Linna's feelings on the election results.

I may have voted for Obama, but while Linna and I were watching the 2012 Presidential Election results on the news in Singapore, she didn't seem too thrilled with the results. I decided to grab my camera to take a photo of Linna in front of the TV as they announced Obama's victory, and I playfully asked my 14-month-old what her thoughts were about Obama getting another four years in office. No joke, this is the reaction she gave me, and this is the photo I got...

Just a friendly little reminder that while we has parents have certain beliefs, it doesn't always mean our kids will have the same. I wonder if she's already a republican...

Mommy's day out at estheva spa & raffles hotel.

Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

When we have family visiting us in Singapore who want to spend some quality time with Linna, I take that as a hint for me to get out of the house for a few hours... and boy oh boy do I take advantage of this rare and precious time. Last weekend, Linna's Auntie Lisa and Uncle John took Linna to the pool for a couple hours, so I could head over to Estheva Spa for a facial and check out the historic Raffles Hotel.

First of all, the Raffles Hotel is so gorgeous and there are so many cute boutiques, dining spots, and bakeries in the courtyard area. I could have spent hours there, especially without the baby. The building is white with dark wood, and when you're inside you feel like you've been transported to back to the late 1800's. The historical design concept of this hotel is what every little girl imagines their dream mansion to look like when they grow up (well it was my childhood fantasy anyway). Every area of this property is so grand, I only wish I had more time to spend exploring.

Estheva Spa at Raffles Hotel.

I made an appointment to have a facial at Estheva, which is located in the Raffles Hotel Arcade. I met with my aesthetician, and she recommended that I have the Vitamin C facial since I had been spending a lot of time in the Singapore sun. This facial lasted 90 minutes and was pure, baby-free bliss!

I had a facial while we were in Phuket in September, and while it was relaxing, I really needed someone to get in there and do some tough extractions. I have sunscreen on my face almost every day, so I can only imagine how clogged my pores have become. My aesthetician at Estheva used an extracting tool across my entire face, and felt like she cleaned out every one of my pores. It wasn't the most comfortable thing I've experienced, but the results were amazing! I actually had a nose without little black dots all over it. After the extractions, a detox mask was applied, which left my skin feeling rejuvenated and "minty". She also applied a C-Matrix Treatment, which is made from collagen in its purest form, and vitamin C to brighten and heal my sun-damaged skin. While I waited for the masks to do their magic, my aesthetician massaged my head, neck, shoulders and upper back. I really appreciated this experience because she didn't just focus on my face, but she also focused on my décolletage and upper back. It's just as important to take care of those areas, as it is your face.

Linna with her Auntie Lisa and Uncle John.

This was one of the most expensive facials I've ever had, so I expected amazing results. All of my expectations were met and exceeded. One thing I would have changed, however, was while one of my masks was "working its magic", my aesthetician left the room for 5-10 minutes. I wish she would have spent that time massaging my shoulders or feet or something. Other than that, my three baby-free hours at Raffles and Estheva Spa really left me feeling relaxed. It was like getting a few hours of much-needed rest without even going to sleep! Oh, and I ended my afternoon with a chocolate croissant... and I didn't have to share with with anyone:)

Mommy-friendly singapore.

Nursing/changing room in Vivo City.

Although there are many places in Singapore that aren't very stroller-friendly, I must say that there are many public places that are pretty "mommy-friendly". I've noticed that places like Vivo City (a big shopping mall in Singapore) and other shopping centers, have actual nursing/changing rooms for moms. The nursing rooms at Vivo City are very clean, private, and even come equipped with hot water machines. There's a place for moms to sit and feed their baby, change their baby's diaper, and they're actually pretty spacious too. There's nothing worse than being at a restaurant or public place, and finding that the restroom doesn't even have a proper baby-changing table. In Singapore, there's been times where I've actually had to change Linna on the sink area, because the restroom didn't have a proper diaper-changing table. I remember when I was still breast-feeding Linna, and I wanted nothing more than to be able to pump my engorged bubbies in privacy, in a place other than a dirty public restroom. Needless to say, I'm very pleased to see places in Singapore that cater to moms, making life a little less stressful:)

There's a changing table, comfortable seat, sink, and hot water machine in the nursing rooms at Vivo City.

"Skydiving" with my sister-in-law in singapore.

My sister-in-law Lisa and her husband John were visiting us this past week in Singapore, so I wanted to set up a couple exciting things for us to do while they're here. While AJ and John took Linna out for a morning on Sentosa with "the boys", Lisa and I decided to go "skydiving" at iFly Singapore!

Flight passes.

Lisa and I have never been skydiving, so we thought this indoor skydiving experience would be a good first step. The iFly Singapore is the world's first largest themed wind-tunnel for indoor skydiving, and I have wanted to try it since I saw people doing it when I first visited Sentosa.

