Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Baby Loves Disco


This is outrageous fun!
Imagine a hip nightclub, entirely baby-proofed so that you can dance away with your babies, toddlers and kids till you drop ( in the wee afternoon hours of course). And they also provide baby changing room, chill-out tents, healthy snacks and game, mmm..heaven..

Baby loves disco is a monthly event that started in Philladelhia and had spread acroos 16 other cities in the US (yes US, we haven't got that kind of luxury here). This great event has become a much anticipated event in every town, and they are so serious in promoting good music that they assembled their own music and mixes that blended with various disco tunes from the 70s and 80s.'Barney is banned here' they said (phew...)

well, shall we hope that the good people from Dragonfly club would learn about this...

Temple Trees


I stumbled upon this store at the Women International Club bazaar last week in JHCC and they carry some sweet wooden toys and decoration stuff. I have long been infatuated with anything wooden for my kids, as they carry some earthiness aura unlike plastic toys and stuff. I bought a wooden peg, a pair of skipping rope with monkey head as the handle, cute paper clips and some wooden figures that can collapse down when you push the button underneath (a total hysteria for my 17th month nephew).

I have never been to the Temple Trees brick-and-mortar shop before but from their name card I learnt that they focused on the work of original artisans from furniture, jewellery to bags. But I bet the wooden stuff were from china :)

Friday, December 15, 2006

Heidi Klum's new baby


The star of the Project Runway has recently given birth to a healthy boy named Johan on November 22nd.
Here is a pretty picture of them and together with daddy Seal.

Netherlands International School

I've never heard of this school before. I came across the NIS when I visited the Mother and Child expo the other day (btw it was a horrible expo, full of kerupuk and ikan asap seller). And I was surprised that it was actually an old establishment (from 1967). Aside from their Dutch classes, they also offer English preschool and they just started an English-language primary school in August 2006. They are situated in Cilandak and they claim that they will be the first school in Jakarta to apply the IPC curriculum (International Primary Curriculum) which will provides a smooth transition to the IB programme. Anyway, the charges are pretty steep, just like any other international school but the school ambience is pretty interesting, full of greenery and sports facilities. Check it out.
Netherlands International School
Jl. Jeruk Purut Rt003/Rw03
Cilandak Timur, Jakarta 12560
Ph: 62-21-7823929
www.nis.or.id

Monday, December 11, 2006

Top Shop maternity


Been to Senayan City lately?
I bet many of you has, the new mall is getting more and more crowded each week.

Anyway, Top Shop London, the famous cheap and chic clothing store, has opened a boutique next to Debenhams in the 2nd floor (?). And I have discovered that they brought the maternity collection along...! The jeans collection is pretty cool, I remember that back in my pregnancy days, it was so hard to find a good pair of maternity jeans. The one that doesnt make you look all fat and flabby.
This pair of jeans cost Rp 739.000 (not cheap but definetely chic)

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Orbit stroller


This is the latest addition to the celebrity stroller phenomenon. But this is worth noticing. Aside from the cool modern-industrial design, Orbit stroller created the all-in-one concept in its 3 pieces starter kit, that include an infant car seat, a base and a stroller.
From the demo in their website, it looks pretty easy and cool to install the car seat to the stroller.
They claim that they are the first stroller that is able to rotate the seat 360 degree, which mean that your kids can face sideway sitting in a restaurant table. And you can upgrade it to a toddler stroller later with the same function and mobility (sold separately).
All of this system will send you a whopping $900 bill, but it sure will turn many heads as you push it around.
And no, this stroller is not available in Indonesia just yet.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The trend of Dude Dad and Yummy Mummy


Consider yourself outdated if you haven't heard of that expression before. According to Junior magz (dec edition), the term Yummy Mummy was started way back in 1991 when Demi Moore posed glamorously naked and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair. Since then all the mummies in the world had been displaying their motherhood time in full throttle and in style.

I think it goes the same here in Jakarta. The other day, I was attending a fashion show in Plaza Indonesia, which is full of uber cool ladies dressed delicately in the latest global style, and I saw one Yummy Mummy with a Stokke Explory stroller! (pushed by the nanny) and the cutest little girl dressed in a Leopard cardigan and black skinny pants....mmmm Yummy.

