Three Men and a Mommy

London

2011-08-23T17:07:00.003+08:00

We took a whirlwind trip to London to see the city and visit with my brother and his lovely girlfriend.

I had never been to London - have always wanted to go. It certainly was 100 times larger than I ever imagined. I really had NO idea London was that large. We stayed in the city for the most part and didn't venture outside of it except for dinner one evening.

Wow - the buildings, history, culture... So much of the history of London centers around the world wars. And the fact that these building are still standing - and what was done during the wars to keep them from being demolished... Incredible history.

We had the best tour guide in R - having lived there all her life, she was invaluable in terms of navigating the city and giving background information. Brilliant woman. Both she and my brother were gracious hosts - it was lovely.

The boys had a wonderful time - although I think we wore them out a bit. We definitely could have used another 3 full days in order to get some down time and explore some more of the outlying areas.

Oh well - I guess it gives us an excuse to go back!

Worry

2011-08-21T22:46:00.002+08:00

When does it stop?

Okay, I know the answer to that one... Never.

My baby is about to embark on a trip with his schoolmates and his teachers. For FOUR days. I have gone over this time and time again in my head. Should I ask if I can come along? Should I tell him he can't go? I have lost sleep over this.

I KNOW in my heart I can't do that to him. He is SO excited about the trip, and in all honesty, he will only be about 2 1/2 hours away. It is time to let him be a big kid and worry about his own health for a few days.

He is smart. He knows what he can and can't eat. He knows if something is "off". He's normally the one to tell me. I wouldn't know by looking at him. I trust him - of course I do. But I have never had to relinquish control of his well-being to anyone else. Anyone else that has a child with health issues will understand.

B keeps telling me that he will be okay - I know he will be. But I still reserve the right to be a basket case while he is gone. So if you see me the week of September 5th, I am apologizing in advance.

June and July

2011-07-23T04:38:00.003+08:00

The kids ended school with a couple of fun events:

V and his class walked about a mile and a half to a local lake and had a half a day filled with sport and swimming (BRRRRR)... He has come such a long way. He really likes the school, as do we, and I hope is looking forward to starting again in the fall. He is our creature of habit and having moved SO many times, we worry that he hasn't"found" himself or his identity yet. He really is very secure within himself and could absolutely care less about what other people think or about trying to fit in. But, he hasn't found a friend that he totally identifies with yet. Maybe he just doesn't need one. He has started a workout routine at home which he loves and hates at the same time ;-)

S ended the school year with a great trip to Ayers Rock - an outdoor survival course here. The kids had an amazing lunch provided by the parents. I was a little nervous about S knowing how scared of heights he is. He started out fine for the first 2 minutes and then...

Tears and "I can't do this, how am I supposed to do this?".

To his credit and my amazement - he finished the whole thing. He freaked a little again when he hit the (freezing) cold water. But he did it and has proudly proclaimed:

"I NEVER want to come here again in my whole entire life!!!"

S also "stepped up" to the middle school. They had a wonderful step-up day where the 4th graders crossed the bridge over to the middle school. They received their certificates and a special lanyard to hold their new ID badges that they get at the beginning of the year. It was really special - I was more emotional than I thought. It was a tough 5 months since we had moved and I was so proud of this kid for coming into a new school (again) and jumping in head first.

Then the BIG one - we made a trip back to Houston. Wow - the kids had an AMAZING time. It was wonderful to see friends and family. I ran around like a crazy woman the whole time, but I was happy that the kids were happy. Totally enjoyed the heat - I am a southern girl. The time went by so quickly, I didn't get everything done that I had hoped.

We have some friends coming into town at the end of July and then we are off to London the first week of August. As soon as we get back - orientation starts for school!

If the weather would improve - it'd be close to a perfect summer!

C's Visit!!!

2011-07-22T17:23:00.007+08:00

June started out with the BFF coming out to visit :-)

It was AMAZING to have her here as I have missed her terribly!

We were able to tootle around The Hague. I took her to the open market and no surprise... She loved it as much as I do. We feasted on falafels, herring, sandwiches, Indonesian, fresh fruits and veggies and good ole homemade Indian.

We went to Kinderdijk and saw the windmills. The windmills are susceptible to the weather and fires, so very few of them are standing compared to before. We were able to go inside one to see how people actually lived in them. There are actually a few that people still live in. Pretty cool :-)

Next stop - Amsterdam. We took the train up and spent most of the day walking around the city. We visited the market there, stopped by the Anne Frank house, ate dim sum, poffertjes, pannenkoeken, the most amazing blackberries, and sampled some wonderful gouda. It rained for most of the time that we were there, but we made it!

Wish we could do it all over again - Miss you C!!!

Medieval Day

2011-07-22T17:02:00.007+08:00

Mid-May started like a shotgun - fast and furious...

It started the beginning of end of year school activities including a fun-filled day called "Medieval Day". The kids drew "jobs" out of a hat which included jobs such as king, barons, baronesses, knights and squires, and peasants. S drew the "Knight". I think he was pretty happy about that. The knights competed in a jousting competition where S made it into the semi-finals. The peasants were broken up into various jobs including merry makers, carpenters, cooks and woodworkers. At any time, one of the teachers could grab you and make you a leper. S's best little buddy got pulled out.

The kids were given money to "buy" their snacks - and quickly realized how unfair the system was back then. The peasants could barely afford the snacks that they actually wanted. The kings had too much to spend. S's friend made out like a bandit because S gave him most of his coins since he was allergic to half the food on the table.

During recess, if the peasants stepped out of line - the knights and squires could take them to be put in the stocks which the carpenters actually put together.

The cooks made a lovely homemade vegetable soup for lunch. The peasants were allowed to have this plus bread slices and cut vegetables. The knights and squires dined on that as well as fresh homemade bread. The kings, barons and baronesses were able to feast on pizza for lunch. You can imagine to "No fair"'s that were muttered throughout the meal ;-)

It was a really really long day for the kids and some said they never, ever wanted to do that again. Even S being a knight said that he didn't want to do it again. He felt really bad for his friends and hated that he couldn't eat his own lunch!

17 years!

2011-05-22T14:21:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, B and I celebrated our 17th anniversary... 17 years, seems almost like yesterday that I was 24 and getting married.

