Indoor playground - Rigolus Park (closed)

Rigolus Park is our 2nd favourite indoor playground (the first is Royal Kids). Unlike Royal Kids, Rigolus Park is all about huge bouncy castles! Once in a while, they will even change the bouncy castles so there are always a varieties. What you see this month, may be different 2-3 months later. During summer, they will open up their garden for outdoor play with water fun! OMG! So the children get to enjoy indoor play as well as outdoor. Awesome!

Mummy, look at us! Sofa!

They also host companies bonding session. So companies who are spontaneous can go check it out! I saw a video on some companies events on their website and it look fun.

They organize birthday parties, parents get to have free wifi services. The only thing lacking, is their food menu. Not really a lot of choices except if you don't mind waffles and crepes. And the usual coffee, soft drinks and ice-cream.

They have a spacious big carpark which is very good for school bus to park there. The entrance fee is cheap compare to other indoor play at 11euro for unlimited play.

For some parents who prefer to sit at the tables, they might not like it as certain play areas are obstructed so they can't see where their children. But I'm fine with it, as I prefer to follow my kids in case they get push, they fall down or get struck. Overall, I will bring my kids there as much as possible. I just have to make sure I will plan it in a way it is not too near their meal time in case, I have to find food for them.

Trampoline - great way to tire the kids!

Address: 1 Rue de la Caussade, 31240 L'Union, France

Indoor playground - Rigolus Park (closed)

Rigolus Park is our 2nd favourite indoor playground (the first is Royal Kids). Unlike Royal Kids, Rigolus Park is all about huge bouncy castles! Once in a while, they will even change the bouncy castles so there are always a varieties. What you see this month, may be different 2-3 months later. During summer, they will open up their garden for outdoor play with water fun! OMG! So the children get to enjoy indoor play as well as outdoor. Awesome!

Mummy, look at us! Sofa!

They also host companies bonding session. So companies who are spontaneous can go check it out! I saw a video on some companies events on their website and it look fun.

They organize birthday parties, parents get to have free wifi services. The only thing lacking, is their food menu. Not really a lot of choices except if you don't mind waffles and crepes. And the usual coffee, soft drinks and ice-cream.

They have a spacious big carpark which is very good for school bus to park there. The entrance fee is cheap compare to other indoor play at 11euro for unlimited play.

For some parents who prefer to sit at the tables, they might not like it as certain play areas are obstructed so they can't see where their children. But I'm fine with it, as I prefer to follow my kids in case they get push, they fall down or get struck. Overall, I will bring my kids there as much as possible. I just have to make sure I will plan it in a way it is not too near their meal time in case, I have to find food for them.

Trampoline - great way to tire the kids!

Address: 1 Rue de la Caussade, 31240 L'Union, France

Indoor Playgrounds in Toulouse, France - Royal kids

*updated: new trampolines!

The kids have been begging me to go indoor playground, I finally said 'yes'. Royalkids has added a new trampoline area and that kind of filled up all the empty spaces in there.  Yipee!

 There is also an interactive game in the disco room now, where the kids can dance and pop the balloons at the same time. Hooray!

My kids favorite indoor playground is Royal kids. I love to go there too. Why? Because I can get to play too. Haha! Kidou Recre at do not allow adults at the play areas and they are very strict about it. There was one time a man went up the play area to help his toddler but the staff announced on the microphone that he is not allowed in there. I can imagine how embarrassing it was for him as everyone turned to look at him. But then, the toddler need help, right? What to do? The poor father just watched his toddler cried up there. So silly of the staff.

Royal kids is one big jungle gym and you get to climb with your children if they need help. Or if you just want to do some workout. ;) There is also cars driving section (you need to buy token from the staff), and you can ride with your child. And another section for arcades playing (they recently add initial D car racing). There is a giant lego section, a soccer area and a disco section. Woohoo!

For the adults, there is a free wifi corner to surf your internet and magazines corner (in French only). The Cafe I thought serve reasonably good food. Example burgers, fries, waffles, crepes, nuggets, pizza, etc. My kids always love their kids menu which consist of nuggets and fries, caprisun drink, apple purée and a free token for the car ride. And I always order the waffles and burgers. Yummy!

