Yes! It’s that time of the year again…2011 has just passed, and we are slowly moving into 2012.

As we enter the new year, we thought that we should look at the Highlights of each month, so as to remember the different milestones that we experienced each month.

In January, we had the privilege of being featured in the New Paper! I thought that was really cool, considering the fact that Parenting Blogs are practically dominated by Mummies.

In February, Nathan appeared in his first advertisement, as he was featured in print along the NEL Train lines.

In March, the kids had a chance to appear in an OCBC advertisement, and I made my first radio appearance on 93.8 Live. It was definitely a Big Milestone for myself, as my family has some history on the airwaves (My grandfather was Lee Dai Soh).

In April, I got my handy Lumix LX5 Camera which has been following me for most assignments now, as it is more manageable than my DSLR.  Nicole also did one of her performances in school, and my sweet little Nadine celebrated her 3rd Birthday in School.

In May, the kids had a blast, as they were invited to the media launch of “Madagascar” the latest ride at Universal Studios,and HTC also furnished me with their latest tablet – the Flyer. I think these 7 inch tablets are truly under-rated, and I use my Flyer all the time, as it is definitely more handy than my iPad.

In June,  we had a somewhat trying month. We were supposed to go to Beijing on a sponsored trip with Julia Gabriel, but the whole family ended up in hospital. The kids due to food poisoning, and I was down with dengue again.

In July, I managed to win my biggest competition yet. I competed in the Shell Fuel Save Challenge, and I won 1st Prize. That was really cool, as it meant 1 year’s supply of Free Fuel for the family, and I got to represent Singapore in a regional Shell Competition in Malaysia.

In August, the kids performed in their National Day Recital in School, and all 3 kids put up a great show. It was good to see all the kids overcoming their fears and putting up a good public performance.

In September, we had our sponsored “Stay-vacation” at Quincy Hotel off Paragon, and the kids had a blast making muffins and playing in the pool due to the stay. My girls also competed in a Master Chef competition sponsored by Zespri Kiwi Fruit at Asian Food Kitchen.

In October, I completed my 1st Parenting with Confidence class as a facilitator, and it looks like I will be conducting many more classes in 2012. . We also shifted into our new home, and we had a fun time decorating the place. Only thing was that we fell out of love with Ikea furniture.

In November, our family enjoyed a sponsored stay at Hard Rock Hotel Penang. It was definitely a fun outing for the whole extended family, and the kids really loved Adventure Zone in Penang.

In December, Nicole had her milestone recital at Raffles Hotel. This performance marked the coming-of-age of our little girl, as she was going to Primary 1 in 2012.

Looking back, it has certainly been an eventful year, and I am counting my blessings, as we look back at our Adventures. Believing for an even greater year in 2012.

Thanks for being a part of our lives!

During my wife’s pregnancy,I was always seeing my wife getting more and more upset as she stood in front of the mirror.

The problem was worsened by the fact that she had NO MORE CLOTHES TO WEAR!

This wardrobe malfunction is considering a catastrophe for all women, and with the big tummy being a temporary status, buying a new wardrobe is a really expensive option.

Well, these problems are solved with Maternity Exchange!

At Maternity Exchange, you get to rent your latest wardrobe, wear it as many times as you want during the rental period of 4 – 8 weeks and exchange it for a new maternity or nursing wear at your convenience.

For the Fashion Conscious Mummy, you will be glad to know that all the items at maternity exchange are chic and up to date!  You won’t find frumpy dresses with large floral prints. And the range of clothes offered is amazing—from casual, to smart casual, to formal, to dressy! And they have tops, dresses, jeans, berms, shorts, skirts etc.  With the latest fashion like Japanese Weekend, Maternal America, Ripe, this is definitely the store for all Mothers-to-be out there! 

When my wife was pregnant, I used to visit the store very often with her. She loves the option of renting, rather than purchasing that same garment at full retail value. The best thing about Maternity Exchange for her is that she can choose to keep the dress, or return it when she has outgrown it. (Being pregnant at 4 months is significantly smaller than at 8 months!)

Even the kids loved the fun and cool items in the shop! Check them out as they explored the shop!

A real plus to Maternity Exchange is that the staff are friendly and offer great advice when you are shopping…(they know how long more can you fit into a particular outfit before you grow BIGGER) Gone are the days you feel and look like a whale. With the sizes and options available, and a rental system for clothes, there’s no need to splurge to look good!

And to start off the 2012, we have some Good News for all  Pregnant and Nursing Mothers out there!

We are giving away a $50 Maternity Exchange Voucher to 2 Lucky Readers out there!

That’s right! All you need to do is:

1. Be a fan of Maternity Exchange – Join their Facebook Page here and leave me a comment (On this blog) with your FB name.

2. For a 2nd chance to win, Share this Giveaway and Maternity Exchange website (www.maternityexchange.sg) on Twitter/Blog and leave me a comment (On this blog) with your Twitter/Blog link.

3. For a 3rd chance to win, Share this Giveaway via Edunloaded Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/edunloaded) on Facebook and leave me a comment with your FB name. (Simply visit Ed Unloaded Facebook Page, look for the Maternity Exchange giveaway post and click “Share”!)

The giveaway closes on 9 January 2012, Tuesday, 11PM.

You do NOT have to complete all tasks to enter this giveaway.

However, the more tasks you complete, the higher your chances of winning!