In 17 years, we have done so much that a lot of it is blurry. Most amazingly - we have 2 boys. I think that's the best part to come out of our marriage - being parents. B is a good dad, gets down on the ground and in the dirt with them. It's my favorite part of the weekend, watching the 3 of them act like boys playing football, basketball or video games.

We have moved 8 times, lived in 3 different countries and 3 different states. We have gotten to travel more than I ever imagined. I have been able to be a witness to B's career skyrocket. I have a partner that I actually talk to... about anything. We laugh over silly things and still get a kick out of small things.

We have survived job changes, moves, health scares, family issues and our children ;-)

Happy Anniversary honey! I love you.

Day by Day

2011-05-16T22:33:00.003+08:00

So sorry for not posting for a while... I have been in a "place".

Not necessarily a bad place, more of a complacent place. I think the move has finally caught up with me. I have cut down exercising to about 4 days a week only for about an hour a day - crazy, I know. Funny thing is, although I jiggle a little more in certain places, my body is much happier for it.

We took an amazing trip to Paris and fit almost everything you could think of in 4 days. I think my favorite part of the whole trip was the Louvre. I was awed. To think that I was in the same room as the paintings that were actually touched and created by names such as David, Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, De la Croix, the list goes on and on. I was most excited to see the pyramid in the entrance, the Mona Lisa and the Coronation of Napoleon. I could have stared at David's Coronation for hours.

The Louvre in itself was amazing. The building, the history.

The kids soaked it all in. Wasn't really sure how a 13 and 10 year old were going to handle an all day excursion at the museum. To my delight, they were as interested as B and I were.

S fell at school and suffered a mild concussion - with his allergies, skin and other issues, we feel like he has become a bit of a full time project :-( Poor kid.

We are now in the throes of end of the year school preparations, including a surprise fun filled day in S's class this Wednesday. I won't spoil the fun... will post with pictures later.

The best part of the next few weeks is a visit by C - I cannot wait!!! We have a few excursions planned... but mostly, I am thrilled to see my friend. To have a little piece of home right here with me.

Much love!!!

My Heart

2011-04-11T03:10:00.003+08:00

I want to tell you about someone that I admire... My oldest child.

From the minute this child was born, he was a fighter. Born at only 4lbs 3oz., he fought his way through prematurity like a champ. He was a smart baby and toddler. Learning his alphabet before he was 2 and learning to read at the age of 4. I can't say that I take any credit... He is just smart like that. Observant to say the least. He remembers the most minute details. Even as a small child, he was and still is a perfectionist about certain things.

As he has gotten older and as more of his personality is revealed, I have discovered this caring, knowledge hungry child that couldn't hurt a fly. Ask anyone - they immediately love him once they meet him. He is kind and helpful. He loves current events. He loves to read - a trait that I am immensely proud of. He does not give up - he has the strongest sense of loyalty and commitment. He will never let you down. He is always ready for a hug or a snuggle, but only if asked. He is creative - and very good with his hands. He likes to take things apart to see "how they work". He loves technology and is really great at grasping the latest and greatest technological advances. He is a best friend.

He is my heart.

MC Escher

2011-04-04T17:54:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, the family went on an outing in Den Haag. We walked out to the Escher in Het Paleis museum. For those of you art and mathematics fanatics, V and I are huge Escher fans. We were so excited to see his original drawings, wood cuttings, etc... The museum is housed in one of the Netherlands Queens winter homes. So as well as being able to soak in Escher, we were able to get some history about the building as well.

We were able to see Waterfalls, Metamorphosis, Relativity, and Drawing Hands, to name a few. He was a genius before his time. He is Dutch by birth. What I didn't know was that as a young adult, he travelled through Italy, hence the inspiration for most of his landscape lithographs.

As we were about to leave the museum, we decided to peruse the gift shop and a book in particular caught my eye. It was a book about homes and architecture in Den Haag. I flipped through and looked at the index... AND...

Our house was in it! We were all so surprised! Pretty incredible - just made me feel all the more special about where we live...

Have a great day!

Feathered Friends

2011-03-25T02:58:00.003+08:00

I was sitting on our back window sill looking out at the flowers popping up in the garden this evening. I called out to S in the next room when I realized there were 2 ducks in the pond. We watched them for few minutes in silence. Still in total awe and not thinking, I said "I wonder how they got in there?"

S looks at me with a completely straight face and says "DUH, they can fly! How come they didn't teach you that in school???"

Ask a stupid question...

More pictures

2011-03-22T20:55:00.002+08:00

After the last post - I walked out to the store and took along my camera...

Enjoy!

Click here to see the pictures :-)

Settled and happy :-)

2011-03-22T18:48:00.002+08:00

Okay Ruth - this is for you :-)

Sorry about not blogging for a while... We have been a little busy!

We had visitors in the form of my parents, brother and his girlfriend a few weeks back. It was SO lovely to have everyone here - even if for a short time. We still had our rental furniture - but we managed wonderfully. Of course, the day after my parents left - we got our container!!! WooHoo!

Our things came and it's always like Christmas... I was able to unpack and put away 90% of the things before B even got home from work. We were up and running and fully functional the next day. I missed my bed!

We have started to think about travel and have planned a trip to Paris the first week of April. I have a HUGE list of places that we would like to visit while we are here including Italy and the Amalfi coast, Turkey, London, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Germany (during Xmastime) and the list goes on...

Last weekend we discovered some walking trails that start just about 1/3 of a mile from our home. I haven't walked the whole thing, but I have heard that you can walk them all the way to the Sea which is about 3 miles from our place. I have been to walk along the beach, but haven't stayed too long as the wind is a little more than I can handle. Now that it is getting warmer and sunnier, I will go back and do that again.

Still going to the gym - not as much as I am used to, but I walk everywhere, so I don't worry about it too much.

I have met some wonderful women who have introduced me to the wonderful world of Sligro and the open markets. Sligro is a Costco or Sam's type of place that sells items in bulk. No more going to the store for laundry detergent once a week! I find it is not as inexpensive as Costco, but still as effective. Most things here are super expensive - you just learn to appreciate how cheap things are in the States.

I went to the open market with a neighbor of mine and I was in Heaven! The freshest fruits, vegetables, olive bars, fish and meat stalls, clothing (not my style), etc... all in one place! I had to buy a shopping trolley just to bring home all the things I bought. The prices are great and I can assure you that I will be going every week :-)

B is as busy as ever and has a month of craziness starting today which includes 2 trips to Houston, a trip to 3 cities in Asia, Poland, Italy and then our trip to Paris. Whew!

