Happy and Sad Octopus

Happy Octopus

Sad Octopus

Our two-year-old daughter Ashrie asked for paper this afternoon saying she wanted to paint. My wife handed her the paper and asked what she wanted her (mom) to draw. Ashrie asserted that she wanted to draw and color by herself. And so be it.

When asked what she drew she said it was a “happy octopus” on the first sheet and a “sad octopus” on the other. She even chose the colors herself.

Trying hard as I can, when I received these drawings via email, I really could not decipher the octopus’s configuration. Suddenly, I realized the genius behind the abstract artwork (perhaps it’s not abstract at all in her perspective) was in her choice of colors! She actually used warm and vibrant colors on the first one and cool or subdued colors on the second.

And for the record, I really love these two drawings!

IEL's Potato Stamp Art

Letter Stamp carved from a potato!

Jane prepared this stamp art made with the "humble" potato to help her put these letters to memory. Ashrie is getting these three letters of the alphabet all mixed-up. Ironically, it's the same letters that comprises her nickname, IEL.

Mothers’ Day and AR’s Day 2011

It has been a very hectic weekend for all of us.

Saturday afternoon was Ashrie’s playdate at the water park with the daughter of some old friends. So we need to buy and cook something for our guests. And Sunday was Mothers’ Day and also my brother’s 25th birthday.

Here is a rundown of our weekend schedule:

Saturday Afternoon: Ashrie's playdate

with Eunice at the Waterpark

Saturday Midnight:

AR's Birthday Surprise!

Sunday Morning:
Jane got this EA Lip Protectant from church.
This gift was presented to all mother attendees!

Sunday Morning:
Ashrie made this mirror greeting card

for Jane in Sunday School.

After church we had a tummy-filling buffet lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Then we went to the community library to return books at the bookdrop and borrow some children storybooks again.

We were not able to see the decorations pieces they asked for from Ashrie’s party personally but we had a glimpse on how they have utilized it through Facebook, and here is a photo-grab.

Remember those flower lanterns and pom-poms?

So to my brother, Happy Birthday! And Happy Mothers’ Day to all the mothers, especially my mom, my wife’s mom and my wife, of course.

Sylvanian Families Beechwood Hall

Ashrie and her second birthday presents!

It was a special present from my brother AR, (Ashrie’s only uncle from Daddy’s side). It was given to her on her second birthday party held at the Family Bay Area of the Lower Seletar Reservoir. Actually, this does not came as a surprise for us since we have been in the scene, from requesting for this gift, to buying, and even wrapping! It has been a family affair.

Here are Ashrie’s photos while opening up the pretty package:

Hmm, what could be in this big box?

It's SF Beechwood Hall!

This is for the Living Room

Checking-out the room's possibilities

While here’s a short background about the Sylvanian Families from Wikipedia: Sylvanian Families (シルバニアファミリー Shirubania famirii?) is the name of a line of video games and anthropomorphic collectible toy flocked plastic figures, created by David Sylvian in 1985 and distributed worldwide by a number of companies. The characters, grouped into families, feature woodland creatures such as beavers, hedgehogs, mice and bears, although in recent years, they have expanded to other animals such as cats, dogs, penguins, monkeys and meerkats. They remain a quintessential part of the 1990s boom in craze (or fad) toys. The word 'sylvan' means 'of the forest'.

Moreover, here’s what www.sylvanianfamilies.com has to say for SF Beechwood Hall:Wade Waters and Alonzo Macavity, the Sylvanian builders, have been working very hard this winter on the refurbishment of Willow Hall.

The new version for 2010 is called BEECHWOOD HALL and has been given a lick of paint to update the colour to a brighter shade of cream. The house still comes with two working lights and has space for additional lights from the Home Interiors Set (ref L41, sold separately) to be added to the other rooms.

The most exciting new feature however is the new LANDING SPACE on the first floor. The new triangular floor piece clips into place between the two bedrooms to create a landing. You can then move between the upstairs rooms easily, or even have the staircase coming up to the landing rather than straight into one of the upstairs rooms. Also the middle floor piece is now reversible with a wooden floor on one side, and green grass on the other.

So if you are an SF collector, a fanatic, or simply fascinated with these adorable creatures, you can follow Ashrie’s journey in her own Sylvania by visiting and giving a LIKE on her page on Facebook via Ashrie’s Beechwood Hall. We will be constantly updating this page with videos, and articles about SF Beechwood Hall and probably some other SF news and updates.

