Experiences: Chinese Story-telling Competition

Proud of boy who overcame nerves and language challenges to finish top 10 in his Chinese storytelling competition :-) Think mummy was more nervous, actually ... video ended up all over the place.

Experiences: Voice Overs

For the past year or so, the 2 older kids have earned some pocket money for themselves through voice-over jobs.

It all started with some Facebook casting calls. Didn't think much about it, but thought of trying the kiddos out for fun.

So Girl and Boy went for castings with two different recording studios.

Girl had her first job in February 2015 for some Disney Princess TV ad. It was an exciting experience. She managed to get parts in 5 different scripts. The director was very patient in guiding her line by line, with the proper inflections and diction.

We only managed to catch one of the 5 ads she did, though. And that entailed sitting in front of the TV for a while, with camera ready to shoot.

"If I were a Princess ..."

Boy had two V/O jobs in end-2015 and early-2106. One was a TV ad for a Baby toiletry brand, which we managed to find a recording for many months later.

Another was a CNY radio ad ... we were sitting in a dentist waiting room when we heard it come on the speakers. Mummy acted like a sua-ku dungu when I dropped everything and raised my phone up to the ceiling to try to record the ad.

Where all the discussions and directing go on 

Second job was with a female partner and required more coordinating

Then the two of them had a recording for an educational programme — reading words and phrases to teach kids English.

So the recording experiences have been quite varied.

And there have been jobs that they have tried for but didn't get.

And while they won't get rich through it, they've been enjoying the ride.

Hopefully there will be more such opportunities to come.

Growing Up: Fixing that Smile

Boy #2 has a minor underbite issue — his lower jaw protrudes out a bit more than normal, and his lower row of teeth would be in front of his top row.

It wasn't particularly noticeable, but we thought we would get it looked at. Our orthodontist, Dr Bernard Low, said conventional treatment is usually for older kids, but he was willing to take the chance and experiment with this 6-year-old.

Taking a mould 

A mould of his teeth to build the mouth guard

Holidays: Margaret River, Australia (Part 2)

continued from Part 1 ...

Yallingup Maze

This was one attraction that we almost didn't go to, but am so glad we did!

It was lots of fun for the whole family. There are four towers at each corner of the maze, and part of the fun was trying to find your way to each of the four towers through the maze. There are secret doors and water guns for some extra squirting fun.

We divided our troop into three teams to compete against each other, and we had to take group selfies at each of the towers.

The free outdoor area is just as fun, with smaller puzzles to solve and logs to climb.

Cafe and store area, where you get your tickets

Off we go with our water guns

Holidays: Margaret River, Australia

During the March holidays, we decided to venture out of Malaysian borders to go Down Under, spending about a week at Perth and Margaret River with our extended family — all 18 of us!!

We had oodles of fun exploring part of Western Australia. If you are planning a trip there with kids, hopefully our experience may give you some helpful ideas. :-)

We did so much and took so many photos ... so we will be updating this blog as Mummy gets down to editing the photos etc. Do check back again soon for latest updates.

Pit Stop: Busselton

We took a 3-hour drive down from Perth, stopping at Busselton for a lovely picnic lunch under a shady tree by the coast. There were some cafes by the beach, and we ordered take-out from them.

Mummy had ordered a gigantic picnic mat from an Australian online store earlier, so we could fit the entire clan on it. The sun was hot, and there were lots of seagulls trying to get to our food. But the kiddos enjoyed chasing them in the heat.

Run, Baby, Run

Visits: BNM Museum & Art Gallery

A little known treasure in our Central Bank's vault is the Bank Negara Malaysia Museum & Art Gallery at Sasana Kijang.

The Museum gives you fun and interactive lessons on economics, banking and financial planning matters. 

It's air-conditioned with several floors of exhibits, and the kids were kept busy running up and down, looking for special country rubber stamps to mark their "Asean Passport".

Best of all, it's free. Our foreigner friend who was with us kept asking, "Are you sure it's free? This sort of place would be so expensive in my home country!"

There's a special Children's Gallery where you can go through a RM1 million tunnel, be a bank teller of a day and try your hand at special kid-targeted exhibits.

Visits: Lost World of Tambun

We also had free tickets (included in our Banjaran Hotsprings package) to the neighbouring Lost World of Tambun, which is part of the Sunway Group.

It was a very quiet on the weekday, which made for a lovely morning stroll for mummy and daddy (sans kids).

Entrance to the petting zoo from the resort's side

Educational exhibits showcasing Ipoh's tin-mining history

Time to "mendulang"?

Cool breeze through limestone hills