S is playing flag football and is really enjoying it so far - as long as the weather is decent. It's pretty darn painful to catch a football in the cold without gloves. He is enjoying school and picking up Dutch pretty easily. He has a birthday party this weekend at a place that has go-karts, lasertag, bungee soccer, and so on - he is so excited! He has a slumber party the next weekend. He's a busy little guy!

V is doing great with school and basketball. He is looking forward to traveling and has a list all his own of where he wants to go. He is getting older - it's getting harder and harder to get him to hang out with us, so I end up trying to come up with things we can all do together to lure him out of his cave.

In other news - we will be back in Houston in July - we are all looking forward to the slightly (eh hem) warmer weather. This southern belle needs a little more heat!

Til next time!

Our home

2011-02-18T22:18:00.003+08:00

We moved into the house Wednesday of last week and it has been busy trying to transition in. We have rental furniture until our things arrive and have been living with the basic necessities. It's nice to have more space to spread out in - and the area around the house is so charming. There are a few bakeries, cheese shops, antique dealers along with the necessary grocery store, dry cleaners, shoe repair shop, etc... A mix of old world and new.

I wanted to wait until our things arrived from the US to take pictures, but I have gotten so many requests that I will be happy to oblige!

A little bit about the house...

It was built in 1883 in an area of The Hague called the Archipel. The Archipel was one of the few areas of The Hague that was not destroyed by one of the world wars. The street is Surinamestraat. Many of the streets are named after Indonesian cities because of the sheer influence of the Indonesians in this area. I don't know anything about the man who built the house, but I do know that the man who bought it from him in the early 1900's was a diamond dealer and built a small hiding room in which he stored his diamonds. The tenant just before us is the Russian ambassador to The Netherlands. There are many ambassadors on this street and in this area because the embassies are nearby. The landlord has promised me some materials on the history of the home. I feel very honored to live here and be able to take care of the place.

I love that the landlord has kept many of the original features of the home, as many homes here are gutted and modernized - with only the exterior being preserved. With that; however, comes a few unpleasantries, none of which are a major problem. The house is four stories with 5 bedrooms, 4 toilet rooms and 3 full bathrooms with showers. It is an ordeal to climb the full lot of stairs - they are quite steep. Here's hoping to a good looking rear end by the time we leave!

Enough said - you can see the pictures here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=846208254408%3A1189991969&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

The Tortoise and the Hare

2011-02-02T01:57:00.002+08:00

I am finding the pace of life here to be much slower than what we are used to. Probably an amazing thing... but a bit frustrating all the same. I have heard and read that the Dutch (especially the children) are the happiest in the world.

The working hours here are typically 9:00 to 5:00 with most stores opening around 10:00 to 11:00. I have gone to visit a few gyms and they all open around 8:00am with the exception of one or two days where they open early at 7:00am. I cannot get a cell phone until I have a residency card. We applied for one 2 weeks ago, hopefully it will be here soon. In order for our things to be released from the port of Houston, The Netherlands requires a customs clearance which I applied for last Wednesday. It will take three weeks for that to even process. SO in the meantime, our things are sitting in a container on the Gulf of Mexico. I called last Friday to set up internet and cable in our home that I get possession of tomorrow... it takes about 10 days for that.

The days are really short in the wintertime which may contribute to some of the ways of life here. It finally starts to get light about 8:00am and it is pitch dark around 5:30. The grocery store closes at 6:00pm on Sunday, so you need to get the kids stocked for school before then. Most businesses are closed on Sunday and open late on Monday.

I love the "city" feel of Den Haag - even though it is quite small. I love to walk around. It's a great way to see everything. I found a Dutch school right by our home, so I will probably sign up for classes after we move in. I have finally driven 3 days in a row, and "Champa chameli", my GPS lady has become the person I speak with the most during the day. We ate at a fairly decent Indian restaurant right outside of our street last weekend and was happy to know that there was one nearby. I am waiting to hit all of theses gorgeous boutiques - they have great sweaters and dresses!

It is expensive here. As an expat, it is a little easier to afford some of these things. As a local, I don't know how they do it. Food, clothing, dry cleaning, and other basic items are about 50% more than what we are used to paying in the States. I have said it before.... most people in the US do not realize how lucky they are. Affordability is taken for granted. Most of the rest of the world pays double what we do in gasoline for cars. Most people here in Den Haag do not own a car. They bike everywhere. Public transportation is amazing.

Maybe some of this laissez faire attitude will rub off on me in the near future. I considered myself a pretty laid back person... until we moved here ;-)

My baby turns 10!

2011-01-30T16:12:00.003+08:00

We are sitting here, relaxing after having a very early morning celebration since Daddy had to leave for the States this morning. S is a little under the weather and with the actual weather being foggy and cold today, we are still trying to decide whether it's worth bundling up and going out.

A LeBron jersey and some legos later, I am watching this beautiful boy play with his big brother... I have said this many times, but every year is so bittersweet for me when we celebrate S's birthday. It brings me back to 10 years ago when he was born. I don't mean to dwell on it, but I just can't believe how far we have come.

So, instead of remembering what WAS... I want to tell you what I have learned about this incredible child in the last 10 years.

I have learned that wherever there is a ball, he will find it. I have learned that he is the commander of the playground. He remembers everything you tell him, so if you don't mean it, don't say it. He has a short temper. He needs constant entertainment - and is a source of constant entertainment. He plays it cool, but deep down is a very very caring child. He loves his brother more than anything is this world. He creates a basketball game wherever he is. He worries about everything. He pretends to be sleeping and secretly hides upstairs so he can hear what mommy and daddy talk about after we THINK he has gone to bed. He is street smart, book smart, and everything else smart. He knows how to get what he wants. He is particular about what he wears. He doesn't let any of the health problems he faces day to day get him down, EVER...

I am so proud to be his Mommy!

Happy happy birthday sweet boy!!!

Happy Wednesday

2011-01-26T20:33:00.002+08:00

I am sitting here in the apartment - looking out on Den Haag and a beautiful day. It is sunny, not too terribly windy and not too terribly cold. I love seeing the sun. When I lived in Jersey when V was a baby - I was one that was affected by SAD (seasonal affectation disorder). I was not happy when we went days without seeing the sun. I think getting through this first winter here will be tough - but it can only get better... right?

