My cousin who left for New York last week on a business trip emailed me a while back and she has been raving about how she loves the biggest city in the United States. She is enjoying herself so far even if traveling alone and was in her hotel room arrival at the airport in no time with the help of Newark Airport Shuttle which offers affordable, reliable and safe ground transportation services throughout New York City and the surrounding suburbs. She told me I shouldn’t miss New York City when I visit US hopefully next year. Now this gets me more excited. I can’t wait to finally have the chance to see what she’s talking about and my sister in law! Add my father in law too! They all have been raving about this wonderful city and that it should be included in our itinerary definitely. I really hope plans push through and that Baby Bullet will cooperate, LOL. I really wish he won’t be a cry baby or a fussy baby like her big sister - Sophia. If so, there’s no more stopping us. We’ll definitely invade the “Big Apple” soon!

You Should Be a Pumpkin

You are seen as cute and adorable. People can’t help but love you. You see Halloween as the day you can really go all out and get noticed.You’re definitely likely to get a little scared on Halloween. You are easily spooked, but you love feeling scared. It’s all part of the fun.

What Classic Halloween Costume Should You Wear?

Presenting …

My little Barbie Doll as Ms. Korea.

It was Children’s Day last Thursday at Sophia’s school and I made her come in a Korean costume. The kids in the Bambino and Nursery classes paraded their costumes and at the same time went trick or treating. Last stop was a dark room for the kids to hunt for candies! Here are some photos.

I had extra time last night as soon as the little girl fell asleep so I finally had time to upload some photos at my friendster account. Since I wasn’t at all sleepy yet, I also managed to view some friends’ photos which I haven’t been doing for some time now. Its so nice to see old friends’ faces and the places they have been to. If there’s one negative thing this pregnancy has brought me, its definitely the lost opportunity to travel. Not that I am complaining though, I’m sure once I give birth and the little bullet is a bit older, our family will start traveling again. And I am saying that with conviction. LOL. The husband thinks so too and we actually have plans already this early. Next on our must go to place is definitely US already which is why I will need to apply a visa for the baby boy once he’s out. I hope it’ll be easy for him to get one since we all have our visas anyway. We hope to visit New York where we can easily hop on those NYC Bus Charters in the city, Florida to visit Jon’s sister and have fun at Disney World and Las Vegas just for the heck of it.  Maybe we can make a side trip to San Francisco too.  Oh, plans plans plans, I hope we get to push through with them really soon.  I’m crossing my fingers.

Six weeks before I finally pop, I still have to decide what stroller to get for our Baby Bullet. The husband, as usual, left the choosing to me and the so indecisive me can’t make up my mind. What else is new?

Here are my choices.

The Bugaboo Bee - said to be made for life on the fly.

It comes in these yummy colors.

According to StrollersandPrams.com :

The Bee is a unique release from the world famous Bugaboo. It is their first compact stroller, as opposed to the traditional pram with bassinet/seat combination. They have termed it “for life on the fly”, a stroller designed for use out and about in the busy world. It has been marketed towards parents and carers with children from newborn to 4 years of age or 17 kg (37.5 lbs).

Pros

• Great steering
• Handles different terrain well for a lightweight stroller
• Compact one-piece fold
• Underseat basket is surprisingly large and accessible from the front of the pram
• 4 position recline, suitable for newborns upward
• Comfortable seat
• Deep double fold sun canopy for excellent sun protection
• Good brakes

Cons

• Seat width and height not the largest on the stroller market
• The Bee is not really designed for long outdoor walks due to the smaller wheel size
• Brakes not as easily accessible as other Bugaboo models
• Bugaboo have expensive price tags

Conclusion

The newly released Bugaboo Bee is a very pleasurable stroller to use. It steers and handles exceptionally well; has an eye catching and unusual appearance; has a superior sun canopy and a large underseat basket with an inventive front access.

The Bee is by no means the cheapest stroller on the market however its diverse applications from newborn upward, its ability to reverse and recline the seat and adapt to the growing child’s needs provide excellent justification for the somewhat expensive price tag and difficulties in purchasing any additional accessories.

Quinny 3 Wheel Buzz

From StrollersandPrams.com :

The Buzz is a stylish looking pram from the Netherlands based company Quinny. It comes with a host of features intended to make it as practical as it is eye-catching. The Buzz has a reversible seat, adjustable handle, swivel front wheel, adjustable footrest, and of course, a gas-spring mechanism that means it springs open by itself.

Pros

• Large comfortable seat unit
• Great steering and manoeuvrability
• Excellent suspension on rear wheels
• Can be folded in one piece
• Nice compact fold
• One handed gas lift unfold mechanism

Cons

• Seat unit does not sit upright when facing you
• Seat adjust/remove buttons extremely stiff to push
• Seat needs to be facing out and in upright position in order to fold pram with seat unit attached.
• Fold buttons also very stiff.
• Some effort needed to ‘push’ pram into folded position.
• Storage (Buzz Box) small and gets in the way of legs when walking
• Wide wheel base
• Suspension not so great on front wheel.
• Hood has strange adjust mechanism.

Conclusion

Overall the Buzz is a good quality pram that looks stylish and manoeuvres well. The large back wheels and rear suspension handle rough terrain and even steps with ease while the front swivel wheel allows the Buzz to glide around on even ground. The seat, harness and hood are functional and the compact fold and gas lift unfold make the Buzz practical to use every day.

The Buzz’s shortcomings are fairly minor, although they do start to add up. Quality issues such as the very stiff fold and seat adjust buttons are frustrating to deal with after paying so much for the pram. Other annoying features include the hood adjust mechanism, limited storage, and wide wheel base.

Quinny Zapp

The review from StrollersandPrams.com states :

The Zapp is marketed as a lightweight stroller with an extremely compact fold. In these respects it certainly meets expectations, however its brilliance is the way it does so without compromising other features.

In fact the Zapp is a superb stroller to steer and despite its lack of recline feature has a generous and comfortable seat. It is a great choice for anyone who needs a compact stroller, or just for anyone who appreciates a quality stroller that is a dream to push.

Pros

• Great steering
• Handles different terrain well for a lightweight stroller
• Compact fold
• Lightweight
• Comfortable seat
• Good hood
• Good brakes

Cons

• No storage whatsoever
• Wider wheelbase than other lightweight strollers on the market
• Up to 2kg heavier than other lightweight strollers on the market
• Can tip backwards with a small amount of weight hung over the handles

Conclusion

The Zapp is a very enjoyable stroller to use. It steers and handles exceptionally well, has a good hood and a large comfortable seat.

The Zapp is by no means the lightest stroller on the market however its compact fold make it versatile and well suited for travel. It more than makes up for its wider wheelbase with it handling and comfort.

Hay, what to do? What to get? My head is aching after reading all the reviews. I need to take a breather and search for mold killer now.

It was Sophia’s Community Helpers Parade last week in school and here she is in her surgeon costume.

On the way to school.

***It was her yaya’s day off the day of the parade so it was me and Jon who prepared and took the little girl to school. Toxic! We were late as usual so I don’t have a lot of pics to share. I was catching my breath in between shots!