Wednesday, February 15, 2012
valentines
It was so fun to snap these pictures. And thanks to my amazingly talented friend we had ourselves some sweet Valentines for the boys' classes. (We were the only ones to bring in some.) We put scratch off stickers over the words for the kids to scratch off. Thanks Malia!
Noah and Gage loved their waffle breakfast. Topped with vanilla ice cream, fresh mangoes, and can I admit? chocolate sauce. Noah helped me set the table and made sure there was a love note on everyone's plate.
And did I tell you Dave bought me a treat? To satisfy all my pregnancy cravings. It was perfect.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Friday, February 10, 2012
"There is one thing which gives radiance to everything. It is the idea that something good is just around the corner." G.K. Chesterton
Things are changing around here.
Slowly.
But they are changing.
These boys are getting bigger. Have you seen Gage lately? He's tall. and handsome. And that Noah with his teeth coming in. They both never stop talking and have the funniest things to say.
My belly is getting bigger too. Before long we'll have a girl in this house. a little one. and diapers. and onsies. and midnight feedings.
Pure craziness.
Tonight I was making dinner, white snapper and green beans, with Ingrid's new album playing. The boys were outside with Dave. Dishes were done. Lunches for tomorrow packed. Everything calm. under control. taken care of.
I stole a few glances out the window at the baseball game on the tennis court 10 floors below, wet after this afternoon's downpour. The boys looked happy. calm. taken care of.
We're in the calm before the crazy.
And I intend to enjoy every minute.
Slowly.
But they are changing.
These boys are getting bigger. Have you seen Gage lately? He's tall. and handsome. And that Noah with his teeth coming in. They both never stop talking and have the funniest things to say.
My belly is getting bigger too. Before long we'll have a girl in this house. a little one. and diapers. and onsies. and midnight feedings.
Pure craziness.
Tonight I was making dinner, white snapper and green beans, with Ingrid's new album playing. The boys were outside with Dave. Dishes were done. Lunches for tomorrow packed. Everything calm. under control. taken care of.
I stole a few glances out the window at the baseball game on the tennis court 10 floors below, wet after this afternoon's downpour. The boys looked happy. calm. taken care of.
We're in the calm before the crazy.
And I intend to enjoy every minute.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
food fair and a parade
One of my favorite things about living in Singapore is the boys' schools.
I heart international schools.
Noah is the only American in his class. All the other kids are from somewhere else: Australia, India, Cambodia, Singapore, France, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, England. I'm forgetting some. I'll have to ask Noah.
And I've been really happy with the IB curriculum. Focusing on becoming: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk takers, balanced and reflective. Gage has even picked up on the lingo, "Noah, that was risk taking! good job!"
We'll have some things to sort out later - like how to correctly spell favourite and colour. We'll need to learn American currency and inches and yards. But today they are doing batik paintings from Indonesia. I'll take it.
Last week was Cultural Week with all sorts of activities celebrating different cultures. Performances, art projects, assemblies. But my favorites (spelled like an American) were the parade and the food fair.
'Come dressed in traditional clothes from your country' the
instructions for the parade said. Noah choose a red hat with a blue star on it an old
Tball shirt from way up in the cupboard.
You should have seen all the
Japanese in their komonos, the Swedes in their lederhosen, the Indians
in their saris, and that one kid from Peru with his chullos hat. I need
to take more pictures next time.
Another day was the food fair. A booth full of food for each country.
Noah told me his plan beforehand - go to Japan for some sushi, France for some cheese, and Australia for some fairy bread and sweets. He knows what he's doing.
He also picked up some other favorites along the way (Cambodian springrolls, Indonesian satay, and Korean beef) and tried a few new things too.
Noah and his buddy Michael.
Michael's mom. She makes the best springrolls.
Noah and Michael and Haaresh.
Gage's belly was full by the end too. In between each new thing he would always head back to the US table
for the Rice Krispie Treats of course!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Chinese New Year
I love the orange trees that fill Singapore for Chinese New Year.