Had a wonderful morning running around with our lovely relo representative trying to get customs papers and parking permits in order. I conquered my slight fear of riding the local tram and of course, it was as easy as I thought it would be. After many laughs and good conversation, I left her around lunchtime to find S some presents for his birthday. I was very successful, it didn't take me long at all. I cannot believe my baby will be 10 this Sunday - double digits!

I still marvel at the bike riding abilities of the Dutch. I am still working on not walking in the bike paths - I get "belled" once a day. People here are very friendly - and even more so if you try to speak the language. Wish me luck as I get behind the wheel of a car for the first time here on Sunday... I saw a biker that was almost hit by a car today - my biggest fear!

It has been a good day :-)

First day of school

2011-01-25T00:42:00.003+08:00

Today was the first day of school for the kids - a VERY hard day for Mommy. I walked them to the bus platform outside of our apartment building for a 7:27 am pick up time. They were the very first stop and I put them on the bus and watched it drive off. I left feeling very unsettled, hoping that they would be able to find where they needed to go. S to the playground, V to the middle school office. Worried cannot even describe how I was feeling.

B had been asking me a few days before if I wanted the car that day to take them, but I know my children. They are smart, independent, amazing little creatures and I knew deep down they would be fine. I just had to keep telling MYSELF that.

I was paralyzed for about an hour before I actually decided to get up and go down to the workout room. After a very quick 45 minute workout, I decided to quit - my heart was just not in it. I showered, dressed and went out for the day. Walked around the city, finished a few errands, and came home. It was a very long 2 hours before the kids got back.

They were FULL of chatter when they got off the bus with stories of friends they had made, their teachers and all the other things they had experienced that day. They were so proud of the new school that they get to attend. S has already become a hit a recess and V was so excited about all the people he met, the technology at the school - and the fact that they all get their very own Mac for school use.

I am just so proud of them - I know their experience here will be amazing and will help them to become well rounded, culturally sensitive, experienced young men.

A good day :-)

2011-01-20T17:56:00.000+08:00

It was a good day today. First off, we got to see the sun! It was a crisp 39 degrees, but the sun was shining. After lunch, the kids and I ventured out into the city to take pictures and get some supplies. We seem to go to the grocery store everyday, mainly because I end up realizing that I don't have something (salt, pepper, garlic, oil...). Things that we are used to having in the house all the time. I was lucky enough to come across Chinatown and found some lentils and long beans to make for dinner... without my Indian spices mind you, but Indian nonetheless.

We found a few school supplies, we were able to get our U.S. line up and running, we trekked over to the train station and inquired about how to ride the train/tram/bus system, found a dry cleaners, stopped in hair salons to inquire about prices for haircuts, etc... A productive day overall. We miss B though - we have had him at home for a week. He went to work today for the first time since we came and it's definitely quiet around here.

It doesn't get light until about 8:00 to 8:30 and it starts to get dark around 5:00. The days are short. The kids are wonderful - no issues there. I am nervous for them to start school on Monday. I am just going to rip off the bandage and let them ride the bus Monday morning. Just kill me now.

Here are a few pics from our outing today :-)

Yummy sandwiches

The Asian grocery store I found:

Brrrrrr...

Our apartment building:

The local shopping mall:

Leaving Houston :-(

2011-01-18T00:08:00.006+08:00

The last couple of days have been a blur. The movers came last Thursday and packed and loaded everything - so quickly in fact, that they were done before either one of the kids came home from school. The next few days were spent buying last minute things for our trip or shutting down the house.

We all said our goodbyes - it was hard.

As we were all set to leave on Sunday, B and the boys were getting the car packed up and I took one last look through the house. My chest got heavy and I started to breathe really hard. I didn't want to upset the boys, so I pulled it together and locked up the house. The minute the garage door shut, I started to cry. My head was screaming "TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!!!" I didn't think it would be that hard.

It was a quiet ride until we hit the airport. Then the comedy began.

Our large bag was WAY overweight - 15 pounds to be exact. In all efforts not to pay TSA to buy a new bag, I pulled my bags over and started shifting weight. After dropping various pieces of lingerie on the floor - I finally got it.

We checked in 6 bags and left in the biggest fit of laughter - I think the weight of the sadness we were feeling finally cracked.

We get to security and B is pulled aside WITHOUT his shoes and belt and bags to be checked. They very sternly take him into a little room to interrogate him and he leaves having made 2 new friends - how he does it, I'll never know. It turns out that the forgot that he had a Leatherman in his old bag that we brought along. Someone in TSA is enjoying it now.

The flight was wonderful - no glitches.

We get to Schipol airport early Monday morning local time. We have so much luggage that we cannot all fit into the rental. S and I take a train and decide to meet up with the other 2 in Den Haag at our rental apartment. We end up being separated for about 4 hours - a lifetime when you are in a new place with no phone to call them by. B and V got lost WITH a GPS - it turns out the street was not on any navigation system.

The long and short of it is, we are settled... Jet lagged, but settled. We have spent yesterday and today getting groceries and toiletries, applying for our residence permit, getting passport pictures taken for various other government applications, and getting to know the lay of the land.

Tomorrow, we get to go the the school for orientation. I am excited for the kids and have very high expectations for the education that are about to receive.

The weather here has been typically Dutch - rainy and about 42 degrees.

We don't have our phone hooked up yet as the apartment does not have one. Once we buy one, we'll let you know. I was more concerned about not having a hairdryer - that was my FIRST purchase!

Love you all - till later...

On the Move... Again.

2010-10-27T05:31:00.002+08:00

Hello!

For those of you who don't already know... We are moving! Again!

It's been 16 glorious months back in the States and we have recently found out that we are moving to Den Haag, The Netherlands. We were a little surprised and shocked at first, especially since the wounds of moving back from Singapore were still fairly fresh in our minds. But the more we thought about it, the more we realized that this would be an amazing opportunity for all of us and we really couldn't pass it up.

B's new company that he works for is based in Rotterdam. He will be going to the office to head the reorganization of the company's Europe and Asia operations.

We visited Amsterdam and the surrounding area over Labor Day weekend. We visited schools, looked at housing and toured the area. We all fell in love with the Dutch charm.

