Family Deal 001 - Family Day at KidZania Singapore for Toyota Owners

I do not earn anything from Toyota but this deal is too good to be missed

Toyota ME members - KidZania @ $35

Date: 3 July 2016
Time: 8.30am to 5pm
Venue: KidZania @ Sentosa
Cost: $35 per pax, lunch included

The normal rates is $68 for kids and $38 for adults so this is definitely a cool deal. Please check it out if you own a Toyota from Borneo Motors and have young kids

Mum's Summar Movie Review 002 - Finding Dory

Finding Dory (2016)

My 2nd and final June holiday's movie. I was a huge huge fan of Finding Nemo, as it was funny, heartwarming and entertaining. When I first watched it 13 years ago, I was still a student and nowhere near being a parent.

13 years on, as a mother of two, this is the type of show I want my kids to watch as it is about family and learn about the marine life.

In a nutshell

The show continues from Finding Nemo, a year on. Dory suddenly recalls memories of her family. Worried about her, Marlin (reluctantly of course) and Nemo embarked on a journey with Dory to find her family and home.

This is how I expect the show to be, just like Toy Story. The laughs are familiar, the feel good moments makes you go Awww... and like the first show, it ends how a family movie does. It is just great to watch even though you know what to expect. You cannot help but to cheer for Dory, with her good nature, and you can't help but feel that better things may come if we think less and do the right thing.

What's good:

• The nostalgic feeling of the 1st show
• Laughs laughs laugh throughout
• No boring or fill in scenes to pass the time
• Entertaining for both adults and kids

What's not good

• No surprises or improvements from Finding Nemo
• Too predictable

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 (3D might be worthy if you have kids as they will be AWE of the fishes)

Mum's Summer Movie Review 001 - The Angry Bird Movie

The Angry Birds Movie (2016)

We decided to bring our kids to catch the show as it seems like a nice and cute show... But end of the day, I learnt new morals which seems to infer humans are like pigs in the show. Well, probably I am just thinking too much.

In a nutshell:
The most successful phone game of all time, is the Angry Birds, with over 2 billion downloads across all platforms as at 2014 (according to Wikipedia), spawning theme parks, merchandise like food, products, cartoons etc. In order to rejuvenate and milk the cash cow before the popularity dies, Rovio came up with the Angry Birds Movie.

The show is an origins story, mainly on how Red  (the main character in Angry Birds) started off angry and how he became friends with Bomb and Chuck. The storyline is nothing new, about Pigs stealing eggs to make omelettes, Mighty Eagle as the only bird that fly with wings and why it is to be angry.

This is the type oaf show to watch, laugh and forget. It will not be the type to re-watch like Star Wars and with a sequel. It is to introduce Angry Birds to audiences that were not born when the game started its popularity.

What's good:

• Easy to understand
• Fast paced
• The birds are so cute, angry or not

What's not good:

• Too similar to the game and cartoons
• Gets boring after awhile
• More suitable for straight to video or as a TV movie

Overall Rating: 2.5 / 5 (Not worth the weekend movie rate. Catch at GV cinema for the kids free with adult deal - link below)

Kids Watch for Free - Everyday

Mum Review 00001: Indoor Playground Show Down - Hokey Pokey at Selatar Mall versus Kids-stop at Science Centre (Jurong).

Since I went on a 2 weeks hiatus, I decided to have 2 in 1 review about the 2 recent indoor kids playground that my boys went. The areas for assessments are

1. Background
2. Accessibility and Location
3. Price
4. Ease & Quality of Play
5. Suitability of age group
6. Final Evaluation

Background

At face value, both places cannot have an entirely apple to apple comparison as Hokey Pokey is an indoor playground set up by like-minded mothers who came together as their babies were all born in July 2010. So the intention is a mix of commercial business and also a place for their kids to come together and play. So, it is more for kids 7 and below (tied to their children’s age). The place is run with a personal touch as in my few visits there, at least 1 of the owner mum will be there.

For KidsStop, it is an extension or rather, a specialised or as they have termed it, edutainment playground under Science Centre set up since Year 2013. As such, one of their target groups is late pre-school to students in the Primary School age going range and there is an educational purpose in their play. The place is professionally run like Science Centre too.

As my boys are 3 yo and 5 yo, I can only evaluate based on their joy of play and time spent (which is a good indication is if the place is value for money and whether there will be return visits).

Accessibility & Location

For Hokey Pokey, it is located at Basement 1 of Seletar Mall, which means people who stays in the West will find it time consuming to travel there as you will have to take North-East Line (NEL) to Seng Kang and change to LRT. It is the 4^th and final stop of the LRT. In you drive, it is still an easily 30-40 minutes journey to get to TPE, exit Jalan Kayu and to Seletar Mall. However, the Mall is a great place for meal time as there are lots of F&B offerings from fastfood (texas chicken, the ever reliable macdonald’s) to bites (Eat, Han’s) to restaurants (Swensens, Pizza Hut, Din Tai Fung etc). The place operates till about 9.30pm so it is not as rushed on weekdays where play is not timed.