They tell me the Chinese word for 'orange' sounds like the Chinese word for 'gold'. So these are especially lucky and traditional for Chinese New Year.
I love that my boys need to wear Chinese clothes to school for Chinese New Year.
I love the red lanterns
and the willow branches
and the hung bao.
These are the red envelopes that are given to children with money inside for Chinese New Year.
I love going down to Chinatown with Dave
and eating at the Noodle Man's shop. He makes his noodles by hand. and the dumplings. and they are yummy. He's famous. The walls are covered with articles and pictures of him with his customers. I must get my picture with him. Its on my Singapore tourist list. But this night he was too busy.
and my absolute favorite is the shaved ice desserts! SO GOOD! This is a shop in Chinatown that was new to us. Fresh mangoes and strawberries, little bubbles of flavor. Perfect.
Friday, January 6, 2012
New Year's Eve
Happy New Year!!
We spent New Year's Eve with some great friends, by the pool eating Asian BBQ and Australian rumblers. The kids ran around playing games and when it got dark we drank our bubbly drinks and set off party poppers and sparklers. It was a blast. Thanks Kristy!
This is our 3rd New Year's in Singapore and I feel like I'm starting to forget what is normal. Didn't you eat Asian BBQ and rumblers by the pool on New Year's? Doesn't everyone?
I say things like air con and trolley and car park. I tell my kids to get in the lift and ask the taxi uncle to open the boot. If I didn't no one would understand me. I was going through files the other day and came across a 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper - 'Why is it so short?' I thought.
I made a new friend. American and new to Singapore. I took her to the grocery store and around the fresh markets. She was like 'Wow!' and 'What is that?!' and 'How much?!' And I was like 'Oh yeah...'
It was good to see it through someone else's eyes. Someone fresh out of jet lag.
I'm glad I'm used to some things. It makes Saturday crowds and taxi rides SO much easier. There are so many things that don't stress me out anymore. I don't even blink. But I don't want to get used to every thing. I don't want to forget how cool dragon fruit looks and how pretty Indian saris are.
So... here are my 2012 New Year's Resolutions
1. Document this Singapore life better. the routines. the culture shock. An extra blog post here and there.
and
2. Learn how to use the manual setting on my camera (but that's a different story).
Thursday, January 5, 2012
*
I woke up that morning thinking of this tiny babe.
Like most mornings. Feeling the flutters. So much better than the nausea.
But this day we'll become a little closer. Get to know baby a little better.
Blue or pink?
The boys were supposed to both go to school.
But I could tell they needed to come with us.
"Are all of you coming in?" asked the ultra sound tech. It was a tiny room.
"Yes please!" we said. 3 extra stools were found and all the boys piled in next to me.
Low lights,
cold gel,
the glow of the screen,
beeping and that amazing "whoosh whoosh" of a heart beat.
The tech got straight to business.
Girl
Are you sure?
Yes. She's a girl.
Girl
Gril
Girl
We're having a girl.
Gage was so happy. He had to give out hugs and kisses. Couldn't keep it in.
"Now we can call her 'mei mei' " says Noah. Just like our friends call their little sisters.
You know how the rest of the ultrasound goes, checking femur lengths and head circumference. Making sure everything is good and healthy.
We got lunch to celebrate - Burger King for Dave and the boys, turkey with brie and cranberry from Cedele for me. Maybe she'll like brie? I thought.
Girl
Girl
Girl
We're having a girl.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
iFLY
For Christmas the boys and I gave Dave 2 flights at Singapore's simulated sky diving place, iFLY.
Dave was so excited.
There's a big fan underneath them blowing enough air upwards to keep him 'airborne'.
With a tweak of his abs or arms he could move around. There were a lot of crashes and barrel rolls into the glass by the other divers.
But Dave was pretty good at it. Once he learned how to stay level, his 'flight instructor' said he'd show him how to go higher. And he sure did! Dave loved it.
We spent the rest of the afternoon on Sentosa's beach eating noodles and digging holes.
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