The term Dude Dad comes way later, and much defined by Hollywood's celebrity dads such as Jude Law, Johnny Depp and, this is the hottest one, Brad Pitt. "Male celebrities are marching into the limelight with a child firmly planted on their hip, sending out the signal that fatherhood is one of the coolest lifestyle choices to make" quote Junior Magazine.

And fabulous baby gears makers around the world as in cue, had been furiously designing goody stuff targeted to these DUde Dads. Just look at the Daddy diaper bags, modern and clean baby furniture, Daddy blogs etc.

But I don't think the Dude Dad trend has reached here in the far east. Despite some publications of celebrity dads supporting breast feeding, I hardly see any stylish dads 'with a child firmly planted on their hip' around here, what a pity. Hey DUDE DADs in Jakarta, wake up!!!

Friday, November 24, 2006

Oilily at FO



"Factory Outlet?" you said. Yeah yeah.. I admit that I often rely on the comfort of Factory Outlets in Bandung to update my children's wardrobe. Hey, it's cheap and chic and sometimes if you dig deep enough, you might find some interesting brands inside.

My fav is Rumah Mode (Jl. Setiabudi 41 F), in fact I never went anywhere else. Imagine my surprise when I discovered these Oilily pants (pictured here) among the lot, it was priced at around Rp 80.000, and after some browsing in the internet I found out that the pants is from 2006 collection called 'Skipping trousers' and the Children Salon sells it at 37.77 pounds. I bought two with different colors :)

Other brands that I have discovered includes, Baby gap, Abercrombie and Fitch, Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons, etc.

So, Happy hunting!
I have to warn you though, there are alot of fake labels among the lot. My tips, look out for the care labels, most fakes doesn't bother to give one.



Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Victoria Staten rocks!


Victoria Staten might not be a well known name in fashion industry, but she has clocked some good years behind the Kenneth Cole brand. And now, she is coming to rock the baby gears industry with her ultra cool designs. She created baby carriage, diaper bags and baby furnishing made with maple wood and leather-like fabrics (bye bye plastics!)
Daddy types blog has commented that Victoria Staten's may be the first baby gear that requires you to redesign your house around it. Indeed, the design is so modern and clean and perfect to show off to your friends (ha!). On the other side, I just can't quite picture it to be inside one the the Da Vinci's style houses that seems to be popping around Jakarta recently.
Pictured here is the baby seat that cost $325 (!) with removable and washable cover
Be dazzled by her baby carrier, playyard, high chair, and diaper bags here at www.victoriastaten.com
Let's just hope that some stylish ladies from the mega retail baby industry in Jakarta notice her, and bring the goody stuff home.....

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Mall Playground

This is actually a sad thing. Lately I am too lazy to find quality weekend entertainment for my children and often rellied on playgrounds in the malls to babysit my kids (while I go shopping:)
Here are two Playground that I have visited for the last weeks:

1. Circus
Pondok Indah mall 2 Lt2, Ph: 75920540
Charge: Rp 40.000 / 2hrs
This is my fav! the playground consist of fun, intertwined levels that kids can climb, slide, jump, crawl etc. The staff there are great, they seemed attentive enough to guard the kids from getting hurt.
Kids as young as 1 1/2 yrs can play there, but watch out for the big children groups as they tend to push around in rough play.
Beware though, accompanying adults must be small or thin enough to follow the kids around as most of the spaces are narrow and small :)
2. Playmall
Senayan City level 4, Ph: 72781501
Charge: Rp 50.000 /hr during weekend, and Rp 10.000 for member card
First of all, I hate the member card, I see no point of getting a member card for a weekend visit, and please... two kids, two plastic cards, one bulging wallet!
And the charge is quite steep. I have to extend the play for another hour and ended up paying another hundred Rp.
The playground is quite big, it consist of a pool full of balls, a play-kitchen, a toddler slide set, some toy cars and bycicles, and a big kids castle.

At the end of the day, I still wish there are parks and other outdoor entertainment (within reach) to go with my kids during weekend.