The iFly Singapore building. The public is welcome to come inside to watch the flights.

The first thing they had us do was watch a video on the flight experience in the "plane's hangar" (the entire experience is meant to make you feel like you're on an actual plane). We then met our flight instructor Joshua (he can do some pretty amazing tricks in the wind-tunnel), and went over some hand signals, and practiced flying positions. The entire training takes about a half-hour, and what we thought was going to be a boring lesson, actually turned out to be a lot of fun because of our entertaining flight instructor!

The hangar.

We were then brought upstairs to the wind-tunnel area, and go suited up for our flights. We were set up with these really cool flight suits, goggles, ear plugs and a helmet. We looked pretty professional;)

Our group then got to go into the wind-tunnel chamber to take flight! I was so excited and nervous for the experience, but knowing that this simulated experience was "safer" than actual skydiving, put my mind at ease. Each person gets two "flights", which last just under two minutes. AJ, John, and Linna came to watch us, as  Lisa and I took flight. Linna just starred at all the people flying up and down in the wind-tunnel.

Lisa practicing the flying position with our instructor Joshua.

The experience in the five-storey wind-tunnel was unlike anything I have ever done before. They say that it's meant to feel like you're falling from 12,000 to 3,000 feet in the sky, and they aren't kidding! During my first flight, I was kind of disoriented and was focused on keeping my correct flying position. The wind in my face was incredible, and my instructor put me at ease by giving me hand signals to correct my positions and help keep me steady. The wind literally takes control and soars you through the air. It's unreal and so much fun!

(This is video of our flight instructor Joshua in the wind-tunnel. Pretty talented, huh?!)

(This is video of the 8-year-old boy in our group inside the wind tunnel, then me,

 and finally Lisa. The young boy needed NO assistance, but Lisa and I were a different story.)

Both Lisa and I agreed that we were much more comfortable during our second flight. We both wanted to go higher in the tunnel, and learn how to do flips:) For safety reasons, the instructors don't let you do anything "crazy" your first time, but you can learn to do more and more tricks with the more training you have. There was an eight-year-old boy in our group that was so advanced! He had flown numerous time before, so he was able to turn his body with no assistance, fly high inside the tunnel, etc., and he looked so calm doing it. You have to be at least seven years old to fly, and our instructor told us that they have kids that age flying all the time! Maybe one day Linna will want to fly with her mama:)

Lisa and I with Linna after our flights. Linna wanted nothing to do with us
when we had our goggles and helmets on.

I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone, especially if you're not sure you're ready to do an actual skydive. One piece of advice I'd give, is to tie your hair back inside your helmet. I wore my hair down and it was in knots at the end of our flight. I'm still not sure I could ever jump out of an actual plane, but I sure am happy I got to experience iFly Singapore with my sister-in-law! It was incredible!

Family-friendly sunday brunch at one-ninety.

The Benedict.

Last Sunday, AJ, Linna and I decided to spend a quality afternoon together at one of the highly-rated hotel buffets in Singapore. We heard about the Sunday Brunch at One-Ninety at the Four Seasons from a couple who lives in our condo, and they said it was a good place for families because of their Kid's Buffet.

AJ checking out the amazing spread.

AJ loved this place.

This buffet was THE nicest and "fanciest" buffet I have ever been too! The food was outstanding, the service was incredible, and they really catered to our family (any mom can appreciate that). Bringing a 14-month-old to a really nice restaurant doesn't sound like my idea of a good time, but the staff at One-Ninety made us feel very comfortable there with Linna. They gave us the option to bring her to the Kiddie Buffet so she could play and eat with other children, under the supervision of a couple staff members. However, Linna decided to fall asleep about 20 minutes into our lunch, so AJ and I were able to enjoy our afternoon while Linna was sleeping in the stroller right next to us. At $45 for kids age 5-11 (I know this seems pricey for a kid's meal, but you are paying for food, as well as someone to watch your child for a few hours), your child can play in a supervised play-land, with child-friendly food, as well as healthy vegetable snacks. The play-land has a bouncy castle, face painting, arts & crafts, balloon games, and video game consoles. Kids five years of age and under can hang out and eat for free!

All three of us at Four Season's One-Ninety Sunday Brunch.

This buffet had every gourmet-type food we could ever imagine, and each table of food was arranged beautifully. There was lobster, Alaskan King Crab, salmon, muscles, caviar (I tried this for the first time and I can't say that caviar is my "thing"), sushi, along with some other things at the seafood table, and everything tasted so fresh! They had a cheese station with cheeses from all over the world that were paired with things like figs, olives, dried fruits, etc. I tried so many cheeses that I had never even heard of! The also had a gorgeous salad selection, a Peking Duck station, a charcuterie station (delicious meats) with shaved truffle and other condiments, and some of most beautiful and delicious deserts I've ever laid my eyes and taste buds on. If I listed every type of food there was at this buffet, this blog post would go on for days!

