Preparing Siblings for New Baby

Recently, I just received a great news from home. 

One of my dearest friends who used to be assigned here in NYC just deliver her baby. How excited! I remember all the feelings and the excitement when I have Bo et Obi. Not only the fun part, but also the challenging one, like dealing with sibling rivalry issues.

Welcoming baby Obi..back in 2010

Welcoming a new baby into the family is fun and exciting, but for the toddler who has been the center of your universe since taking his first breath, it gets a bit confusing. All of the sudden, people are talking to your stomach instead of talking to him/her when they visit.  They keep asking if he is going to be a big brother, but he/she has no idea what a big brother is, so how can he be one? People keep bringing toys and blankets, but he is not allowed to touch them. Something is definitely odd around here! 

I remember Bo, my son, when Obi was born. It was like a mixed feelings of excitement as well as uncertainty, if not confusion, as he welcomed his little sister.

About a month before (or a month after) the arrival of the new baby, consider celebrating with a “New Sibling Party”.  

Your little boy is the guest of honor. He is being celebrated as the big brother. (Our preference is a month after the birth so the toddler can introduce the family and friends to his new baby). The decorations can be recycled from your baby showers. Instead of finger sandwiches or cake, consider an easy to put together candy buffet. A candy buffet is easily made from containers or jars you have around the house, scoops, some colorful balloons, streamers, and some paper bags for the guests to take goodies home with them.  There is no mess or clean up.

Invitations

Be sure to specify what time the party begins and what time it ends. This will keep you from tiring out. Write on the invitations, “No gifts” because your guests will wonder.  It would be a bad thing if a guests showed up with a gift for the baby and nothing for the big brother, on his special day.

Theme

While the theme is baby related, make sure you point everything to your son, who is the guest of honor. Have a few games set up.  One is to set a jar filled with candy on the table with slips of paper and a basket next to it. Each guest writes his or her name on the paper and their guess of how much candy is in the jar. Winner get the candy when they leave. Set up some dolls and diapers and a timer. Have a baby changing contest. 

Candy

You will buy your candy in bulk. The best bulk candy supplier we have ever used is Sweet Services.  They are great for candy, containers, goody bags, and advice. You will need about eight ounces of candy per guest. Think kids.  Have Pacifier suckers, lollipops, M&M’s, Skittles, and foil wrapped candy (like coins). Sweet Services can tell you of any specials they have going or of any specialty candies that will go well with your theme.

sweet treats, anyone?
photo is taken from http://www.sweetservices.com/

Set up the candy table with a stool and a wide jar and scoop for the big brother to scoop. (a plastic shovel and bucket works great) Let big brother serve and talk to the guests as much as he wants.  Give him a disposable camera and tell him to mingle and take everyone’s picture. It will be great new experience for him as he started to take pictures and have fun with it. For sure, he will have some attentions he deserve

The main event

Have everyone gather and follow your son to the nursery to introduce the family to the new baby. If you want, you can put the baby in a stroller and have him (with your help) push the baby to them. Have him tell everyone her name and have him tell the baby who they are.  Your son will get a kick out of being the big brother and your family is off to a great start.

Note: It is natural for people to make ove the new baby. But mention to your close friends and family that you are concerned about your son. Ask them to be sure to speak to him before they start making over the infant. It is important that your son understands his place in the family unit is not threatened. Never let anyone tease him by saying things like “you will be traded in”.  Let your child feel special, because he is.  Let him develop a good relationship with his sibling, because one day he will need it. Your celebration means all of these things and more.


So hopefully this will help and your kids will have a great time welcoming their sibling.

Cheers,
Mama Bo et Obi

Pokemon Hunting in New York City

Enjoying Pokemon Go? 
I do! 
And don't give me that look LOL. 
Or saying..duuuh, where have you been, Indah? :).

Some of you might think that it's a bit to late to write about this phenomenal game dubbed as the most popular location-based game ever.

Now that summer break is over and the school time is here, I can actually have some times to sit down and write about it. 

If you feel like you gotta catch 'em all, then you're not the only one as approximately 
I know that this game has somehow created a new world of Pokemon-chaser.

it's purple and it's cute :)

My family has been using Pokemon Go as one of our get-together summer break activities. Don't get us wrong. We do other sport and outdoor activities as well, but occassionally, we play Pokemon Go together. Why together? Because the kids don't have their phones so we set the accounts in my hubby's and my phones. That means my kids can only play when we allow them to use our phone.

Last year we were privilege to have our road trip during summer but this year, I am still caught up with works so we just stay around the City and enjoy more quality time with the kids. One of the simplest and easiest way of doing it is by heading to the nearest parks. Usually we spend so much time in Astoria and Central Park. And as you know, many people chased those cute digital pocket-monsters with their smartphones. For us, it proves to be fun!

