I'm a full-time mummy

Few days ago, I was down with flu, joint pains and diarrhea and was just struggling to get through the day. I had about 4 hours in the morning with our 2 girls while our boy was in his preK. Turned on the TV, loaded up the old Disney shows (Thumbelina and Alice in Wonderland) for our 2.5 years old girl to watch while I rested and nursed our 7 months old girl. Called for food delivery for our lunch and hubby got home around 2pm. He took our older 2 kiddos to his eldest sister house for a few hours so I could rest properly and he even made me rice porridge for dinner.

My SIL Whatsapp us later with pictures of our boy sitting next to her youngest son (10 years old) happily watching him played Minecraft on his iPad, chatting and just having fun with his cousin. A while later she Whatsapp us again telling us the reason why our boy refuses to touch their iPad.

FYI, we've been cutting down the iPad usage for our kiddos, weekends for our 5 years old boy and the occasional use (not more than an hour a day) for our 2.5 years old girl. During the weekdays when Alyson is using the iPad, I told Benjamin that he can have a look but he is not to touch the iPad or use it. And I'm so glad he remembered this and is persistent enough to resist the temptations. I mean, I'm not sure how often you see a kiddo who is able to resist temptation of the things they like?

So yeah, that makes me a very proud mummy!

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.

I have been cutting down on the review of iPad apps lately since we have been limiting the usage of it for our 5 years old boy on weekends only but when I received this pitch, I thought I'd give this app a go as our 2.5 years old girl is a fan of cat and I noticed there are a few features on this app which is worth to review.

* Title: Komaneko
* Price: $3.99
* Category: Education
* Released: May 14, 2014
* Version: 1.2
* Size: 172 MB
* Language: English, Chinese, Malay
* Seller: PixFusion LLC
* Rated: 4+  Made For Ages 6–8
* Requirements: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPad

Description from the product page:

"Komaneko is a clever and creative cat who is planning to shoot a stop-motion movie all by herself. Watch and read the story of Komaneko as she creates her first movie, and the magic that happens after she is done. Developed and directed by Tsuneo Goda, the creator of the iconic Domo character, the Komaneko eBook App is based upon the short film Komaneko—The First Step, which was a finalist at the Melbourne International Animation Festival, the London International Animation Festival, and the 8th Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival. The stunning graphics, story and bonus features will appeal to children of ages 6-8. It is the fourth story in the Kideo eTales series of heartwarming, inspiring and educational stories. " 

* There are a few options you can play with from this app: read, watch or play.Under the Read option, you can read the story or record your own version. As for Play option, there are 6 games you can choose: Coloring, Movie Maker, Spot the Difference, Matching Game, Puzzles and Mission Button.

* I like that there are a few languages offered in this app, namely: English, Chinese and Bahasa Melayu. As a Malaysian, I feel it is good for the app to feature the major languages of the country so that it can cater for more children.

* The background music when you play the movie is very nice, catchy and soothing.

* I let our 2 kiddos take turn to go through the app. Our 5 years old boy and 2.5 years old girl both listen and watch as the story plays and take turns to play the games in the app.

* Some things I find weird from this app is there are certain scenes in the movie which features Komaneko cat in 3D version while certain scenes features the cartoon version of the cat.

* Also when I select the Bahasa Melayu option, I can't help but noticed the translated words for 'Movie Maker' is 'Bikin Filem'. I thought the word 'Bikin' is an old word. I think it would be more appropriate to use 'Buat Filem' or 'Rakam Filem' instead. Just my 2 cents.

* Overall a fun and yet educational app for the kiddos!

You can purchase the "Komaneko" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

It has been a long time since I get to preview an upcoming movie! Few days ago, I received a pitch to participate in a special “sneak peek” screening of "Return to Zero", which premiers 20 May 2014 8.00pm on Lifetime (Chanel 709 on Astro). So below is my review for the  movie:

Title:  Return to Zero
Director: Sean Hanish
Cast: Minnie Driver, Paul Adelstein, Alfred Molina, Connie Nielsen, Kathy Baker, Andrea Anders, Sarah Jones
Release Date: 20 May 2014 8.00pm on Lifetime (Chanel 709 on Astro)
Repeats on 25 May, Sunday at 9pm and 31 May, Saturday at 4pm
Running Time: 107 Minutes

Synopsis of the movie:

"Based on a true story, Return to Zero tells the story of a successful couple, Maggie (Minnie Driver) and Aaron (Paul Adelstein), who are preparing for the arrival of their first child. Just weeks before their due date they are devastated to discover that their baby son has died in the womb and will be stillborn. The two attempt to go on with their lives but cannot escape their postpartum grief and their relationship has been forever altered by this loss. They try to cope in a myriad of ways-- through denial, escape, and alcohol-- but when Maggie discovers that Aaron is having an affair with a co-worker, she decides to end the marriage. Just when Maggie believes she has started a new life, she discovers that she is pregnant. With the help of an empathetic doctor who once experienced a similar loss, Maggie finally learns to grieve for her son and must reunite with Aaron to prepare for their second pregnancy."

Other Notes:

* Return to Zero has been selected as one of the official selection of RIFF Awards 2014, and CINEQUEST Film Festival. 

* Return to Zero is based on the real-life experience of Sean Hanish and his wife. Sean and his wife Kiley had a stillborn child. In 2005, in week 37 of the pregnancy, after a healthy check just the previous month, there was no heartbeat from their unborn child. Their son, Norbert, was born still.

*  Sean Hanish used the actual diagnosis of his son in the film as well as some of the beautiful words that were said at his memorial service.

As a mother of 3 kiddos, I've been blessed through and through again with wonderful pregnancies and deliveries, I can't imagine how heartbreaking it would be to find out the child you have been carrying in your womb passed away.

I have heard of experiences from friends of friends about their stillborn, how despite finding out their child is no longer alive that they still have to go through the delivery process. We may never know the heartaches of going through the experience of the loss of a child and the impact towards the relationship and family.

How often do you come across a film that touches on the aspect of stillbirth and the effects of it? The scene where Minnie Driver delivered her baby boy and hugged him before he was passed on to the nurse - just heartbreaking. Sad when the child you have been carrying in your womb for so long passed away, never get to see the world...

Unless the person have gone through a similar situation, I don't think we can ever understand what the parents go through when they lose an unborn child, the trauma, guilt, anger and all. I think this movie gives us hope that things will turn out better one day and that you are not alone in this and for us to cherish our loved ones every day we can. A must see film!

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the movie in a CD in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

** Note: I have disabled the commenting feature on my blog engine thanks to all the spammers who happily spam my blog every day. If you wish to ask me any questions, you can find me at my Facebook page (I'm there almost everyday) or just drop me an email if you wish to maintain some anonymity.