Eat. Play. Stay?

17 Oct

It’s another fun FriDate with 22. Every week, I genuinely look forward to experience the city with her. As we venture out more and more on our own, I feel so much more confident being a mother. For context, 22 has always been closer to 22 BaaBaa than me. I was never born a motherly person but I’m trying my best to be the mother I know how to. Having those 1:1 moments with her on weekly basis really boost my confidence and made me feel closer to her. Again, I’m thankful we get to do all the fun things together and I hope she will never forget to have fun as she gets older. And most importantly—stay curious! Ps. Why Meta kept tagging AI content 🤷‍♀️ It is definitely Not Edited by AI… at least not yet 😉

16 Oct

What a year 🥂 My heart is filled with gratitude for every place we’ve been, every soul we’ve encountered, and every experience we’ve got to share as a family. It wasn’t all easy to leave everything behind but this trip has truly given us the clarity we needed. I can proudly say there are no more “what-ifs” in my life at the moment—which I believe most people I know still live with them everyday. Leaving our comfort zone also gives us new definition of success. I’m no longer looking at who’s “successful”; I’m looking for who’s having fun! I used to think we can be better at what we are already good at. Now, I believe we will be better at whatever we’re having fun with. And that’s all I’ll be doing next. The fun things—which doesn’t mean it’ll all be easy but some productive struggle and failure will only make the outcome more worthwhile, just like making this reel (my very first one 😝) Ps. We just officially launched our podcast! If you want to know more about what we learned in this adventure. Look for Eat.Play.Stay? on Spotify!

10 Oct

Every week, I look forward to this day because I get to have my 1:1 time with 22. The 4-day work week that I have created for myself is working out for us very well so far. I know this will soon fade once I move on to the next phase of my life, so I will savor every moment of it. This week, I had planned to return to WordPlay again but only to find out it the next session will be on October 23rd. So instead of trying to find another activity to go, I thought to myself, why don’t I just take 22 out to run errands with me and maybe slot in a short indoor soft play for her in between. We started the day with a slow morning. Nice family breakfast and some family time at home. After her nap, I was ready to take her to Battersea. Just when I had everything mapped out in my head. She said to me: “MaaMaa, I want to go library”. I asked her: “Are you sure? No bus ride today?” She replied affirmatively: “Yes, no bus. Let’s go read books”. Me: “Okay, let’s do it”. Just like that, we spent a beautiful 2-hour reading session in the library. Actually reading together. What a beautiful Snow Leppard moment for me. After we left the library (due to noise), we went to the playground nearby and picked up some Korean food takeout on the way home. Maybe we really don’t need a lot in this life. My heart was so full at the end of the day, especially knowing that I was truly present with her every single minute of it today—no rushing her to finish her breakfast so that I can send her to nursery before work, and no rushing her to finishing her play so that we can make it to the bus and get home in time for whatever the next task is. This is just an ordinary day. Not even Instagram worthy perhaps. But to me, this is one of the best FriDates we’ve had for sure and I hope to create even more dates like this with her! Ps. Not sure why Meta tagged my post made by AI previously. This post is NOT edited or made by AI…at least not yet 😉 Nothing wrong with editing by AI but I just chose to go through this productive struggle to really understand how the tools work. That’s just me 🤓 Learn by doing!

3 Oct

The day didn’t go exactly as planned but we still managed to see the city through 22 yesterday! London’s free art and cultural events are unbeatable. At this point, I’d probably say it’s better than New York 🙈 Thanks to Southbank Centre — we enjoyed the WordPlay by the Early Bird very much. I can’t wait to find them on Yoto! The Jubilee Gardens Play Area 🛝 is a surprising find and most importantly 22 took her first Carousel Ride 🎠 Ps. I still need to plan 22’s nap time better 😅

26 Sept

🎶 It’s a perfect perfect perfect day 🎶 This week’s FriDate, I took 22 on a date with Peppa Pig. She had her first afternoon tea and got to see London as a tourist. This is definitely going to our core memory! While we were on the bus, I felt very emotional. I felt so grateful to go on this adventure with her. London is a city I keep coming back over the years. First time, I was 10. Then I studied and worked here when I was 22. Then I came here to celebrate my first ROM anniversary 9 years ago. And then we were here with 22 last November. Now we’re here again, it somehow feels very close to home. The language, the people, among many other things. I can’t wait to see where our next chapter unfolds. P.s. if you’re considering taking the Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea bus with your little one, choose table 12 or 13 on the upper deck. It’s worth the splurge :) Also thanks to Kate from Pret for the babyccino on the house 😘

19 Sept

Back in London 🇬🇧 for the next few months. It’s been a rollercoaster ride since I last updated this account. Long story short, Asian isn’t as turnkey ready as we thought it’d be, so we’re back here. This time around with more clarity and ready to (re)build our family life back to the way we imagined! Every Friday, I’ll be going on a little adventure with 22. I can’t wait to create more core memories for her and me! 💡Quick tip for Tate Draw in Tate Britain: you can get the most unique souvenir from your visit for just GBP14. Whatever you draw, you’ll have a choice to print it on a T-shirt jfyi 😉 If you have any activity suggestion for a day out with toddler in London, please do share in the comment 😘 Ps. Thanks to Mario from Dolphin House for the delicious babyccino to wrap up our day!