Little fishy.

Our 2.5-year-old must be half fish. She cannot get enough of our pool. She recently learned how to do the unassisted back float, and she's been able to swim without floaties since she was a year and a half... but now, Linna is working on perfecting her side swim. Is that even a swimming term?! Please excuse the background, as we had the building next door torn down recently. So tough getting this girl out of the pool, especially when it's right at our doorstep:)

Easter brunch at equinox.

Where will you be dining on Easter Sunday this year? Papa Saigh's parents (MeMaw and PeePaw) will be visiting Singapore for the first time, so we will be taking them to Swissôtel The Stamford for their Sunday brunch. We've heard about this restaurant's amazing views, fantastic buffet spread, and Golden Easter Egg Hunt and entertainment for the kids, so we'll be checking it out and let you know what we think. From what we've heard, this place is sure to provide our visitors with a major "WOW" factor!

Easter Brunch at Equinox Restaurant
April 20th, 2014
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
$198++ per person (adult), inclusive of free-flow of Moët & Chandon Impérial, Easter cocktails,
house wines and beers
$178++ per person (adult), inclusive of selected mocktails, soft drinks and juices
$94++ per child (6 to 12 years old)
Reservations: reservations@equinoxcomplex.com -or- +65 6837 3322

Easter High Tea
April 19th & 20th, 2014
3:30 to 5 p.m.
$55++ per person (adult)
$27.50++ per child (6 to 12 years old)
Reservations: reservations@equinoxcomplex.com -or- +65 6837 3322

Working on writing letters of the alphabet.

At 2.5 years old, Linna is just starting to work on writing letters of the alphabet. She has "O" and "C" down, but other letters are a bit more tricky. I think she likes erasing the chalk board most of all:) Great work Linna!

GIVEAWAY: "Put me in the story" books.

*** WIN A PERSONALIZED "PUT ME IN THE STORY" CHILDREN'S BOOK ***

WINNER: CONGRATULATIONS TO TRICIA RENNER PETERSON! YOU'RE THE WINNER OF A PERSONALIZED "PUT ME IN THE STORY" BOOK. PLEASE EMAIL US (minnesotababyinfo@gmail.com) WITH YOUR ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER, SO WE CAN VERIFY AND GET YOUR BOOK TO YOU. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING EVERYONE!

There's two ways to enter for a chance to win a personalized copy of Put Me In The Story's newest releases "I'll Never Let You Go" or "If I Could Keep You Little":

1. "Like" the Minnesota Baby Facebook page, and share the contest post with your Facebook friends (you must click the "share" tab under the "Put Me In The Story" contest post on our Facebook page).

2. Comment on this blog post (below) with your first and last name, along with the city you currently reside in.

Two simple ways to enter. If you complete both ways, you'll double your chances to win! You must enter by Friday, March 21st at 8 p.m. to be eligible, and this contest is only open to US residents. One winner will be randomly selected to win one personalized copy of Put Me In The Story's "I'll Never Let You Go", or "If I Could Keep You Little" (winner can select the title of their choosing). The winner will be randomly selected and announced on this blog. Good luck everyone!

More about "Put Me In The Story" books:

"Put Me In The Story" books allow you to personalize bestselling children's books to star your child. Their newest releases ("I'll Never Let You Go" and "If I Could Keep You Little") are by Minneapolis author and illustrator, Marianne Richmond. Marianne has been writing and illustrating award-winning books for nearly two decades. Her books are very popular in the Saigh household!

Singing "twinkle twinkle" in chinese.

Linna taking over Papa Saigh's office.

Today, Linna and I made a surprise visit to Papa Saigh's office in Singapore. As Linna was walking around the office, she was singing to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and I thought she was just making up words. One of my husband's co-workers popped her head out of her cubical and said, "Ohhhhh, she knows Mandarin!". I was like, "Is that was she's singing?!". The woman replied, "Oh yes, and very well."

Wow.

For months I've been thinking that our 2.5-year-old, who has been attending a Chinese nursery school here in Singapore since January, was just speaking toddler "jibber jabber" when she sings songs around the house. But apparently, she's singing in Chinese!

Unreal.

It's amazing what little ones can learn... and QUICKLY! Mama and Papa Saigh better brush up on their Mandarin-speaking skills. I wish I would have taken video of Linna singing in Papa Saigh's office (it was so cute - and her words were very clear), but I had her sing the song when we got home. As you can see... she's sleepy:)

We are so proud of you Linna Jane!

Late-night work session.

Looks like BOTH Papa Saigh and Linna had a lot of work emails to catch up on before bed tonight. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have the 2-year-old's work load:)

* Side Note: Linna is singing "Lost my Parker, what'll I do?", when the actual song lyrics are "Lost my partner, what'll I do?". My parents' dog's name is Parker. So sweet!

RECIPE: Mango banana coconut bread.