Titi Dj another divorce


Following my previous post about divorces, this is the one that I did not quite expect. Titi Dj is one of my fav Indonesian celebrity who simply has good humour and kind soul. She will be getting the custody of her four children. Read more from Kompas cyber media.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Cita by Bin house for maternity fashion


One of the well known secrets among pregnant women is Cita by Bin House. A fashion collection created from delicate batik fabrics, and moulded into ultra modern apparel pieces with a touch of ethnic. Sometimes you can even recognize a trace of japanese design influence on the collection.
Actually there is no special maternity collection by Cita, but their pieces are sometimes so loose (but still stylish enough) and made with comfortable cotton fabric that are great for those pregnancy days, and the good news is, you can even wear them after giving birth without looking...pregnant.
Visit their cozy stores at:
1. Bin House, jl. Teluk Betung, no. 10. Jakarta. Ph: 31935941,31934948
2. Incubare shop, Saberro house, Jl Kemang Raya.
Check out the official Bin House website here

Cotonnier Catalogue 2007


Cotonnier Nursery and Kids' room has recently released their 2007 catalogue. All new mommies are recommended to pick up their copy at the Plaza Indonesia store (ph: 021-3150280), or by ordering them from the official Cotonnier website here. The catalogue is full of goodies to decorate your baby's nursery room, and there is a new furniture collection that is dedicated for the "threenagers", the active toddlers who never seem to run out of energy.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

The Divorce Week


This week seems to be the Divorce Week for the A list celebrities.

After just two years of a very colorful marriage, Britney Spears has filed for a divorce from the would-be-rap-singer Kevin Federline (Finally!). And she has also filed for the legal custody of the two boys, Sean (1 yr) And Jayden (2 months). Kevin is reported to fight for the custody too, as well as requesting for a "spousal support" despite the rumored iron-clad-prenup that the two has signed before their wedding in 2004.

Read more about the news in TMZ.com here

Just before the Brit-Kev break up, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe, a sweet couple who has been marrried for 7 years has also announced a divorce due to "irreconcilable differences". Reese will be filing for the custody of her two children Ava Elizabeth and Deacon Phillipe.

More from TMZ.com

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Binus school Serpong


Binus, a well known establishment that emphasizes in "vibrant, innovative and caring community" is opening a huge new school (4 hectares) in Bumi Serpong Damai. From the look from their website, the school looks great. They will be opening classes for Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School dan High school. Check out their open house this Saturday on 11th November 2006.
And here is their contact no:
Marketing Address Komplek Ruko Golden Boulevard Blok Q/2 - BSD City
ph:021 5380400

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Kate Spade baby


Kate Spade has recently created a full baby product range, not just diaper bags but also strollers (in affiliation with Maclaren stroller), baby clothings, baby accessories and even ultra cute baby stationary! Chek out Kate Spade baby site here. Pictured here is the latest baby diaper bag called, Classic Noel Baby bag. I have called Kate Spade store in Plaza Indonesia (021-39838239) but unfortunately they did not carry that particular collection. What a pity, it is a gorgeous bag!

Wanna be like Gwyneth Paltrow?


One of my fav baby blog, Celebrities-baby, recently ran this post that list out all the things that Gwyneth Paltrow has for her two babies, and boy it was a long list (and some awfully lots of strollers for just two babies). check out the list.
In this picture taken on Oct 06, Gwyneth is taking Apple for a stroll in a Combi ultra savvy in silver pearl.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Shopping Combi


Welcome to Combi's world.
Combi is a well known Japanese brand that specialize in light weight, easy to fold strollers in sleek designs, as well as car seats and modern toys.
Their website is pretty ugly, but I had fun checking out the virtual demo, in which you can drag and turn the stroller 360 degree to see from side to side.
The Japanese website is better, beautifully modern, but of course you would not understand a thing :)
You can now get your cool combi's stroller at the Children's store, a heavenly store full of cool strollers and imported toys. They are located at Senayan City level 4 #95-97, ph: 72781292.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Cordlife Indonesia


This is a new trend.
A few friends that I know has taken the trouble of storing their baby's cord blood stem cell in Cordlife Singapore, as a future health insurance. And now the 'leading cord blood bank in the region' together with Indonesia's Pt Kalbe Farma has set up Pt Cordlife Indonesia, as announced last Saturday (14/10). The cord bank is expected to be fully operated by January 2007.
Call 021-5208122 or check out www.cordlife.com
Quoted from Kompas (16/10), the cost for the initial collection of the cell is about SGD$ 1.400, and the yearly storage fee is about SGD$ 250.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Use Bob for TV and Media Control

This is cool stuff! My son is not even two but he loves to watch TV extensively, and I dare not wonder how he would react to video games when he grow up. Here is a gadget that let you control the amount of time that your children spend in front of TV and computer. Simply hook it up, lock it (yes, your kids cannot simply remove it. haha) and give each of your kids their password. The screen will automatically turned off when the time is up.
Check out http://www.usebob.com/