For Kids Stop at Jurong East, it is harder to navigate as there is a walk from Jurong East MRT of min. 15 minutes and once you enter, you have to pass through the Science Centre and walk a narrow tunnel to KidsStop. The only consolation is that the passageway is air-conditioned. The only choice for food will be Mcdonald’s only if you only wish to stay within the area. The place closes at 6pm so if you are looking for a late afternoon outing, this place is not for you.

Score: Hokey Pokey (7.5) Wins over KidsStop (6) for better proximity to LRT, opening hours and food offerings

Price

For both places, I signed up for the membership as I expected to have return visits for more than 2 times a year.

However, if you are looking at standalone visit, at Hokey Pokey it is at $26 for both weekdays (unlimited play) and weekend (2 hours play). There was an offer for the membership as I signed up both boys at $58 for 1 kid and 2^nd kid at 50% off ($29) for 1 free entry and 1 free birthday month entry, 1 free soft drink per visit. For members, there will be $10 off for subsequent visits. So my math was, if you visit more than 2 times a year, it is better money sense to get the membership. No cards, just birth cert number. What I like about this place is that they do not charge accompanying parents, unlike other playgrounds such as Kids Amaze and KidsStop.

At KidsStop, the pricing is much lower at $10 for children (18 months to 8 years) and $5 for adults (applicable for Singapore residents, other visitors will pay about 130% higher). As our base cost was already $30 for 2 adults and 2 children, we decided to go for membership at $70 for 2 kids as it allows 2 accompany adults with unlimited visits per year. There are 2 sessions a day (9.30am to 1.30pm and 2pm to 6pm) so it is limited to 4 hours per session every day.

Score: KidStop (8.5) Wins Over Hokey Pokey (7) for lower overall pricing and longer play time on weekends/public holidays

Ease and Quality of play

As the targeted age group for Hokey Pokey is from 6 months to 6 yo, it has higher ease of play for the toys as the play area is demarcated in boys, girls and toddlers.

- Boy Play Zone (Dress Up corner with suits for ironman, transformers, masks, Big Slide with ball play, Thomas the Train slide, Ride on Car Zone, Cars and Train Zone, Toys zone with star wars, power ranger, ninja turtle toys)

- Girl Play Zone (1m high doll house, reading corner, Kitchen Corner, Dress Up corner for Elsa/Anna-wannabes, princesses)

- Toddler Zone (mini slide with ball play, fisher price toys, climbing zone)

My kids favourite is the giant slide. The place is generally very safe and child proof. I also like it that there are no partitions or hidden corners, so parents can observe from the sidelines without any worries. During my 1^st session there, the boys played for about 5 hours without signs of fatigue or boredom. They also immediately asked me to bring them there again. It tells a lot about the fun level for them and best part, I do not have to do the clean-up. The staff will come in about once every hour to tidy up the toys back to the original positions.

For KidsStop, at 3,000 square feet and demarcation of four play themes (Imagine, Experience, Discover & Dream), it is necessary for parents to follow where young kids go as they can easily run off to different play areas and there are different play rooms away from the main area.

The main areas are Construction Zone, Archaeologist Zone to dust dinosaur bones, Supermarket Zone, Discover Your Body Zone, Camera Effects Zone, Rope Climbing Zone (which was about 2 storeys high and not big enough for parents to climb in). Despite the size of the place, the kids got bored at 2 hours and asked for mcdonald’s. It was a tad disappointing.

The place was dimly lighted and does not have the vibrant feel of a playground. The floor is not well cushioned like Hokey Pokey so look out for kids falling down.

Score: Hokey Pokey (8.5) Wins over KidsStop (7.5) as it is better child proof, have suitable play for kids below 3 and sheer longer enjoyment of play.

Suitable age group

Although KidStop is described as a place for pre-schoolers to primary school children and accepts children below 18 months, it is definitely only suitable for kids above 3 yo as those below 3 yo either look lost, fall down and cry or are too busy avoiding the older kids running around.

For Hokey Pokey, their description on suitability for kids aged between 6 months to 6 yo is very true to its description. The wide variety of toys was also very impressive.

Score: It is a Draw as KidStop will be more fun for primary school children while Hokey Pokey is more for pre-schooers

Final Evaluation

If you are looking for a place for your kids to pass time on a weekend with a budget, KidStop is good as if played correctly, there is educational learning at a lower place. But if you want a place which your kids below 7 yo enjoy playing and for pure fun, Hokey Pokey will win hands down.

Product Review 0002: Wireless Doorbell with Receivers

Review of the Wireless Door Bell with Receivers

What I dislike about typical door bells is the need for lots of D size batteries (4-5 pcs) and that the door bells cannot hear in bedrooms as it is always near the door.

So one day, I was surfing the internet and came across this China-brand wireless door which you can add on receivers. This means that if you have no limited budget, you just require one door bell and put one receiver per room. I decided to give a go to see if it is as useful as described by the seller.