So, what are you waiting for?

Start Clicking and let your surfing bring you closer to some Freebies!

Find Maternity Exchange at:

#03-108 Marina Square

or at www.maternityexchange.sg / Shop online at www.shop.maternityexchange.sg

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The results of the Maternity Exchange Giveaway are OUT!

Maternity Exchange has selected:

1. Jacqualine

2. Jasmine Waltman

Congratulations! You will be hearing from Maternity Exchange with regards to the collection of your prizes.

Just recently, at the invitation of Yifon Mushrooms, I had the chance to go down to Totts at Bukit Timah for a cooking lesson with Celebrity Chef Eric.

Nicole who loves to eat, was also excited about cooking with Daddy. Personally, I have not been cooking in a kitchen for a long time, and it was good to get back into the arena, in the midst of such a cool setup

The truth to be told, due to our busy work schedules, most of us Singaporean Men are seldom in the kitchen. That is where Yifon Mushrooms can really help us!

Imagine a simple product that is pre-cooked and ready to go!

What’s even more helpful is that mushrooms are one of the most popular ingredients in Singapore families! However mushrooms require substantial preparation time before they are suitable for eating (think dried mushrooms!).

With the launch of YIFON’s high-quality bottled fresh mushrooms, eating mushrooms just got even easier!

Add Yifon to your instant noodles, rice, porridge and your other stir-fry dishes, and you have a simple product, which can simply enhance the flavour of your food!

It’s like a dream come true, for amateur cooks like myself!  

The whole experience was made even more cool as I had an expert chef like Chef Eric to teach me how to maximize the Yifon Mushrooms.  Through the 2 hour cooking session, he taught us how to cook 3 dishes with our pre-cooked mushrooms.

We made stir-fry scallops, bruschetta using luncheon meat and of course…

Pizza with Yifon Mushrooms!

Frankly, anything Italian sits well with Nicole, and under the expert supervision  of Chef Eric, I realized that making Pizza is really very easy. Nicole just could not get her hands on the dough, and making one herself!

Check out the determined focus in her eyes, as she spreads the tomato paste!  

And of course, we had to put in our special ingredient for our pizza…

And we were ready to go!

And here she is 10mins later…she is ever so proud of her creation!

Overall, we had great fun, and many thanks to Yit Hong Pte Ltd for Inviting us for the Bloggers event!

But wait…Just before you go…I need your help!

Help me by clicking “Like” on the Yit Hong Facebook page, and very importantly, clicking “Like” on the ED Unloaded post!, when you see it posted there.

If I am the 1st person to hit 100 “Likes”, I get to win a FREE trip to Nikoi Island.

3 lucky Voters will also walk about with fabulous Yit Hong Products!

If you would also like the 2012 Limited Edition Calendar which reveals some of Chef Eric’s Secret Recipes, do email me and I will pass you one of these calendars specially autographed by Chef Eric.

Thanks for reading do Click Here, as I need all your help!  

(They will only start posting this post on their Facebook on 1 Jan, so do check again if it it not up yet. Thanks)

Children love Christmas and they love Boxing day even more!

To practise self-discipline in the house, we make the children open their presents only on Boxing day. As a result, there is usually a pile of presents under the Christmas Tree, when D-Day approaches.

Many thanks to our many friends and family members for the presents! It has been a real joy to see the “glow” on the children’s faces, as they open each present.

Are you ready to Samba this Christmas? Or how about a FREE Giveaway?!?

Although Singaporeans don’t get a White Xmas, you can still get fashion to match the holiday season in tropical  Singapore.

Ipanema has just released its latest designs with the new Ipanema RITMOS Fall Collection 2011.

The good news about the RITMOS Collections, is that it comes in Sandals, Slippers and Platforms! This is something that you can definitely add to your wardrobe!

For this collection, Ipanema RITMOS footwear strips are also adorned with appliqué of flowers and embroidery like beads that celebrates the robust and zestfulness of the African-Brazilian culture.

Besides coming in Adult sizes, Ipanema has launched an exclusive Ipanema Barbie Flores just for Kids as well.  Perfect for your children and nieces!

My Girls really like their slippers, and they could not wait to try it on the moment they saw it.

My wife put on her Ipanema Ritmos sandals immediately and promptly used it every weekend. In her words, “…these sandals are so pretty…” (I never knew footwear can look pretty?!?!)

She also likes them as they are wedges which elevate her height even in a casual day out!  

But wait, there is more Good News for all readers during this festive season.

Stand a chance to Win an Exclusive Ipanema Beach Kit (Worth $49) when you share One practical tip on what you do when you go to the beach with your kids!

Just Comment on this Blog Post and you will be 1 Step closer to this  FREE Beach Kit.

Additional Chances will be given to Readers who Share about this Blog Post on their Twitter or Facebook Wall.

And don’t forget to like our Facebook Page as well!

We have a total of 3 Beach Kits to be given away, so everyone has a good chance to be a Winner this holiday Season.  So Start Commenting and helping us spread the word around via Facebook or Twitter!

Contest ends on 2 Jan 2012 (Yes! we are coming to the end of 2011)

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Hi Guys! The Contest Results are out, and the random number generator have picked these 3 people to be the Winners:

1. Julian Chow

2.  Dawn

3. Jason

I will be sending you an email very shortly, with regards to the collection of your prizes.

Congratulations once again!