I am hoping to keep the blog updated as to our travels and experiences in Europe... IF I can get back into the habit!!!

See you on the flip side ;-)

The start of a new school year...

2010-09-11T05:24:00.003+08:00

The kids have been in school for a few weeks now. After the initial shock of "I bought school supplies at the end of the year, and I still need what???", they are settled into a routine. V loves being a big kid in 7th grade and loves all the freedom that comes with it. He made the off-season basketball class and was so proud. With Orchestra, basketball at Legends and Algebra - he is pretty tied up. He handles it like a champ - I am an extremely proud mom!

S is back to the same attitude of "I love school, but I don't like school". He is also busy between Legends basketball, mathnasium and schoolwork. One smart, smart cookie that doesn't apply himself to his fullest potential. He keeps me hopping, that's for sure!

B has been pretty busy with his new job, travels quite a bit. When he is in town, his schedule is pretty grueling. We look forward to weekends when we can spend a little time with him.

Myself, you ask? Just trying to keep my head above water getting these kiddos to keep on moving... Still crazy, I don't think there's any hope for me :-)

I am definitely going to try to keep this up - I have missed the blog and am ready for more - chat soon!

S

New Beginnings...

2010-03-29T23:15:00.002+08:00

So, I realize it's almost been a year since any post whatsoever.

I've changed the name of the blog and am ready to start again :-)

In a nutshell, after moving back from Singapore - I think I felt a little displaced. It was odd to have experienced this amazing place that we LOVED so much and be yanked from there so quickly. When we got back and finally got back in to the swing of things, it was almost as if we had never left. Don't get me wrong - with only being gone a year - it was very easy for the kids to assimilate back into their routines, and that was a blessing.

And even though we were gone for such a short time, we thought we were going to be over there longer - so we sold EVERYTHING - down to the electric can opener. We're still replacing things :-)

But, we are settled and happy - I had missed my friends and family terribly. And we are happy for the new friends we are making along the way.

Enjoy!

S

Random thought of the day...

2009-05-23T22:27:00.002+08:00

This one is courtesy of an email my dad sent me...

"If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just BUY dinner?"

;-)

Random thought of the day...

2009-05-18T22:16:00.003+08:00

Just came to me...

Is "Swine Flu" past tense for "When Pigs Fly"???

So much for hopping the pond...

2009-05-11T17:16:00.002+08:00

Well, as many of you already know - we have been called back to the US. So 10 very short months later, we are in the midst of moving madness... AGAIN...
It's a wonderful opportunity for B - I couldn't be prouder. He has worked tirelessly. His loyalty and commitment to this company is evident - and he is being graciously rewarded.

We are going to miss this place. I am going to miss the beauty, the cleanliness, the people we have met and haven't nearly gotten enough time to know. I am going to miss the quality of education the kids are getting here, how V struggled so much at first and has flourished over the last 2 months - right before our eyes. I am going to miss the traveling - how convenient it is to get to other countries from here. I am going to miss Little India and Chinatown - where I could spend everyday if I had the time.

I have no worries about our move - we are going back to the same area, same town. The kids will be fine wherever we land - they had this amazing experience for a year and I hope they won't ever forget it.

What I do worry about is that we will come back and feel as if we "fit" or "belong" here better. I can't describe the feeling of being culturally connected to our heritage. It's all around us, you can't escape it - it's "home". From the food to the spices to the BAD B.O. ;-)to the haggling over prices... it's familiar, comfortable.

I will take Singapore back to the US with me - and I hope to give a little bit of it to all of my friends and family that I have missed SO much.

National Organ Donor Awareness Month

2009-04-07T11:31:00.003+08:00

Okay - So every April, I get on my high horse about organ donation. I understand how personal the choice is, in fact, before having to live with the possibility of having it creep into our lives, I am not so sure how I felt about it myself.

First, a few facts:
Organ Demands
Each year 20,000 people receive organ transplants. This figure is only 25% of the 94,000 people in need of an organ.
Everyday around 17 people die while waiting for a transplant of a vital organ.

The Waiting List
Nearly 4,000 new patients are added to the waiting list every month.

The Potential Donor
You can choose to donate one or more of the following organs: kidneys, heart, liver, lung, pancreas, intestines, cornea, skin, bones and/or bone marrow.
The heart is the only organ that cannot come from a living donor.
There is no age limit for organ donation.
The few absolute exclusions are those who are HIV+, have active cancer or systemic infection.

Statistics
Less than 30% of the population has signed a donor card or has discussed organ donation with their family.
One organ or tissue donor has the potential to save 50 lives.

Common Misconceptions
Organ donation happens only after the patient is declared brain dead. The law clearly states that the doctor who pronounced brain death must have nothing to do with the removal or transplantation of organs.
After organ removal, the body does not become disfigured.

Second, the pitch:
I know that there are so many reasons NOT to become an organ donor, but in my life there in one MAJOR reason that is behind my reason TO be one.

My son.

He never asked to be born with liver disease. There is no defining reason why he even has it. It's a "fluke". All I know is that he has been through so much in his short life and I'd like to hope that when he ventures down the path of transplantation, someone thought enough of children like him to make that decision. I know I have.
No, we cannot guarantee who our organs go to. But we can pray that our decision changes someones LIFE for the better - that they actually get to LIVE.

If you haven't already - PLEASE consider giving the gift of life.

Resort-style vacation, I think...

2009-03-25T18:02:00.011+08:00

The kids are on Spring Break this week - Yeah!
With B being EXTREMELY busy - we decided to take off on a very short trip to Bintan, Indonesia to hit the beach. The kids and I were very excited because this was to be our first "true" beach vacation. I loved going to the beach as a kid and I was sure that my water monkeys were going to love it as much as I did.

Bintan is a short 1-hour ride from Singapore by ferry. We left the house at 9am to catch an 11am ferry. It was really neat to travel by boat - very easy and convenient. It was also pretty special to see so many of the cargo ships that pass through the Straits up close and personal.

We arrive in Bintan, no hitches. In fact, as we are getting through immigration, I see someone I had met once at the kids school at baggage claim. It turns out that she and her family are going to the same resort that we are. Since she also has a 8 yr old boy, we decide to try to meet up while we are there.

We get to the hotel and it is really pretty.