Junior in Aksara


Finally, after a tip from our reader, I found that Junior magazine, as well as Junior pregnancy and baby, are available in Aksara bookstore (Kemang, Cilandak Town Square and Plaza Indonesia).
I bought my copy for Rp 93.000

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

In Search Of Mary Poppin


This is a book that contains essays from mothers that highlights the love-hate-relationship with their nannies. Sound like an every day theme in our home isn't it? Especially here in Jakarta where the population of nannies nearly outnumbering the babies (I've heard of mommies who assigned two nannies for each of her two children). And anyone knows that a good nannies will be kept like a guarded secret to prevent nanny-highjacking. I guess this is a book that gain an insight of the real feelings and attachment formed between nannies and mothers, a very complicated affair. I'm looking forward to read it.
Priced at $16 in Amazon.com

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Car seat entertainment


Getting your kids to stay in their car seat is almost an impossible task. I stumbled upon this toys that will give the impression that the kids are riding on a horse back, or in a merry go round. Looks cute, but I wasn't sure it will be much of an entertainment when you are stuck in a nasty traffic in the toll road for hours.
It is priced at $35 at Casey and friends

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Zap and football


A reader send us this picture of an English footballer, Frank Lampard, strolling gorgeously with his child using Quinny Zap. Hmmm, wonder which one caught the most of my attention, the hot guy or the hot stroller.

Tefal baby


There is a new product at Debenhams kids in Plaza Indonesia, Tefal Baby.
For years now, I thought that Tefal is only a household brand for kitchen stuff, apparently they had expanded their product lines to baby care products. The product range include sterilizers, bottle warmers, and blenders, but there are a few other interesting products.
I like this humidifier as it doesnt look too bulky and they claim that it operates silently so that it doesnt interfere with baby's sleep.
Well, with air conditioner in the room almost around the clock, I figure it will make my kids breathing a lot easier, without all the dryness-in-the-throat in the morning. The price is around Rp 1.200.000,-
Check out their site Tefal
There's another product that caught my attention at their website, A Baby Dryer that dry Baby in complete safety immediately on getting out of the bath. HUH? haven't they heard of cotton towels?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Sex Education


This is a weird german book published in 1973 by Per Holm Knudsen, it's called "The true story of how babies are made". Hmmmm.... wonder if my kids are ready to see the "truth" from this book.
Link from the book

Suri Cruise Pictures


After months hiding in her nest (creating high-profiled gossip speculations all around the world), we can finally see her beautiful pictures on Vanity Fair October edition (it will hit the stands around mid Sept). The pictures were taken by high-fashion photographer, Annie Leibovits.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Disneyland Hongkong


I was just back from a trip to Disneyland Hongkong with my 3 years old daughter, and here are some honest facts about the fun park.

The Good Part:
1. The journey from Hongkong city to the park was easy and organized. My daughter was ecstatic when she rides the Mickey-Mouse-hole-in-the-window train from Sunny bay station to Disneyland station.
2. Children under three comes in for Freee!!
3. Shopping is heavenly, be prepared to get tempted with various cutie stuff
4. You can rent Quinny-like stroller for your kids to get around the park without sore feet.
5. Snacking around the park is great, try my favourite corns-in-the-cob.
6. The firework finale, Disney on Stars, was the best! I almost cried with awe when the musical chorus sync so harmoniously with the fireworks. And the look from my daughter face when she saw the stars exploded, was priceless!

The Bad Part:
1. It was Hot Hot Hot! Even on 5pm in the afternoon. I recommend you to go there during early winter time.
2. It was small, yes as small as Dunia Fantasi.
3. It was soooo crowded. Full of tourist from mainland China who speaks loudly and cutting queue like nobody cares.
4. The queue was long and tiring. With small children, I don't think you have a chance of trying much ride in the park. Just enjoy the view.