They also organise birthday parties with different packages. I think one of the packages include royal kids' mascot. It's a cute dragon. ;)

Giant lego!

Ball pit is a must

You need coins for this

See my dancing, mummy

This area is for babies and toddlers

Spacious place for adults and meal time

Address: 185 Avenue de Fronton, 31000 Toulouse

Opening hours: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 - 19:00
Tuesday and Thursday 15:00 - 19:00
Close on Monday
Open everyday during school holiday 10:00 - 17:00

My exercise regime - weights lifting

This year has been a wee healthier one for me. At the start of the year, my husband decided to buy a box of weights (I think its 40kg in total) for us to train our arms muscles. *flexing one arm while typing. Keke

I used to do push-ups and dips but I wanted to be even better and I hope to see some 'tiny' muscles on my arms. I started by using 2kg weights in each hand for about a month. And then I go up to 3kg for 2 weeks and now I am at 4kg weights. Sometimes, I tried to go up to 5kg (can be an agony).

My friends used to tell me the following when They know I'm lifting weights:

1. Why do you want to see muscles?

2. Too much and you won't look good wearing sleeveless clothes, you know.

3. See, your weight didn't decrease because muscles weigh more

4. Where do you get the time to do exercise?

I said:

1. Some muscles go well with me :D

2. In fact, I look so much better than having it flabby. Imagine waving to a friend *flabbergast

3. Means I must having lost weights since I weigh the same?

4. I do my exercise TOGETHER with my children. Or during my little girl' naptime or at night when they are sleeping.

Of course, all exercises seem to give you some sort of pains but it shouldn't to a point that it injure you. I do it at my own pace and once in awhile push a little harder. I search the internet to find various trainers teaching the right way to lift weights and I also do cardio exercises at home and outdoor jogging once a week. 

During my first year in France, I seem to keep getting sick.  In my best records when I'm in working in Singapore, I can be free of any illness for 2 years. So I really cannot understand the reasons for falling sick all the time. As my husband and I are the only people taking caring of the children and each other, we really need to be healthy. 

For this Paris trip, my arm muscles seem prominent but it's not like this when I'm am not carrying heavy thing (Erica)

Chateau Chenonceau - castle

Ken loves exploring castle. He finds that each invdidual castle has its own unique features, mystery and stories behind it. Other than Carcassonne Castle, we also find Chenonceau castle very beautiful, though not as big as Carcassonne. Chenonceau has a very big awesome garden and labyrinth which was said to be built by the king's mistress. This castle is one of the most well-known castle of the Loire valley. 

When we visit a castle, we gauge how well they maintain the place, the languages they put up inside the castle and even whether the toilets are clean. Haha. Many castles we visited has only French language and even the multi-media presentation was in French, although some provided headphone audios for visitors. 

Chenonceau castle is very strict, the securities will check visitors' bags at the entrance to ensure nobody brings in any food into the premises. However, they are café and picnic areas provided outside the castle. There are even brochures, maps, posters, informations given in many different languages! Japanese, English, Mandarin, you name it! I think the toilet areas are situated outside the castle so do your business before going in. 

We spend about 2-3hrs exploring but we did not really walk through the gardens except to take photos of it from the top view. Strollers and wheelchairs friendly mostly outside the castle and first floor as there are some staircases in the castle which people on wheelchairs may not be able to maneuver. And the castle doorways and corridors could be a little narrow when there are a lot of visitors. Example, a bedroom or kitchen has only one entrance so if there are too many people, you may need to 'queue up' to get out/into the room. 

Overall. Enjoyable and relaxing for the children and even dogs to in the gardens. 

Indoor Playgrounds in Toulouse, France - Kidou Recre

Fancy a playground to go on a rainy, windy or cold days? Seriously, staying at home with energetic children the whole time or even a few hours with them can drive you nuts. I love going out, with kids or without, I can't even warm up my sofa seat at home.

When I discovered the insanely amount of playgrounds in Singapore - indoor, outdoor and water play parks, I would make sure my kids go to this places. Some you need to pay and some totally free! Can you imagine, every shopping malls, place of interests, heartland areas have at a least one playground for the kids?! Even with no cars, you can still take train or bus to the playgrounds within a short time. That's what I love about Singapore.