It is 12pm local time and the hotel tells us that check-in is not until 3pm. They did say that our room would probably be ready early, so we decided to walk over to the golf club for some lunch and then head back. It was quite a steamy day and after eating in the open air, we were starting to feel a bit wiped.

We get back to the hotel and find that our room is still not ready - so we hunker down for the duration. We were guaranteed a room at 3pm, so when our room was no ready then, the staff started to scurry a little in order to get us settled. What we didn't know was that they put us in a room that had not been used in a while. The aircon was streaming water, leaving a large puddle of water on the floor. The toilet was running constantly - and our so-called "private" terrace had no fence at all. (Although all the other rooms around us had one). There were no towels, soap, or iron in the room. After bothering the poor man cleaning some of the other rooms around us about a thousand times and after engineering came and fixed the toilet and the aircon, we decided to unpack a few things and go down to the beach. As we leave out our back patio, something large with a 3 foot tail, hightails it into a foot-wide hole about 5 feet from our back door. Ummmmmm....

The beach was clean, the South China Sea clear - we really enjoyed ourselves. The kids were just in awe of the waves and eventually found themselves wanting to go in deeper and deeper until I had to pull them back. It was a lovely evening and we decided to go wash off in the pool. So back to the room we go to get the goggles. The back door does not work because the lock is jammed from the outside, so we have to walk around the side to get back to our room. We get inside and...
The aircon has started to leak again. I bend down to the bag and drop one of the goggles so that it has scooted slightly under the bed - when I pull it out, part of it is covered with cigarette ash. B tells me to take the kids to the pool and he will meet me there after getting engineering to come to fix the aircon again.
He finally comes to meet us there and tells us that we need to get back to the room to pack, he got the hotel to switch us to another newly renovated room.

It's all the way on the other side of the resort and by this time it is also 8pm and we have not had dinner. The lizards and the beetles are out in full force and one decides to dive-bomb right into the front of my bathing suit. As I scream and drop EVERYTHING I am carrying, I freak the kids out enough that S is frozen in his footsteps. I finally manage to extract the beetle (the size of my big toe) and we make a beeline for the room. After we get into the room and shoo out 2 more beetles, S is finally calming down, I am nursing my wounds, V is starved and B is trying to figure out how much we would have to pay to change our ferry reservation to leave the next day. Each room carries a can of bug spray in it - if that shouldn't have told us anything. We notice that our lock doesn't work on the door and the safe will not close - we again wait for engineering to come and help us out.

We decide to tough it out and B sprays the opening for all the rooms with bug spray. We order room service and settle in for the night - although by this point none of us are feeling the least bit "settled".

The next morning, we wake up and get ready for breakfast when B says "I don't have my glasses on, can you come tell me what this is on your slippers?"
OMG, OMG, OMG... It's some sort of reddish brown millipede looking thing that is about 1 inch fat and 8 inches long. We DOUSE it with bug spray and B gets it out of the room. We never showed the kids - which probably was a good thing. We navigated through the dead and slightly alive beetles (the lizards had gone home for the day) and get breakfast. By the time we venture back to the room, the staff has done an amazing job of sweeping up the beetles.

We take the resort bus to a little place called Pasar Ole Ole to do a little local souvenier shopping. Hot day - but it was nice overall.

We had another amazing day on the beach and saw the people that we knew. We decided to meet for dinner at their villa. We had a great time at their place and came indoors when the beetles and lizards started coming out again.

We left feeling as if we had made some wonderful new friends and braced ourselves to get back to the room through, as B put it, "National Geographic". S freaked out again and I carried him half way to our room - but I seemed to think it was much easier that time back. No issues that night with critters.

The next morning we pack, relax (it's raining cats and dogs), and get ready to check out to go home. We have major issues with our bill and decide that although we truly had a good time - our relaxing vacation didn't turn out to be so relaxing. Although I hope we will go back to Bintan, we will never stay at that hotel again and have decided to write the manager.

All in all, we are HAPPY to be back home and spend the rest of the week here in Singapore. If you ever plan a trip to Bintan - we can definitely tell you where NOT to stay ;-)

A few little idiosynchracies...

2009-02-02T12:03:00.004+08:00

We have been here in Singapore now for about 8 months. During that time, we have all managed to fall head over heels in love with this tiny little nation. I have met some wonderful people, both expats and locals.
We have had the opportunity to experience local festivals, traditions and customs. Right now, we are in the middle of Chinese New Year. With one of my dearest friends being Chinese, it has taken on a very special meaning for me and I hope to continue the traditions that I learn for the rest of my life.
Singapore is probably the cleanest place on earth - a fact that we noticed while traveling to other destinations this past holiday. Even in Sydney, the sidewalks were spattered with dried up old chewed gum - since chewing gum is banned from being sold here in Singapore - the streets and sidewalks are pristine. The sides of the roads are manicured to perfection - even the overpasses are littered with tropical flowers.

A few oddities I have noticed so far:
1. Middle aged western men come to Singapore to find themselves a "honey"
2. The stores here have an amazing return policy: "Don't"
3. The government knows exactly where you are at all times - they keep tabs on every one of it's citizens. BIG BROTHER is watching you...
4. I have only seen one drive-thru in the time I have been here... But I have seen a few "skate-thru" McDonalds. BUT, they do deliver...
5. I have yet to learn all of the Chinese traditions, but am learning fast what I should NOT do - almost everything wrong can result in death.
6. Lion Dances are easily louder than your average rock concert.
7. Bill payment, cinema and theater ticketing, money transfer and restaurant reservation can be done through one and the same ATM machine.
8.You will never hear any propaganda that opposes the government.

I'll stop at 8 since that is the "auspicious" number in the Chinese culture.

Til next time ;-)

S

The end of a wonderfully crazy year...