Bottomline:
Despite all the bad parts, it was still a magical trip (esp for my daughter). We might come back again but this time I want to be more prepared and choose the right period of time (cooler temps and less crowded month)

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Celebrity and children day out



Other than earning gazillion of dollars from producing block buster movies or records, Hollywood's celebrities seem to have much time to spend with their children.
Seen here on the first pic is Brooke Shields with her daughter Rowan, 3, playing with barbie dolls in LA during Barbie Live! in Fairytopia. Next is a sweet picture of Chris Martin with his daughter Apple, 2, walking hand in hand around London Zoo.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Baby shopping at ITC Mangga Dua


ITC Mangga Dua has been a baby shopping haven for the past decade. Mommies from all corners of Jakarta would come there at least one time during their pregnancy or during early motherhood days. Despite all the nasty traffic outside and even nastier crowds inside, ITC Mangga Dua definitely still have that tempting shopping appeal.
Here are some of my favorite highlights:

1. Go there early before 10am, the later you arrive the more crowded it become. Make time to taste the famous Soto Mie at the fourth floor boutique corner (ask someone for direction, everybody should know where it is). And be amazed at the crowd that line up there for a bowl of hot Soto Mie.

2. Kasih Ibu, lt 2 blok A no.92-96. Ph: 6015342-43
This is my favourite shop, they have piles of all the baby necessities local and imported, be prepared to spend on trivial stuffs. If you are pregnant, you will be given a sheet of paper that list over a hundred items that they think you ought to have, from bottle sterilizer to nanny's uniform. All the famous brand are there, you name it, Avent, Mothercare, Pigeon, Aprica, Medela, Mustela, and the list goes on.
Kasih Ibu also have a shop branch at Darmawangsa Square 1st floor, no.36-37. Ph:72801816

3. Baby Mart Toys Mart, lt 1 Blok D no.8, or lt2 blok A. no 73. Ph: 6018016, 6015317
This shop really looks like a warehouse of toys. Boxes are piled up high to the ceilings and you have to squeeze between them to be able to see all the suff. They have complete stock of Little Tikes toys, from baby gym to little kitchen, various stuff from Tomy a japanese toy maker, and lots of made-in-china toys. Their best selling is battery operated mini cars, (from Rp850.000 to Rp 3.850.000) you literally see them flying off the rack everytime you are in that store.
But the lady who owns it is quite vicious, don't even think of bargaining here, she will pretend that she doesn't hear you.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Lets Draw!


Drawing is a great activity for kids to entertain themselves (and let their mummies enjoy a brief moment of personal time). Since, I am also a drawing enthusiast, I had been observing all kind of drawing equipments available for children and these are a few of my favourite:
1. Faber Castell,
The most common brand for color pencils and crayons, available in Gramedia and most of the bookstores. It’s relatively cheap, it wont hurt if your child loses a few colors, and also it’s toxic free.
2. Alex,
Moms and I is the official distributor for this brand , they have lots of art and craft stuff like poster paints and unique-shaped sponges for hand painting (a messy affair). I recently bought a set of big bright colored chalks for some side-street fun.
3. Crayola,
They claim that their crayon is washable and erasable, I haven't tried them out yet, but definitely they are on my next shopping list. Their website is fun, with coloring activities and art and craft project for your kids. I saw some crayola products at Office 2000 in Plaza Ind but I have no idea where else I can get them.
4. Derwent
This is my personal favorite (for me not for my kids), they are expensive as they are made for fine art artists. But apparently they have some products for children, it looks pretty impressive on their website, might be perfect for your great little artist-to-be.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Cooking at Pizza Marzano


I tried to dine at this uber cool restaurant with my kids last week at Senayan City. Pizza Marzano is one of the phenomenal success story that started in London, and trust me it's really good. For those who are familiar with Izzi pizzas, Marzano's pizza are a bit like that, except better. Price wise, not that much difference with Izzi. And if you order a kids' meal pizza, they even allow your kids to put on a chef's paper hat and make the pizza themselves at their kitchen, a sure excitement for them. The only things that bothers me is that there are too many fine things around, like wine glass and stuff, imagine dining with two kids under four with that kind of surrounding.
www.pizzamarzano.com

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Vintage blanket


This will make a great gift. It's a vintage-inspired receiving blanket that you can personalize with your child's name. Available at Cotonnier, a great store for nursery and kids' room, at Plaza Indonesia 3rd floor. Rp 495.000 - Rp 725.000

Yoga for kids

Join the latest craze in the health conscious society. Yoga is believed to benefit children the same way it does with adults. I was lucky enough to have a sister in law who teaches yoga, and my kids somehow has taken a liking in imitating us during our work out. Apparently there are not many yoga houses in Jakarta that has classes for kids, but after a long search I found this two yoga house that offer Kids yoga class and also Prenatal yoga class.