So, is cashing Pokemon good for you? 

I read about all those negative impacts and crazy things that happened to people absurdly playing Pokemon Go all the time. Some had accidents as they did not pay enough attention to their nearest surroundings. Some had trespassed others' property and got trouble with it. Some even got mugged because of snatching Pokemon at night. And many discouraging stories surrounding this game.

But as we manage to control the time we're using for this game, we also have benefits deriving from chasing Pikachu and friends.

These are some of the good things we truly enjoy from playing Pokemon Go with my kids.

Bonding time

Every morning, my kids wakes me up earlier because they want me to walk with them to the Park. We discuss different kind of pokemons, their combat power, and more details. This is one game that unites us all.

Frankly speaking, I don't like it when my hubby and Bo play games in their consoles. Looks like they have their own world and don't care about others. Call me jealous but I always feel like those games rob our fun time together.

But as we play Pokemon Go together, the four of us enjoy this game a lot as a family.
And for us, it's 

One selfie amidst the stampade at Central Park :)

Walk a lot, exercise more

Have you tried hatching the eggs in Pokemon Go? 
They have choices of 2, 5 and 10 km walk in order to hatch those eggs and be rewarded with some pokemons, including the rare ones. 

Thanks to this game, we walk a lot and exercise more!
Every morning, during the summer break and now on weekends, my kids will eagerly wake us up and take us to Astoria Park. One hour morning walk and we feel super fresh plus get more and more pokemons. 

Occasionally,  we spend some times in Central Park and join the stampede :).
Boy..look at all those Pokemons you have in there. 
We use this additional digital map, Poke Alert,  showing the type of Pokemon you'll find in one particular spot plus the remaining time they are there. It's very handy indeed. 
Once we have one player saying that there is one particular or rare pokemon, like Gyarados, Snorlax, or Pikachu, the next thing I know, everyone is rushing to that sighting place and try to catch it! 

Well, with all the walks, plus running sometimes, and the excitement of catching the additional collection to our Pokedex, I can call it a great cardio!

Pokemon stampede in NYC

New friends, practice english

For us, non-English speaking people, playing pokemon proves to get us new friends while chasing pokemons and practice our English in fun way.  For my kids, it's good for practicing English as well, particularly the spelling! Hearing them spelling Gyarados, Polliwag,  Aerodactyl, or even Abra. See...there are many fun ways to learn English with Pokemon Go.

Have fun

And the most important thing is let's have so much fun.
For us, the FUN is when you share the joy of what we have with the loved ones.

So, that's our little note on Pokemon Go. 

How about you? 

Do you like Pokemon Go as well? What's your story? 

Suatu Sore di Little Italy, New York City

"Mommy, where are we going today?"
"May I have ice cream as well?"
"Shall we go catch pokemon, ma?"

Our Sunday has just began :)
*****

Minggu sore.
Cuaca yang sudah sangat bersahabat di akhir pekan libur Labour Day memang membuat kami bersemangat menelusuri berbagai sudut New York City.
Bo dan Obi memang tengah menikmati libur musim panas. Apalagi saat itu adalah minggu terakhir sebelum mereka kembali ke sekolah.

Summer break is here and we are sooo ready to go out and about in NYC.
Kids are surely enjoying their holiday and they have been wanting us to take them anywhere. 

Sebenarnya, kami berencana ke Philadelphia hari itu, namun karena sehari sebelumnya kami asyik menikmati suguhan diskon di salah satu factory outlet andalan di New York, dari buka sampai tutup (don't ask me why), jadilah kami kecapekan dan terlambat bangun >_<.

So then, we decided to explore more of the City we have been living for the last 2.5 years. This time, we were heading to SoHo and Little Italy.

SoHo is abbreviation of South Houston.

One of the most famous neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan, filled with cobble-stones streets and high-end fashion and top designers stores. 
I love SoHo.  I love getting myself lost in the middle of those cute boutiques, artistic corners and classic apartment building.
It's so me!
And it feels surely homey for those who appreciate all those artistic details you can easily find here in SoHo.

SoHo yang merupakan singkatan dari South Houston, atau bagian selatan dari jalan Houston, memang sejak dahulu terkenal sebagai salah satu pojok paling 'nyeni' yang ada di New York City. Jajaran butik perancang terkenal maupun khas the Big Apple hingga aneka galeri seni menghiasi berbagai sudut SoHo yang tidak pernah sepi dari pengunjung, baik turis maupun penduduk lokal NYC.

Do you see the cobble-stone street?