This is a good one. I kind of "blended" a few recipes I found on Pinterest:) You literally just combine all the below ingredients, mix, and bake at 350-decrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. I made 6 muffins and a loaf of bread with the below ingredient amounts. As you can see, I was even able to fold laundry while it baked. This will make your house smell so wonderful, there's just a hint of coconut taste, it's toddler approved, and delicious. Happy baking!

Mango Banana Coconut Bread

4 cups flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut milk or cream
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I just used two bananas)
1 mango cut into small pieces
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup shredded coconut (I used dried unsweetened coconut)
3/4 sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp salt

DIY living room art project.

With our 2.5-year-old in nursery school five days a week for three hours each day, Mama Saigh has a little more time on her hands. I do freelance writing here in Singapore, and don't have a "helper" (this is a topic that's in a league all its own, so I'll write about that later), so I do have to do all the grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc., myself. BUT, I do have time for myself, which is nice. We've been looking around Singapore and during our recent travels for some art to hang our very white walls, but nothing has really jumped out at us, and/or it's extremely expensive. SO, I decided to make a visit to Art Friend (Singapore's version of Minnesota's Michaels or Hobby Lobby), to buy a blank wall canvas and some paint, and create some art of my own... art that has some meaning behind it.

I found the inspiration/idea for this easy-peasy art project from Alisa Burke's blog, after simply Googling "black and white DIY wall canvas". She's brilliant. I took a 15-minute bus ride up to Art Friend at Clementi Central with Linna one morning, bought a blank wall canvas for about $20, some black paint for about $4, decided on some meaningful words to put on the canvas ("Faithfully" by Journey was the first song we danced to as a married couple at our wedding, and a Journey concert in Minneapolis, MN was our first "real" date), and I just went to town!

This "art" requires literally no artistic talent (I'm speaking from personal experience), and took me about an hour to complete. So simple. I kind of wish I would have gotten a bigger canvas, but there's always the next project, right?! Plus, I only spent like $25. Score one for thrifty mama!

Speaking of being thrifty, I found all of the furniture for our living room (photo above) on second-hand websites in Singapore (my favs are Singapore Expat Wives Classifieds on Facebook, Singapore Sell Your Used Stuff on Facebook, Singapore Freecycle on Facebook, and Singapore's Gumtree and Craigslist websites). We hate our Ikea rug, but it was basically free. The coffee table we bought second-hand from a couple in Singapore that purchased it in Vietnam. It's SOLID wood, and we got it for $40! The couch and white side tables are from Ikea, and we got them second-hand for like $100, and the throw-pillows we purchased second hand from a couple in Singapore for like $20. We have actually gotten almost everything for our condo in Singapore second-hand, except our beds/mattresses. I'm addicted to buying used ("pre-loved") shiz:)

Photo on the left is Papa Saigh and I at a Journey concert back in 2008, and the
photo on the right is us dancing to Journey's "Faithfully" at our wedding in 2010.

Barney debuts in singapore.

Barney & Friends makes their debut in Singapore March 20th-23rd, 2014! Barney will be celebrating his birthday with his dinosaur buddies in this all new Barney show (Barney Live in Concert - Birthday Bash). BJ, Baby Bop, and Riff will be there too for this concert party tour, and I can not WAIT to take our 2.5-year-old! Out of all the TV shows she's ever watched, Barney is still her favorite.

SHOW DATES:

20 March (Thurs) – 4pm & 7pm

21 March (Fri) – 1pm, 4pm & 7pm

22 March (Sat) – 11am, 2:30pm & 5:30pm

23 March (Sun) – 11am & 2:30pm

VENUE: Kallang Theatre

TICKETS: +65 6348 5555

$38, $58, $88 & $108 (excludes booking fee)

GIVEAWAY: Harlem globetrotters tickets.

*** WIN 4 TICKETS TO SEE THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS AT THE TARGET CENTER ***

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALYSA LADUKE OF RAMSEY, MINNESOTA! YOU'RE OUR WINNER. PLEASE EMAIL US (minnesotababyinfo@gmail.com) WITH YOUR ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER SO WE CAN VERIFY AND GET YOU THE TICKETS. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING EVERYONE!

There's two ways to enter for a chance to win 4 tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Target Center in Minneapolis:

1. "Like" the Minnesota Baby Facebook page, and share the contest post with your Facebook friends (you must click "share" under the Harlem Globetrotters contest post on our Facebook page).

2. Comment on this blog post (below) with your first and last name, along with the city you currently reside in.

Two simple ways to enter, and if you complete both ways, you'll double your chances to win! You must enter by Friday, March 7th at 8 p.m. to be eligible. One winner will be randomly selected to win four tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters perform at the Target Center on Saturday, April 12th. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on this blog. Good luck everyone!

Tickets:

Save 25% per ticket using code MINNMOMS (Offer not valid on Courtside or VIP seating. May not be combined with any other offers. Not valid on previously purchased tickets. Limit 8 tickets per coupon. Offer expires 4/12/14)