Rumah Yoga
ph: 7393267
www.rumahyoga.com

Yoga @ 42 degree
ph: 7197379
www.bikramyogajakarta.com

Monday, August 07, 2006

Out of the world Stokke


Actress Rachel Weisz is seen pushing this ultra cool stroller Stokke Xplory in Soho with her son.
'Higher is better' is the campaign slogan for this stroller. Stokke created a concept that you should let your child sit higher in his stroller to enjoy better view and to interact better with you.
Available here at The Children's Store (Senayan City 4th fl) Rp. 11.599.000

Indonesian parenting magazine

I've been writing too much about imported products. Here are two links to two local edition of parenting magz.
www.ayahbunda-online.com
www.parentsguide.co.id
I realize that more and more child related magazine are coming up on the stand, but most of them are featuring the same thing one after another. I just wish there are more baby lifestyle magazine available. Hmmm...or perhaps I should start one?

Friday, August 04, 2006

Junior Magazine


This is by far is the best lifestyle children magazine i've ever seen. Junior magazine is from UK and they have the coolest lay out pages, fab fashion spread and informative articles. It's so different from other American baby and children magazine which cramps so many pictures and articles on one page. While Junior is targeted for mothers with toddlers, Junior pregnancy and baby is targeted for expecting mothers.
I bought my copies from Newstands, a used-magazine bookstores. They have branches at Pasar Festival kuningan, Galeri Matahari Taman Anggrek and Carrefour Puri Indah.
I really don't understand why I couldn't get it at most of the bookstores in the malls.
Check out their site at www.juniormagazine.co.uk

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Radio Flyer classic


This is my son's dream toy. Available at Mom's and I (They are the official distributor but please check their availability) and Ace Hardware (Puri Indah, for other Ace please call them up).
Rp 1.149.000,-
For more info about this classic toy maker check out their site www.radioflyer.com

Friday, July 28, 2006

Maclaren stroller for Liv Tyler's baby


Seen on july 19th, Liv Tyler and husband, Royston Langdon are enjoying the evening walk at the west village with baby Milo on a Maclaren stroller (stop picking on your nose boy!). The star stroller are also available here in Jakarta throughout many specialty children stores. Try The Children Store (senayan city 4th floor), Mothercare (various malls), and Mom's and I (Kemang Raya 18C). I promise I'll try to make a directory of all the cool children stores in Jakarta soon.

Pediatric Opthalmologist

In plain english, it says Eye Doctor for Kids.
A few weeks ago I spent one whole saturday afternoon in line for my daughter's appointment with Dr Rini Mahendrastari Singgih.DSM.
Supposedly she is one of the best eye doctor for children in town.
She got a nice little clinic in Bintaro, and if you want to make an appointment with her, you can only call the clinic on Thursday, and be prepared to wait for over a month!
But after the long wait, once you met her you'll know why parents flocked to her clinic.
She called herself 'Oma' and was so kind to us that she spent almost half an hour explaining the importance of early check up for babies and good habits for healthy eyes.
She got modern eye checking tools and stuffs and will check your child thoroughly. She said that once she diagnosed a four month baby who got a minus 14 for her eyes!
check out her site www.mahendraindonesia.com

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Shiloh Jolie in Madame Tussaud


More celebrity baby to spice up this blog.
At just 8 weeks old, Shiloh will be the first baby that inspire the Madame Tussaud Museum in New York city to make their first infant replica. The figure will be displayed soundly asleep below the gaze of Brad's and Angelina's wax figure. And to honor Shiloh's parents' commitment to charity, the museum will donate $1 for each picture of the family that visitor buy.
Source: People

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Gwen Stefani in Gucci baby carrier


I called Gucci store in Plaza Ind, and they said that the baby carrier is available here in Jakarta. Cool! The price is even more cooler. Rp 7.250.000,- anyone?

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Shiloh Nouvel Jolie Pitt


Can't resist putting up this picture, after all they are probably the most famous family on earth right now (and certainly one of the most beautiful). I just hope that Kinokuniya on Sogo doesn't run out of this edition of People magazine. I heard that they paid millions for these photos and the Pitt family is planning to donate the cash to a charity which has not been named yet.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Weekend Escape


Weekend destination is definitely one of the toughest decision to make, especially if it involves tiny people who need humongous space to run around and enjoy themselves. I have discovered these amazing places to escape from the lure of the glittering malls and restaurants in Jakarta.

