Printable Planner for Nov and Dec

October 28, 2014October 29, 2014 | San

My favorite year end school holiday is approaching.
There are so many things that I want to do with my children.
Time for me to start planning.
Do you need a planner? I always need one.
I created these for November and December this year:

Download : Printable Planner for November

Download : Printable Planner for December

DIY Tea Tree Kitchen Grease Cutter

October 8, 2014June 5, 2020 | San

In a grease cutting mood today, because I just bought a simple-looking 150ml spray bottle. The smaller bottle is handier, and I am hoping to make the chore of cutting kitchen grease looking/feeling more effortless.

… yup, anything that motivates me to clean.

I have been using vinegar as the main ingredient for a number of DIY household cleaning products; it’s cheap, effective, and toxic free. First, dilute white vinegar with water. The vinegar/water ratio will depend on the purpose of the diy cleaner, for kitchen grease, I use 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water. Then, finish off with a favorite scent or two using essential oils. Some essential oils have additional benefit of being antiseptic (note : different from anti-bacterial), though vinegar alone disinfects pretty well. Finally, shake the mixture up a bit, and you are ready to go.

DIY TEA TREE KITCHEN GREASE CUTTER
ITEMS NEEDED :

- A Spray Bottle
- 1 Part White Vinegar
- 2 Parts Water
- 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil (for 150ml spray bottle)

INSTRUCTIONS :

01. Combine white vinegar and water in the spray bottle.
02. Add tea tree oil.
03. Close the spray bottle and shake to mix the ingredients well.

++ Notes to self ++
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Shake the bottle for the content to mix well before using.
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Spray on the surface to be cleaned, wait for a few seconds, before wiping off with a clean cloth.
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Get translucent containers instead of clear ones as homemade cleaners tend to have a “foggy” or slight discoloration appearance depending on the ingredients used. Reason is purely for aesthetic. I prefer something that looks/feels clean to clean my house with.
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D-I-Y (Decorate It Yourself) Cake

June 3, 2014March 21, 2015 | San

While I have no qualms about eating a sponge cake as it is without any frosting, the kids are more than eager to decorate a cake first before eating it.

It is an easy activity to prepare, with only 4 items, for an hour of fun!

ITEMS NEEDED:

- 1 x 6" whole cake
- Heavy Cream / Whipping Cream
- Food colorings
- A Few Small Clear Plastic Bags/ Sandwich Bags
Optional For Extra Decoration :
- Chocolate Rice 
- Chocolate Buttons
- Colored Sprinklers

INSTRUCTIONS :

01. Prepare whipped cream frosting with these instructions here.
02. Frost entire cake with plain whipped cream.
03. Separate rest of the whipped cream frosting in at least different bowls.
04. Add food colorings to make colored whipped cream.

05. To turn plastic bags into piping bags :
A. Fill the bags with frosting cream, squeeze the cream down to one corner.
B. Twist to tie up the bag, making a knot closer to where the cream is and cut off a tip as a piping hole.
C. Try to cut a smaller hole at first. You can make a small hole bigger if you find it too small for the cream to be piped out smoothly, but you cannot turn a bigger hole smaller.

06. The rest is up to their imagination and creativity. Have fun!

++ NOTES TO SELF ++
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Plain cupcakes or muffins are also good alternatives to whole cakes, and just as fun.
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30+ Ideas For 30 Days Of June School Holiday

May 29, 2014October 28, 2014 | San

A friend of mine, with her newly minted Primary One kid, enthusiastically planned the previous March week-long holiday packed to the brim : with 1 and sometimes even 2 different activities everyday. After all, it is the child’s first official school holiday, it would be wonderful to fill up his/her free time with something interesting or enriching during this break.

So the idea for this crazy post was born: taking a leaf out of my pal’s book, I am penning out 30 over ideas for every single day of this June holiday. Now with a whopping 30 days of free time, starting this coming Saturday, are there enough activities around the island for us to carry out one everyday? I am happy to announce this after some form of scheduling : Yes we have! But will I do it? : No I won’t!