So much meat.

Amazing seafood spread. Those are fresh scallops,
and this was my first time trying a scallop off the shell!

All that delicious food, and Linna chose to eat the crackers.

If that wasn't enough food, we also got to order a main course. I ordered the Benedict, which is grilled salmon, poached eggs, sauteed spinach, and summer truffle. AJ had the Wagyu Steak (Wagyu is a Japanese cow) and both of our selections were delicious. Since Linna is under five years old, she obviously dined for free. She feasted on crackers and fruit! Out of all of the food selections, that's what she decided to eat:)

Breads, cheeses, deserts... oh my!

A hodge-podge of delicious foods. So many choices!

The Sunday Brunch at One-Ninety isn't by any means cheap, but the experience was amazing! For $78 per person, you get to enjoy the buffet without a main course selection. Although we did choose to have a main course, the buffet itself is PLENTY of food. You can also choose to do a champagne brunch, where the champagne is endless during your meal. Although the buffets in Singapore are expensive, the Sunday Buffet at the Four Season's One-Ninety restaurant gives you the option to have childcare during your brunch, along with an incredibly dining experience! I am so happy we decided to do this before heading back to Minnesota.

Holiday family photos & cards... completed.

***CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR $50 MINTED GIFT CARD WINNER: ANDREA L.***
(I will email you with details about your prize. Thanks for participating everyone!)

All photos in this blog post are by David Lim at our home in Singapore (Caribbean at Keppel Bay).

 

This year, I decided to stay on top of things so I don't find myself rushing at the last minute to get our family photos taken, and then order our holiday greeting cards. I really wanted to have a nice family photo of AJ, Linna and I taken in Singapore and use it on our holiday greeting cards. So after looking online and speaking with a few moms here in Singapore, we decided to have photographer David Lim take photos of us at our home in Singapore. We also chose to once again use Minted for our holiday greeting cards, as we were very pleased with the ones we ordered last year!

My personal favorite photo.

David Lim is a father of three gorgeous girls and a pretty well-known photographer in Singapore. We didn't want to spend a lot of money on a photo session, but wanted someone who could capture some moments for us during our time here. For about $200 (Singapore dollars), David will come to your home (or location you chose for an outdoor session), photograph your family, give you a few printed images, as well as your other images on a CD. We really liked working with David because he has an "eye" for great lighting, location, and works pretty quickly. We did an outdoor session at our condo, and because of the heat in Singapore, we didn't want to shoot for any longer than an hour. If you know the Saighs, we tend to sweat... a LOT! David photographed us in so many different locations, captured photos of Linna by herself, Linna with AJ, Linna with me, as well as photos of the three of us together. You can also have a photo session in his studio if you can't take the heat. We are very pleased with his quick turn-around, and the results of our photos!

Since we were also happy with the final results of our holiday greeting cards last year, we decided to once again use Minted. I am a big fan of their variety/selection, and we literally just popped one of the family photos David Lim took of us in Singapore into the template, and POOF... our holiday cards are completed! I wish I had the creativity and patience to make my own holiday cards, but Minted is enough DIY for this mom this year! For as little as about $.85 per card (prices go up from there), and about 15 minutes of your time, you can have your holiday cards made, ordered, and shipped to your home. The card stock is a really thick paper, so you don't have to worry about your holiday cards looking "cheap". You can have your return address printed on the envelope too. I'm willing to pay a little bit extra for convenience and simplicity around the holidays:)

Our holiday greeting card by Minted from last year.
Linna was only three months old in this photo!

I can't wait to have our holiday cards arrive at our home in Minnesota, so I can get them out EARLY this year! I know it's just past Halloween, but that means we're getting closer to the holiday season:)

Love her face.

 

 

YOU can win a $50 Minted gift card, just in time for the holidays! Simply become a "follower" of the Minnesota Baby blog (you must do this in order to be eligible to win), and comment on this blog post (below) telling us what your plans are for holiday cards this year (are you planning on sending them out?, do you even do photo cards?, etc.). It's that easy! One winner will be selected at random on November 15th. Good luck!

Linna can say her name.

At 14-months, Linna is really starting to say more and more words! Yesterday she said "up", and today she said her name. Holy excitment! So as of today, Linna can say "mama", "dada", "nana", "up", "ball", "block" (both "ball" and "block" kind of sound the same), "yes", "bye", "hi", and "papa" (one day she actually said "bye bye papa"). We are SO excited about Linna saying her name, but even more excited that her Auntie Lisa and Uncle John got to hear/see it in person! Lisa is working with Linna on saying "Auntie Lisa" as I write this:)