2009-01-25T21:04:00.005+08:00

SO, I apologize profusely for not posting anything in months... The last part of the year FLEW by.
We ended October with a few of B's business relations coming into town - we were able to meet some amazing new acquaintances.
We also got a small taste of Halloween. The largely American populated areas, especially the area around the American school (called Woodlands, I know, right???) was heavily hit with trick or treaters. They estimated a few hundred children hit the homes up there. Some of the kids actually stayed after school and hung out until it was twilight. Being room mom for both of the kids classes, I organized the parties and the kids had a blast. We ourselves did not go trick or treating as V is getting a bit disillusioned with the whole thing. But we did attend a party at the American Club where they got a few treats.
October also brought on another project for V - which means another project for MOM. This one was titled "Images of Singapore". The point of this project was to travel around Singapore visiting museums and historic sites. Then to present what you had learned about the history of Singapore. It was very educational - especially since we have not been here that long. We learned a lot about Singapore and it's origin and Japanese and British occupation.
My mother-in-law came to town in the beginning of November. She was here for 9 weeks and we were able to show her most of the sites on the island in between the normal routine of our daily lives. She was able to go on holiday with us to Bangkok in December and Sydney at the beginning of January.
The kids are now back in school and full fledged into their activities. I've never been one of those parents that overloads her kids with activities - for their sanity and mine... BUT, it seems as if fate has played us a different card this first part of the year.
V has swimming, Amazing Minds and a Telunas class (more about that in a bit).
S has basketball, swimming, and Jr. Scientists

About Telunas - V has been hand picked to go on a 5th grade community service trip to the Riau Islands, Indonesia. He has to take classes for 6 weeks to learn about the culture, including songs and local expressions. They will then carry out some sort of project at a local school (some sort of school improvement) and mingle with the other children. So mom is a little nervous as he is actually leaving the country... He will take a ferry to Indonesia, and from there, a tuk tuk ride to the area that they will be staying. My head knows it will be an amazing opportunity for him, but my heart's not quite there yet.

So, that's about it in a nutshell - here are a few pictures from the last few months.

Sydney

Christmas

Merlion
The Singapore Flyer

Our Holiday Ecard...

2008-12-09T22:24:00.000+08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

UN Day

2008-10-03T21:41:00.007+08:00

With the diversity represented at the Singapore American School, it was no surprise when we learned that the Primary school was going to celebrate United Nations Day. Just in the Primary School alone - 50 different countries have children represented.

It all started off with the children getting to choose what country they wished to represent. To my delight, S chose India. The first thing they did was to create a "flag" place mat for their International Luncheon. The next part was to create a large paper doll that was dressed in some way to show what country they had chose. the also had to put together a short presentation telling why they dressed their doll in that way. S chose to dress his doll as a cricket player.

Today was the UN Day assembly which started off with a parade of flags. The 50 flags were paraded through the high school gym by various children in the Primary school. There was a short presentation about UN day, then an Indian dance group performed. The children then sang songs with their respective grades - all of a friendship theme. The children were all dressed in some sort of outfit that showcased the country they chose.
The last part was an international feast where the parents each brought in a dish from a different country. Here's the menu:

Appetizers / Salads
Japan - Sushi Rolls – Cucumber and Egg
Japan - Sushi Rolls – Fish Flakes and Tuna
India – Raita (yogurt salad)
Ireland – Irish soda bread

Main Course
Korea – Japchae (Noodles)
Korea - Vegetarian Pancakes
China - Fried Rice
Korea - Korean Beef
Mexico - Chicken Tacos
Unites States - Macaroni and Cheese
Korea – Rice cakes with BBQ sauce

Dessert
Unites States - Chocolate Chip Cookies
Philippines - Leche Flan
Mexico - Arroz con Leche
United States - Cupcakes
Indonesia – Assorted Kue-Kue

I was SO proud that my child had this chance to celebrate diversity. It was an amazing day!

Trying to Understand

2008-09-13T19:19:00.002+08:00

We've barely been out of Houston for 3 months when "the big one" comes along. Hurricane Ike. The storm that we waited for the entire 9 years that we lived there.
I cannot seem to focus on anything except for my family and friends that are there. How did we get so lucky to get out and be spared the stress and worry of having to go through something like this?
I was cyber-chatting with a friend of mine earlier today and you could just hear the concern in her words. I wanted to virtually put my arms around her and tell her that everything will be alright.
I have been watching coverage on the local Houston networks who provide live streams. I kept seeing the pictures of what was going on - the wind, surf, and rain. I kept looking for some sort of time frame as to when the worst was going to pass through where my family and friends are. But instead, they were fielding calls from people stuck in areas that were "mandatory evacuation" areas that needed help.
One of the anchors fielded a call and called his ordeal "a true act of heroism". This man stayed back in Galveston which took a direct hit from the storm. He saw the water starting to rise in his home and broke out the bottom of his door. The water rose to his neck and he and his daughter clung house to house until 30 minutes later, they made it to shelter in the convention center.
HOW is this heroism??? When he was under a mandatory evacuation order from government officials, why did he think it was alright to risk his young daughter's life like that? To make it worse, he said he was trying to get some of his neighbors to go with them.
What would it feel like to be listening to this on the radio with no power... Not hearing when the storm was going to be closing in on your area, but stories of stupid people who paid no heed to the experts.

My heart is in Houston and my head is in prayer...

Heaven on Earth?

2008-09-10T19:41:00.008+08:00

I have been hitting the gym pretty hard lately and my body is telling me so. So instead of trying to force in a workout, I decided a leisurely walk would do me a world of good. I had heard about a place here called the MacRitchie Reservoir. It is supposed to be a beautiful place with walking trails. So I hop in the car and go down there this morning.
I walked up the path to the trail around the reservoir and was just HIT with the beauty of the area.

In the hustle and bustle of Singapore, it was so incredibly quiet that I turned off my music just to listen to the water and the birds. All along the path there were signs that told about the plants, wildlife and reservoir itself.

I stopped at a map to check out the various trails and decided on a short 5K walk.
I ended up walking a bit further than I had hoped and got a little lost. By the time I realized I was lost, I was about 6K into a 11K trail. Most of the trail is shrouded under the trees and the terrain is very uneven. I only had my joggers on, no trail shoes, no water, no carry pack, not dressed properly.
I decided to take it easy during the remainder of the walk seeing as I was committed.

They have an observation tower that you can climb up to see the surrounding skyline.
They also have a 5K treetop walk on a suspension bridge where you can do just that - walk among the treetops. After realizing that I wasn't even 2/3rds of the way through this trail, I was starting to get tired. My knee was hurting, I was itchy from bug bites and running into spiderwebs. It was tiring trying to navigate the path. It was tiring trying to decipher which way was "out". It was tiring trying to decide if needed to pass the large monkeys that decided to block my way. By this point, I was wondering if this was a nice place after all. Any other day - I would have enjoyed it, but not being prepared was a real letdown.