Cos, the following is done under the assumption that me and my children have an unlimited crazy amount of energy, never get tired, none of us will fall sick, and we still have enough time for household chores and homework/revision, all of which I think is more challenging than going out everyday. But it serves as a good guide for outing ideas, should we get bored.

And since I have them “all planned out”, might as well :

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31/5 (Sat) – Singapore Navy Open House
/ Vivocity
/ 9am – 9pm
/ LINK

1/6 (Sun) – Nature Society
/ Horseshoe Crab Rescue & Research
/ 7.30pm – 9.30pm
/ Preregistration is required
/ LINK

1/6 (Sun) – Singapore Botanic Gardens
/ Outdoor Concert : Jerry Monteiro & Jazz Brasileiro/6 pm – 7.30pm
/ LINK

2/6 (Mon) – Jurong Regional Library
/ BASF Kid’s Lab
/ 10am -11.30am
/ Preregistration is required
/ LINK

3/6 (Tues) – Changi Airport
/ It’s such a nice place to hang around, drop by Indonesia Event going on @Terminal 3
/ 12pm – 11pm
/ LINK

4/6 (Wed) – Singapore Turf Club
/ Family Carnival “Fun for All Under the Stars”
/ 5pm – 9pm
/ LINK

5/6 (Thurs) – Singapore Botanical Gardens
/ National Orchid Garden
/ Admission fees is waived for Students & Accompanying Adults during this period (till 8/6)
/ 8.30am – 7pm
/ LINK

6/6 (Fri) Swimming @ Public Pool
/ Choose one pool per week with water features such as slides or fun pool for more holiday mood
/ Sengkang, Jurong East, Jurong West, Pasir Ris, Choa Chu Kang

7/6 (Sat) – Singapore Maritime Trails
/ 9am – 12nn
/ Pre-registration is required
/ LINK

7/6 (Sat) – Singapore Botanic Gardens
/ Opera In The Park : Singapore Lyric Opera
/ 6pm – 7pm
/ LINK

7/6 (Sat)- Bonfire 2014 @ Kallang CC
/ Various circus and performance acts, some free workshops for kids
/ LINK

8/6 (Sun) – Peranakan Museum
/ Straits Family Sunday – Supersized!
/ 1pm – 5pm
/ LINK

9/6 (Mon) – Central National Library
/ Slow down and relax at the library.
/ Pop by Bras Basah Complex next door for another round of book hunt.
/ Explore more around Bugis/Bras Basah area with a Free Trail Apps ( iTunes)

10/6 (Tues) – Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
/ Nature Keeper Camp
/ 9am – 12nn
/ Pre-Registration is required
/ LINK

11/6 (Wed) – Plan A Trip To One Of The Old Playgrounds
/ About the playgrounds
/ A Photo Essay : Mosaic Memories
/ Plan a trip to one of them (Pg 13 within the Photo Essay)

12/6 (Thur) – Downtown East
/ Wild Wild Wet day
/ LINK

/ Transformer Meet & Greet (@7pm) + Transformer Zone Activity Area
/ LINK

13/6 (Fri) Army Museum of Singapore
/ Cadets, Fall In!
/ ‘BMT Programme” for kids
/ Pre-registration is required
/ LINK

14/6 (Sat)- Indian Games Carnival
/ Ace The Place Community Club
/ 9am – 2pm
/ Pre-registration is required
/ LINK

14/6 (Sat) – Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
/ A Walk With Your Neighbours – The Macaques of Bukit Timah
/5 pm – 6.30pm
/ Pre-registration is required
/ LINK

15/6 (Sun) – Memories at Old Ford Factory
/ History Workshop
/ 10am – 11.30pm or 12.30pm – 2pm or 2.30pm – 4pm
/ Pre-registration is required
/ LINK

16/6 (Mon) – Ang Mo Kio Heritage Trail
/ Plan a few interesting and easy to access destination from the Heritage Trail PDF : LINK
/ Ends at Ang Mo Kio Library, which is covered as part of the trail.

