I'm a full-time mummy

On a few occasions, we have tagged along with one of my sister in law and her family when they went to their thrice weekly club outings.

Hubby and I will be wearing our swimsuits underneath our casual wear while I changed Benjamin and Alyson when we are at the club. There we would be playing in the swimming pools and kiddy pools for a few hours and head off to have dinner before going home.

We find that these outings are beneficial to our family as we could strive for our better health and fitness while Ben can spend time and bonds with his cousins as well. We also realized Ben gains more confidence in swimming by himself more and more often nowadays!

Prior to being married and having kids, I used to think all this memberships to clubs are very expensive and only the rich people can afford to subscribe to be a member and used the facilities there, but now, having been to one and see for myself all the facilities provided and the amenities which benefits us, hubby and I are seriously considering applying to be members to this club we frequently go to.

Hubby wanted to make use of the Gym facilities there to keep fit and tone back his body size and weight while I think the kids and myself would most probably be using the swimming pools facilities if we are there.

There are other amenities provided such as badminton courts, squash, tennis even golf course but I think for our current family size and condition now, gym and swimming pools are the best fit for us now.

On our part, hubby thinks that rather than paying extra to subscribe for another TV package (for children's channel for Ben to watch), why not get memberships to this club instead? That way, the whole family can go and exercise and have fun! Plus, it is also cool that we can invite other friends and family members along as well (they do need to pay for their admission but charges are lower).

My sister in law even suggested that in future I could invite my SAHM friends over and let the kids enjoy and play in the swimming pool while we mummies just sit at the pool side, watching over our kids and chatting and just relax. What a great idea to consider in future! Hmmmmm!!!

So yes, we are in the process of seriously considering this and I think this plan will benefit us in the long run if we are committed to using the facilities and going to the club for our better health and fitness! Will update you guys on this when it happens!

What about you? Are you a member of any health/sports club in your area?

** Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts, opinions and words are 100 % my own.

As a SAHM, one of the things I look forward to is taking a short break from home, to be away with my family on a holiday. You have no idea how hectic and tiring it is being stuck at home all day, 24 hours, 7 days a week and 365 days a year! To be able to get away from the house even just for a few days is a blessing really!

Currently, I would check with my husband's work schedule (he has his own IT business) and then plan for our family holidays months in advance, usually a 3 days 2 nights trip and I would book for a hotel stay which is family-friendly and near to the places of interests particularly beach area and with lots of good places with delicious food to eat!

Our most recent family trip during the Mother's Day celebration is more like one of those Hotel breaks, where again was planned few months in advance. But this time it is much more relaxed and other than venturing out for food, we practically spend most of the time in our hotel and at the beach.

I feel the entire trip we had is more of a relaxed manner as we just focus on chilling and spending time enjoying the views and hotel facilities. Despite the short trip, I definitely enjoyed the holiday and look forward for more to come!

Of course, given the chance and in time (surely, need to think positive!), I would like to take a longer break and perhaps go for overseas holiday. I chanced upon this website with details on City breaks in the UK which seems very interesting! I have some friends staying in UK and I would like to make UK one of the places to visit in future (apart from Hong Kong, Sweden and Italy or Spain perhaps?)

Back to UK, I have a friend who stays in London and I've not been hearing from him for a long long time. We used to joke about us going there to travel and staying at his place and he even offered to bring us around for sightseeing. Sigh... how I wish that day will come soon! I do miss getting news from him!

With air travel getting more affordable nowadays, I think it will be possible for this plan to materialise one day, provided my kids are older and easier to manage then.

What about you? Do you have any favorite places that you travel to?

** Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All thoughts, opinions and words are 100 % my own.

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and cherish.

Btw if you have baby girls, I highly recommend purchasing a baby swing for girls so you can get some much needed rest from the infants for a few minutes!

I blogged about both Benjamin's and Alyson's supernatural childbirth experiences before. For this month's Carnival of Natural Parenting, we have this topic to ponder on:

"It seems like there is so much pressure in the natural parenting community to have the “perfect” birth, but everyone’s definition of the “perfect” birth is different – and it certainly isn’t what happens for many women. This month we want to celebrate the miracle of birth no matter what it looks like. Pick at least one part of your birth experience that you can hold up and cherish and share it with us!"

Now, I for one, don't think I had the perfect birth for both my kids, but I do believe they are both supernatural. Why?

With my 1st child,

* Ben engaged himself just 2 hours before I gave birth (or I'd end up with C-sect cos breech position)

* I don't rely on painkillers other than Entonox (aka the laughing gas)

* I delivered Ben in 3 pushes! (well, first one not counted since it was wasted on my screaming like a banshee)

* I lost very little blood - according to my gynae, I only lose 250ml (a can of soft drink) of blood.

* I didn't even suffer for long from the contractions pain until I was at the hospital (which if I count from midnight to the point I delivered is just 4.5 hours!)

With my 2nd child,

* Alyson engaged herself and I finally have the chance to feel how a baby engaged feels like (and how painful it was when the contractions came)

* I delivered Alyson naturally

* I don't rely on painkillers other than Entonox (which was for a couple of seconds only)

* I delivered Alyson in 2 pushes!

* I lost very little blood about 250ml (a can of soft drink) which was the same case with Ben

* No episiotomy this round! Yeay!