looking at a certain direction. Our very alert papa Elvin immediately went out and saw the zookeepers standing at the other side of the enclosure where the main pavement is. We rushed out and stood next to the two zookeepers. One was with the portable microphone telling the audience about the habits of the lions while the other was calling out to the lions and throwing big pieces of raw meat to them. 

(Love the viewing chamber, esp when the lions are so up close)

After feeding the lions with one full pail of raw meat, the zookeepers asked the interested ones to follow them on the trail! So we just walked with them as though it was a private guided tour! As we walk, the zookeepers shared about the zoo and the animals eating habits and behaviour. Very interesting! 

Together we reached the next site!

MEERKATS!

The zookeepers told us about the habitat, explained about the small sand dune and how the meerkats could stand upright for a good 1 hr to mark its territory! The meerkats were fed with palates and meal worms.

WARTHOGS

Here, the zookeepers were throwing big chunks of sweet potatoes to the warthogs. You can ask phoebe what she knows about warthog! She would tell you that they like to roll in the mud because it is their insect repellent. Who did she hear it from? Our "personal" guides! The zookeepers!

AFRICAN PAINTED DOGS

Long legs, rounded ears and three coloured patches were one of the information we learnt. The zookeepers not just fed the dogs but also did simple precision training with them. Very interesting to watch. One funny moment was Phoebe acting to "spit/vomit" food into Nathan's mouth because she was imitating the board about how the Mother painted dogs would store food in her mouth to warm it up before giving to the puppies.

(Phoebe didn't want to act it out properly for me when I requested for her to do it again for a photo, so papa Elvin had to take over!)

That was the end of the trail with the accompanying zookeepers. We didn't go for giraffe token feeding because the queue was mad Long and we have seen it before.

We took a cooling break at the polar bear enclosure. And when it is 2.10pm, we started making out way to the OTTERS. we love otters!

OTTERS

The feeding time for otters is 2.15pm. When we arrived, the feeding has started with the zookeepers talking about the habitat and scent. Otters are fast swimmers! Love how they glide around! After the feeding session, the zookeeper stayed around for visitors to ask questions too!

(We changed our position to beside the zookeepers and this is how close we were!)

We ended our visit at the zoo with a posey photo by the kiddos, before heading to the River Safari for part 2 of the feeding trail!

But apparently when we were near the exit, about 2.30pm, these beautiful lemurs were being fed too! We are so in theme!

BUT BUT BUT if you want to stay on, we recommend that you move fast to the Hamadryas Baboons enclosure for token feeding at 2.30pm! Baboons transform into Olympic level gymnasts and athletes, doing the sprints, jumps, rolls and dives! We enjoyed the feeding so much the last time, we donated two rounds so we can have two baskets of fruits for feeding!

As the passes we had that day was for both zoo and River Safari, we had a late lunch at KFC and proceeded for a casual walk through river safari. Personally, I like river safari because it is cooling and the information at every enclosure and display is clear and interesting.

There was no afternoon feeding for the manatees (which was really very intriguing to watch when we had a chance to last time) but we still love the humongous aquarium at the end of the trail. So peaceful and the air con is shiokkkkk. 

(See those rectangular floats? During feeding, those floats are filled with lettuce! And you can see the manatees nibble and pull the pieces!)

GIANT OTTERS

Finally we went to another of our Favourite site. The giant otters! They are really entertaining! (Although baboons are still TOP on our list) the way the otters interact with each other is just so funny! We settled down at the viewing window and saw one of the otters waking the rest up one by one. We were wondering what it was doing. It was hilarious seeing the otters in such drowsy state and how they ignored the enthusiastic otter and pushed him away. In actual fact, this dude is the SMARTEST.

At 4.30pm, there was call out and the zookeeper started "showering" the otters with buckets after buckets of small fish! The otters demonstrated their ability to dive, swim and glide. Then came the big chunks of salmon. The otters literally pushed themselves out of water and caught the pieces on the air and took their corners to munch and enjoy the treats. So so so interesting!

(This is a blur screen shot of a video.)

It was already 5pm when we walked out and we had a very pleasant surprise! Canola the manatee mascot was out to bid visitors farewell!

If you have been going to the zoo quite regularly but wish to boost the visit with a special itinerary, we hope you will find this post useful! 

For those who think that zoo is a boring place or it's just for kids, please give it a chance again! It is not just walking around seeing animals and animals and animals. There are interesting trials and experiences that deserve another chance from you!

We are going to the zoo zoo zoo!

How about you you you?

You can come too too too!

We are going to the zoo zoo zoo!