17/6 (Tue) – Plan A Trip To One Of The Old Playgrounds
/ About the playgrounds
/ A Photo Essay : Mosaic Memories
/ Plan a trip to one of them (Pg 13 within the Photo Essay)

18/6 (Wed) – Pasir Ris Park
/ Mangrove Guided Walk
/ 9am – 10.30am
/ Pre registration is required
/ LINK

19/6 (Thur) – Day Trip to Kusu Island
/ Ferry Schedule HERE
/ What to do there : HERE, HERE and HERE

20/6 (Fri) – Swimming @ Public Pool
/ Choose one pool per week with water features such as slides or fun pool for more holiday mood
/ Sengkang, Jurong East, Jurong West, Pasir Ris, Choa Chu Kang

21/6 (Sat) – National Museum of Singapore
/ Special extended hours + Movie Screening
/ 6pm – 9.30pm
/ LINK

22/6 (Sun) – Gardens By the Bay
/ Far East Organization Children’s Garden
/ 9am – 9pm
/ LINK

/ Family Fun Under The Sun
/ 2pm, 2.30pm, 3pm, 3.30pm
/ LINK

/ End the day with OCBC Garden Rhapsody Show @ Supertree Grove
/ 7.45pm or 8.45pm

23/6 (Mon) – World War II Heritage Trail
/ Go through this 22 page Trail PDF and choose a spot to visit.

24/6 (Tue) – Asian Civilisation Museum
/ Once Upon A Time In Asia – Part of Children’s Season 2014
/ LINK

25/6 (Wed) – Plan A Trip To One Of The Old Playgrounds
/ About the playgrounds
/ A Photo Essay : Mosaic Memories
/ Plan a trip to one of them (Pg 13 within the Photo Essay)

26/6 (Thur) – Swimming @ Public Pool
/ Choose one pool per week with water features such as slides or fun pool for more holiday mood
/ Sengkang, Jurong East, Jurong West, Pasir Ris, Choa Chu Kang

27/6 (Fri) – Sports Hub
/ Open House Weekend
/ LINK

28/6 (Sat) – Singapore City Gallery
/ Case for Conservation Trail
/ 10am – 1pm
/Pre-registration is required
/ LINK

28/6 (Sat) – D’Kranji Farm Resort
/ Farmer’s Market
/ 4pm – 10pm
/ LINK

29/6 (Sun) – Singapore Botanic Gardens
/ Piano Concert at Dusk : By Przemyslaw Witek
/ 6.30pm – 7.30pm
/ LINK

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Diy Citronella Oil ‘Reed’ Diffuser

May 9, 2014June 5, 2020 | San

This ‘Cang Mao Yew” is available at most local medical halls, and contains 20% citronella oil, making it a natural and very affordable mosquito repellent. I have been pouring it into small saucers and placing them around the house where I want to repel mosquitoes. It evaporates fast though, due to the presence of methol crystals, so I gotta top up the saucers almost every week. I also drip (can’t pour, the dispenser is just a tiny hole) a lot into my oil burner, minus the flame*, for better aesthetics.

Talking about better aesthetics, I just diy-ed an existing new bottle to a ‘reed’ diffuser with origami paper and adhesive tapes from Daiso. I flip the reed daily to refresh the diffusing process.

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/ *not to be used with a lighted candle, dangerous as it has a very low smoking point.

/ i used a wooden skewer with the pointed end snipped off, rattan would have been a better choice.

/ there are a few versions or brands of ‘Cang Mao Yew’, this made in Singapore brand happened to be one with the highest concentration of citronella oil on its ingredient list. The rest of the ingredients : clove oil (25%), methol (25%), white oil (10%) and eucalyptus (20%).