1. Novotel Coralia Bogor. (pictured here)
About one hour drive from Jakarta (weekend time). Go there early to catch the breakfast buffet while the kids can run around on the beautiful landscape with cold and precious fresh air. I found out that sometimes you can even let your kids swim there even without staying for a night (unnoticed by the attendant of course.)

2. Taman Sari Lippo Karawaci
This is an open space amphitheatre with restaurants and foodcourts surrounding it. The food is good with lots of choices, especially traditional snacks. My son especially enjoys running, chasing the pigeons that flew around there. And the best part is the bill, it is so unreasonably reasonable.

At dawn, you can also check out the nearby Benton Junction, it is a beautifully lit, long row of restaurant with tables outside on the street side, almost Paris like :)

3. For a late afternoon walk, try Pantai Mutiara, an ultra exclusive real estate complex at the west of Jakarta (huge houses!). They have a long sidewalk by the sea, where families are seen walking their dogs and enjoy an afternoon jog. Afterwards, the seafood restaurants and small cafes nearby are not a bad choice to spend dinner together with the juniors.

I welcome any comments to add on these lists.

Friday, July 21, 2006

The Safe Nursery

Caution! for all the new moms. Please read these booklet and know them by heart. This is really the safety handbook that every mom should read, it includes some situation that we don't even think it could happen, to any kids.
Go to http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/202.pdf , download it and print it.
And if you'd like some more info regardig safety issues in consumer products check out their main website at www.cpsc.gov . Its the American Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Too bad we don't have any of that here.

Stroller Parade


The current trend for strollers in Jakarta is simple. It just has to be cool enough to make other moms look twice in their direction..with a look of envy. And as Jakarta is currently enjoying the effect of globalization, the choices for such strollers are plenty.
You can see the futuristic Quinny stroller, the modern Maclaren, even Stokke (*gasp!) zigzagging across the malls. Oh yes, malls. Of course, the only terrain that those strollers have to endure is simply marbles, carpets and wooden floors, that is why sometimes it feels ridiculous to see petite moms with perfect hair trying to lift up their bulky strollers up the escalators.
The latest edition of the strollers parade is by Aprica (pictured above), a cool Japanese brand that recently just opened their flagship store in Plaza Indonesia 3rd floor. They have lightweight strollers that can be fully reclined (thank god!) and you can even change the direction to which the stroller is facing (backwards for infants and forward for toddlers).

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Million Dollar School

One of the easiest topic to start a conversation with another Mommy is about school in Jakarta. As we all know, new schools are popping out like wild mushrooms in every corner of this crowded city, and most of them are ..expensive. Lately I felt that I have been brainwashed by the media marketing of this new schools, that laid out new perspectives on how a good school should be. It should be national-plus, affiliated with some overseas school, it should have new buildings and astounding facilities, English language as the first language, expats teachers and so on and so on. And it just grew confusing for me. I mean, after all these are all new schools with no experience in producing say, champions of the World's Physics Olympics (not that I have that kind of ambition for my kids).

Anyway, I have to admit that my daughther is registered in one of these new school, and yesterday a friend of mine gave me some points to ponder. "it's definitely like gambling" she says "And the bad news is we would not know whether we make the right decision until about 20 years of time." Well, that is one scary thought.

Check out some of their website (I discovered that some of the new school does not even have a website)
www.globalnusantara.org
www.globaljaya.com
www.binabangsaschool.com
www.highscope.or.id
www.lenterakasih.com

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Plan Toys

Plan Toys is a remarkable toys company from Thailand (yes, Thailand) who makes ultra cool wooden toys. They even have a whole tiny wooden city with everything in it (Just don't count that they'll stay as cool after your kids finish playing with them). Check out their website www.plantoys.com

I recently bought this Plan Toys pull along car from The Children Store in Senayan City (it's a half done mall, mind you) for my son, and he just loves it. Though I'm tempted to ban him from playing with it after a while, as the poor car flew here and there and suffered from major dents.

Welcome to Baby Ape

Being an urban mommy in Jakarta is never easy.
You can never imagine how we can survive those days where we have to divide our time between works, kids school, home cookings, piano lessons, Zara mid-year sale and our regular hair treatments. And don't even ask about all the bad traffic jams in between them.
Anyway, this blog is dedicated to all the urban mommies out there who love to find out cool kids stuff and new things to do with their children.
Enjoy