Advantages as advertised by seller

• Wireless
• No need for batteries
• Simple set up

Unboxing and Aesthetics

The outlook of the box is like how a Xiaomi product looks like. The box is brown in colour and the items are slotted into the cardboard casing.

The first thing you see in the box is the receivers, which I purchased 2, 1 for the living, and another for the bedroom. Below the receivers is 2 travel adaptor plugs and what I presumed was the bell as there was a bell logo on it (duh). I initially thought the seller was kind to give free travel adaptor plugs until I realise it is for the receivers.

The receiver looks like a night light with the two flat pin plug head at the back (typical of China products). As the item is not distributed by Singapore seller, there is no safety mark certification so it really is used at your own risk. The voltage is from 110 V to 240 V, just like our normal phone chargers. There is also an instruction manual included but it will not be necessary at all.

Basic Product Specs (translated from Chinese manual)

Doorbell

• 40g
• 67mm (diameter) x 20mm (thick)
• Frequency: 433.92 mHz
• Distance: Outdoors – 80 metres, Indoors – 30 metres
• Emitting efficiency – 10 dBm
• Standby power – 0 W

Receiver (per unit)

• 67 mm (diameter)
• Voltage: 110-240V
• Adaptor – International Two Pin
• Standby Power – 0.25W

Manufactured by: Wuhan Linptech (www.linptech.com)

Installation and Using the device

I simply pasted the doorbell on my door and plugged in the receivers, one in the living room, another in a bedroom.

When you depress the doorbell, there is a pleasure blue light that emits from the bottom centre of the doorbell. The receivers also respond almost instantaneously as the traditional “Ding-Dong” srings just as you press.

The only annoying thing I find is that the receivers will immediately give off the “Ding-Dong” sound whenever you power it back on (I do off the receivers when no one is home). The receivers are normally in sleep mode when the doorbell is not working, so I do not face any overheating issues thus far.

Conclusion, this is a worthy product if you are not particular about Safety Mark

What I like

• Ease of use
• Adjustable bell volume
• Wireless doorbell

What I don’t like

• No safety mark on receivers
• Annoying sound of receivers whenever I power it up

My next review will be play place for kids! Hokey Pokey @ Selecta Mall

Review 0001: Samsung Ultra Thin DVD Writer

Review of Samsung’s Ultra Thin DVD Writer

My passion has always been buying gadgets. It need not be the latest but there is some functional purpose as sometimes, the reviews I read are mostly from the guy’s perspective and not as a buyer of the product.

The product I have bought and tested today is the Samsung Ultra Thin Writer(SE-208). As indicated on the box, this Writer is Winner of the Red Dot Design 2015.

Some basic specs as follows:

• OS: Mac OS X (10.4.6.1), Microsoft Windows XP (SP 11) / Vista 7/8
• CPU: Pentium 4 (2.0 Ghz); Atom (1.6 Ghz)
• RAM: 2 Gb
• Interface: USB 2.0
• Supported Media Speed: Min (DVD RAM Write – 5x) Max (CD Rom Read – 24x)
• Max Writing Speed: DVD+R Write & DVD+RW Write (8x)
• Product Made in Philippines

Unboxing and Aesthetics

I was very attracted to the packaging as it tells me the Writer is indeed ultra slim. Indeed, the device is on 14mm thick and no longer than a standard ruler as the length does not exceed 15 cm.

The material of the DVD writer is in plastic but the holding it does not feel flimsy or too heavy at 208g. The colour came in my favourite red and black which contrasts very well, looking modern and not boring at all.

Installation

The setup and installation was seamless. It was plug and play as once I start up my Surface Pro 3 (running on Windows 10 OS), the device was immediately detected upon me logging in. I was offline so there was no online assistance required.

But in case of any issues, the setup CD was also provided but I do not think it will be necessary for most case

Using the device

I used the DVD Writer as a music CD reader to import the music into my iTunes.

Ejecting the drive was simple enough, there is an eject button next to the Samsung logo. It was useful that the button and indicator light is on top as the typical design is at the sides and you need to bend over to check if you pressed the button. Thus, this design allowed ease on the eye as the light blinker will tell you if the DVD writer is working.

The CD used had 11 tracks and imported at a speed of 256kps. The songs got transferred within 8 minutes, similar to the speed which my desktop CD writer does.

For writing of DVD, I will update this review again once it has been tried.

What I like

• Low cost (less than $30 SGD)
• Small size and slim built (about my palm size)
• Easy installation

What I dislike

• The eject button is a bit small
• Speed can be improved if it uses USB 3.0       

Next review: Wireless Doorbell without batteries                                                                                                                  

Nee Year's Resolution for 2016

I have two resolutions for the New Year.

One) To start my web business
Two) To start a blog about my life as a mum, who loves to buy gadgets and bring her kids out to play.

So, here is my effort to share my experience and make once a week entry

My personal time only starts when my kids are asleep so let's cross my fingers that i don't sleep before they do (as my bed seems to be calling my name every night)