Little Italy sendiri, as the name clearly described, merupakan kawasan khas yang didominasi para penduduk keturunan Itali  yang memang banyak tersebar di berbagai negara. Para Imigran Itali yang telah lama bermukim di NYC tersebut mencoba membawa the real taste of home, menjadikan kawasan ini pusat makanan, minuman dan jajanan khas negeri Pisa tersebut.

salah satu sudut Little Italy

Karena cuaca yang super ice-cream friendly, kami berempat pun sepakat menyusuri SoHo dan Little Italy hari itu.

I know those places have beautiful murals and street arts that will be perfect for a brief photo shot here and there. I grabbed my favorite purple paisley dress for that afternoon and as always, everything followed suit.

in purple :)

Saya pun jadi semangat menikmati tempat-tempat favorit yanng memang tidak begitu sering kami kunjungi ini. Tanpa ragu, baju wanita original yang saya pakai kali ini khusus bernuansa ungu. Warna favorit :). Dan apalagi kalau bukan menikmati sore berbalut baju favorit dengan foto di berbagai mural cantik yang tersebar di seputar Little Italy.

So, first destination, Cafe Roma :).

Google it..then you will see what makes Cafe Roma famous.

Kafe yang asli ngetop karena ada mural Audrey Hepburn di dinding sisi sampingnya memang selalu ramai dengan pengunjung. 

don't you love it :)

Padahal minuman dan makanan ringan yang disajikan tidak terlalu banyak menurutku. Namun harus diakui gelatonya enaaaak banget :). Anak-anak sudah ribut memesan satu mangkok gelato vanilla, sementara saya memilih chocholate fudge dan my hubby chose coffee kahlua. And they tasted wonderful! Plus they are very generous as well. Truly Italian gelato. 

gelato, anyone? :)

I managed to order one ricota-chesse filled pastry as well. 
Love it!

yum and perfect bite-size :)

Cafe roma yang terletak di pojokan antara Broome Street dan Mulberry Street ini memang cocok untuk tempat duduk-duduk sambil menikmati lalu lalang orang-orang dengan warna dan cerita mereka masing. Memang terlihat banyak turis yang menikmati sudut kota yang khas ini. Apalagi yang berfoto di mural Audrey Hepburn, walaupun persis di bawahnya terdapat pengunjung Cafe Roma yang asyik menikmati capuccino dan latte mereka.

Selesai menikmati es krim, kami asyik melihat aneka karya seni dan souvenir khas New York City yang berbau itali. Lucu-lucu deh. Sayang saya tidak boleh foto :). Walaupun ada beberapa juga yang sempat saya abadikan.

khas Itali dan NYC :)

Btw, saat saya iseng foto di salah satu mural di Little Italy, ada beberapa yang tersenyum dan menanyakan baju saya, termasuk beli di mana. Memang hari itu saya memilih baju yang motifnya khas dan warna ungu, ditambah sepatu, tas dan aksesories yang saya pakai. 

Mungkin mereka juga penggemar ungu kali yaaa :). Kalau di tanah air, saya seneng banget melihat baju wanita original di online shop. Pokoknya kalau sudah mampir ke online shop udah deh, bisa lupa waktu :).

betaaah kan lihat yang begini :)

Karena selain memang banyak pilihan dan banyak diskon (bahagianya),

online shop yang terpercaya pastinya memiliki koleksi dari berbagai merk dan terjamin keasliannya.

Sebenarnya, kunjungan kami ke Little Italy belum lengkap without trying their famous pizza and

pasta. But we have to continue our journey to Central Park that day. Yuuup...Bo et Obi had been

wanting to hunt for more Pokemons while they were still enjoying their holiday.



So, Little Italy, we'll be back and see you soon.

WW: Anniesa Hasibuan for NYFW Spring/Summer Collection 2017

Stunningly beautiful!

I was still awed by the amazing collection of Anniesa Hasibuan for NYFW Spring/Summer Collection 2017, beautifully showcased at the Dock, Skylight at Moynihan Station, on September 12, 2016

Here are some of the snaps from that historical night :)

More complete stories are coming for sure. Photos are taken by me and @aldiphoto :)

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have fun bloghopping :)

Wonderful Wednesday with Oh My Heartsie Girl

I just had a wonderful week.
Super special indeed.

Anniesa Hasibuan ..photo by @aldiphoto

We are welcoming Anniesa Hasibuan, Indonesian talented designer who brings a new touch of glamour, in line with Islamic values  and surely Indonesian traditional vibrant colors and patterns, to New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer Collection 2017.

the finale....

First time ever!

Indonesian Designer in New York Fashion Week the Show!

Super excited...

I truly enjoyed my first row experience at NYFW. For sure, I will get back with more stories 😘😘

let's enjoy the show....

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