Thanks!

Ashrie’s Second Birthday Bash

It was raining heavily for the past few days or even weeks, especially in late afternoons, and even on the morning of Ashrie’s second birthday celebration. But thank God, after noon, the dark clouds cleared away and the sun shone brightly as if heralding: This is the day to celebrate! And celebrate we did.

Early morning, we cordoned off the shelter by encircling the area by a string and “RESERVED” banners. (This is to officially announce that we have reserved the place.) My approval letter from the authorities was also affixed. We also cleared and cleaned the area with the help of the park cleaner.

Since it was an outdoor event, my brother and I had to transport all the things needed for the party except the food which was catered. This includes 24 flower pom-poms, 8 unassembled paper lanterns and other decorations, fresh flower arrangements, a customized pink and green butterfly cake, beautifully –wrapped presents, inflated balloons on sticks, party favors, a big glass bowl of green apples, and all the necessary gadgets to install them. All in the cheery combination of pink and green hues. We have carried along with it a month of party planning, and more than a week of nightly cutting, pasting, and painting, so to speak.

Working as fast as we could, we had managed to finish everything before our first batch of guests arrived. It was an afternoon of fun. Our guests arrived at different times so we had the time to chat with all of them. The night came and more friends came in. And more friends mean more laughter and merriment along the way.

Following is a photo summary of what happened captioned with "do’s in organizing a party."

Do make reservations in advance to secure a place.

Prepare all the necessary decorations to be installed in the venue weeks before.

Here, we hanged paper lanterns and flower pom-poms on the shelter's wooden beams

and pegged pink and green balloons on the lawn;

a little something to see up there, down below and roundabout.



Do get inspirations from nature.

Balloons on the ground looked like fruits which have fallen from the tree.

Another example of taking cues from nature.

Flower lanterns hanging from the roof eaves and pom-poms which look more like

giant pollen grains to me blends well with the existing breathtaking panorama.

Do mix fantasy and reality.
We have huge flowers made of paper and fresh ones on the table.
The green apples provide a refreshing feel,
but a bold splash of color against the hot pink tablecloth.

Do choose appropriate party favors.

We have green towels and pink bubble bottles

since it is a (pink and green) water play party for kids.

Do choose comfy but trendy footwear.

Ashrie's Baby GAP sandals matched with Mom's flats of "almost" the same design.

Ashrie, the Birthday Girl!

MyGirls, Ashrie and Jane

Daddy and Daughter

Me&MyGirls

Enjoying her party!

The Event Photographer: AR, Ashrie's uncle

Do bring the indoors out. We placed a hot pink tablecloth and turned
the park’s cold, hard, built-in stone table into a “sweets table” thus creating a cozy patio-like atmosphere.

Me&MyGirls with the Santos Family

From left: Grace, Al, Jo, Me&MyGirls, Diane and Carlo

Me&MyGirls with the Amores-Avilas

Do have fireworks!
Or in Singapore's case which has strict regulations, sparklers!

When it was time to go home, some friends help us to “restore the park area to its original state” and bring everything and more (Ashrie’s gifts) back to our place. We live just across the road so it’s just a short stroll away. At home after our friends left, we still have to make a final photoshoot with Ashrie and her presents. And here they are:

Ashrie's with her "still-wrapped" gifts

Hey, it's Minnie!

Opening one of her presents and liking it

Her presents revealed!

Long after that, we cleared the house of every mess, and retired for the night. A sweet night’s sleep for all of us, full of memories of the day and the event that was.

By the way, we were so thrilled that our guests from the church have requested to have the paper decorations after our event. They will use it for the Filipino Fellowship celebration for Mothers’ Day the week after. The event has a floral theme so they thought it would be perfect. What a noble way to dispose it! Recycling would give them a new lease on life and added worth for our efforts. And it’s a green act! It would also save them a lot of time planning and making decorations. We agreed right away, and have it delivered to the church’s doorsteps the next day.

With this, we would like to extend our sincerest thanks to all our friends who graced the event. Blessings to you! And most of all, Thank God for our dearest blessing, Ashrie who is now 2 years old and the fine weather He provided that day.

Ashrie’s Second Birthday Bash is history. Next event: AR’s 25th Birthday and Mother’s Day Celebration this coming Sunday. I’ll keep you posted. :-)