When my family have to move to France, my first thought was where I could bring my kids to play everyday? Honestly, you can't really bring them out to play everyday unless you are talking about your own home garden (if you are lucky). The weather could be cold today and sunny tomorrow. Or it could be sunny but soooo windy. We can't go indoor playgrounds all the time. Firstly, it is costly. Secondly, it could be out of the way for people with no cars and thirdly, indoor playgrounds don't open everyday except Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Huh?

Ok, enough talk. The very first indoor playground I went to was

1. Kidoc Recre
    6 Rue Théron de Montaugé, 31200 Toulouse
    accessible by metro.

 This is one part of the play area. There are some more play areas on the right hand side (not shown in pic).

 Adults are not allowed on the play areas so make sure your children are confident enough.

 This is the baby area. For up to 2years old. A little pathetic i would say. But adults are allow inside.

 Trampolines! 1 child per trampoline so it's quite safe even for the smaller children.

 Hello Mr sun! Initially, alittle difficult for Stacy (3 years old at that time). Now she's an expert.

 The slide is very high so younger children can be scared of this but once they figure it out, it's great fun for them!

The recommended age for this is 5 years old and above. There are actually more obstacles at the other side, i just managed to take this part. Haha. Younger children will have a tough time coming out and may cry. And if that happen, sorry, no adults allow in the play area, the children just have to figure it out by themselves. (Seriously, the staff made an announcement on the microphone telling the father to get off the play area when he was trying to help his child).

I would say it's great fun and exercise for older kids (3 years and above). Younger children will have limited things to play. The place also have a cafeteria , the usual coffee, waffles sweets,  ice-cream and some hot food. Reasonably priced.

Stacy (4 years old) seems to like the place, Erica (2years old) will need some help and for me, i'm bored. Cos' i can't play with my children in the play area.  Haha.

Girls are karma? Seriously, get a life!

It took me awhile to finally write this post, after being upset for so long. While I ventured to write this post, the back of my mind is thinking whether readers who read this, will they write something nasty or encouraging.

Let's start with this friend I have... She is a devoted religious person and she sometimes shared about her faith to us. I meant she is a nice person but certain things that she said, kept me thinking ... Really hard. One of the things that she said and belief is about 'karma'.

What is karma? I searched Wikipedia and this came up: "Karma means action, work or deed;  where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering". 

This friend has 2 other siblings (older sisters). Her parents' business is selling Chinese fish soups. According to her religious practice, she told me her father accumulated bad karma through selling fish soup over the years. Ok, bad karma because killing life (fish) is a bad deed and because of that her father do not have a male heir to carry on the family sir name. Well, maybe if her mum will to give birth to a forth child, it could be a boy? And her father works hard to provide for the family, she should at least feel grateful?

Seriously, I hope what she believes in, she should keeps to herself. When I was pregnant with Stacy, I thought about what she said. So, my husband did 'bad' things or was it me? Pregnancy to a lot of mums-to-be are suppose to be joyous - like a celebration. To me, although I felt happy, I couldn't forget what this friend had said to me. 

2nd pregnancy with Erica, I refused to find out her gender. I had a general anaesthesia c-section to deliver Erica (not by choice). When I woke up, my husband told me 'it's a girl, she is very beautiful just like Stacy'. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. But when the nurse brought Erica into the room, I love her more than anything else in the world (ok, Stacy too ;) ). 

Yes, sometimes I still brood over what this friend said. But I told myself I am fortunate to have two beautiful, healthy children. Isn't that what all parents wish for their kids? 

Before having children, people used to asked, "when are you getting married?" After marriage, "when are you going to have children?" After having one child, " when are you going to have another one?" After having 2 same gender children, "when are you going to have a boy/girl?" Some people mouth just can't keep quiet...

It has never cross my mind, what the gender of my children should be. I just love children. But with some Asians' conservative mindset of having a male heir in the family can be quite overwhelming or worse having to face a friend who told you about karma. Go away please.

I hope this friend gets her son that she has wished for and I hope my children NEVER learn of this belief that having girls are karma. Utterly nonsense!

I love my children and I love myself. Bye. :)