After a total of about 13 K, I finally made it out of the woods and was just so happy to see that I only had a 10 minute walk to my car. At one point along the path to the car, there were some people on the side in a grassy area with about 15 elderly in wheelchairs. They were singing to them and feeding them Popsicles and smiling with them. And my immediate thought was "ME, ME, ME". I was whining because I was tired. I can't imagine how tirelessly these amazing people worked night and day to take care of these elderly patients.
My next thought was "This truly is Heaven on earth".

The Lizards...

2008-09-08T22:43:00.004+08:00

Well - I have been trying REALLY hard to get used to the fact that we get lizards in our house. Any of the locals will tell you that it is impossible to keep them out. My maid was shocked to hear that they didn't come indoors in the States.
I actually try not to chase them down anymore, the minute I get near one, it runs for cover. The lizard is scared of me - as it should be. I still can't get used to them sneaking around the house.
Just the other morning I walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. One came shooting out from the behind the dishes that were drying next to the sink - and toppled half of them over. At 6:00 am - scared the holy ghost out of me - talk about heart-attack city. And Lord only knows where they run off to - they are probably upside down in my kitchen cabinets.
They are ugly - their skin is slightly translucent - they leave their poop all over the place. I've heard that their poop is toxic - so I really want them in my kitchen.
My maid said this morning that they were good to have in the house - they eat mosquitoes and other tiny bugs. She also said that they were "lucky".

Why couldn't it have been lady bugs...

The Tooth Fairy

2008-09-03T20:45:00.002+08:00

S has been struggling with a very uncooperative tooth the past few weeks - he was SO excited when it finally fell out while brushing his teeth tonight. I went up to say goodnight to the boys and asked S if he had put his tooth under his pillow. Here's what took place after that:

S: (Very sadly) "V said that there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy"
Me: "He did?"
S: "Yes, he said that you and Daddy put money and stuff under our pillows"
Me: "Well, you know what happens when you don't believe in the Tooth Fairy anymore..."
S: "No, what?"
Me: "She doesn't leave things for children who don't believe in her"

S: "OHHHHHH, Well that changes EVERYTHING!"

I think we need to have a little chat with V ;-)

The First Week of School

2008-08-15T20:18:00.006+08:00

New country, new house, new school...

I always thought the first day of school was so bittersweet. This was especially true this year. We were thrilled when the children got into the Singapore American School. It's an amazing facility. The grades go from preschool through 12th - with 5 different campuses clustered together one one VERY large compound. The curriculum is first rate and the teachers are outstanding - from all walks of life. Each teacher gets an aide so there are 2 adults for every 22 kids.
V started on Monday and was very responsible (as usual) about setting his own alarm and getting up to get ready. He took extra time to comb his hair nicely and was ready to go. S didn't start until Wednesday, but didn't want to miss any of the action, so he got up with his brother, brushed his teeth and had breakfast with V.

It was time to go out and wait for the bus (which comes at 7:00 am). The buses are city buses and each have a "bus aunty" on them to make sure that the kids are strapped in and follow the rules.
With V out of the house - S was mighty bored by 7:30am. So until he started school - Mommy was the prime entertainment. I didn't realize what a great babysitter his big brother was! I was nice to have time alone - just the 2 of us. Vishal came home after the 2nd day of school and announced that he was going to play the violin.

When S starts a new school - it's always an adventure. With all of the health issues he faces, the schools need to set up protocols for if he ingests something that he is allergic to, etc... With most schools, I send in benadryl, nebulizer meds and an epipen. In the case of SAS, they had me come into the school to have a meeting with his teacher, his counselor and the 2 nurses on campus. They filled out a sheet complete with his picture and benadryl stapled to it. A copy of this sheet with meds (that they provide) is given to his teachers (main, art, PE, music, mandarin). A copy also goes to the lunchroom, to the bus driver and one stays in his backpack at all times.

When S started kindergarten and 1st grade, I was called by the nurse the very first day of school. He never completed a first day. Well, no surprises this year when the nurse called and said that Shyam had thrown up and I needed to come get him. It turned out he had had a headache for most of the day and never told anyone - which for him means eventually vomiting.

The rest of the week went without a hitch...

A few interesting facts:
The kids wear uniforms to school and on every third day wear their PE uniform to school.
They are learning to speak Mandarin.
The cafeteria offers 5 different choices at lunch: hot meal, Asian meal, vegetarian meal, sandwiches and a la carte options.
The kids get a snack in the morning (brought or bought)
The teacher make sure that they are getting enough to drink during the day.
You do not have to buy school supplies, they are provided (although tuition is a small fortune)

I missed them terribly this week - but have to admit, the quiet was bliss!!!

Kuala Lumpur

2008-08-10T21:32:00.006+08:00

As the summer winds down for the kids - we took a quick trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this week. We went by bus which is about a 5 hour drive from Singapore, The bus was advertised as a "Premium" bus that served a meal and snack and had a select choice of personal movies that you can watch. The bus was a double decker - the kids got to sit in the front seats on the top level on the way there and back - they had the windshield open all to themselves to enjoy the view. The bus set sail from a bus terminal in downtown Singapore (in a mall of course). After 5 hours and a decent lunch of fried rice and fruit - we were in KL.

A member of the Malaysia office that works for B picked us up and took us for a quick bite to eat at a very good Indian restaurant before shuttling us to the hotel.

Hotel Maya was a perfect place to stay in terms of location and view. When we got there, we checked in, cleaned up and our friend took us around the city. We stopped at the KL aquarium - wonderful. We took most of the rest of the day to walk around the city near our hotel. We went to the Petronas towers - the pride of KL and walked around their 6 floor shopping mall. Ate a little dinner and then went back to the hotel to sit on the balcony and enjoy the nighttime views.

The next day, another fellow from the office came and picked us up. He took us to Batu Caves. An Indian temple that was built inside limestone caves. there a roughly 280 steps to the top. As I took a rest about half way up, I was amazed at how the kids were just little energizer bunnies. They made it to the top - no problem. There were monkeys everywhere, stealing food that was out in the open or the offerings people had bought for the temple.

Our next stop was about 45 minutes outside of KL - a place called Genting Highlands. Built on top of a mountain - Genting probably stays about 60 to 65 degrees. There are about 4 hotels, a beautiful Chinese temple and an indoor and outdoor theme park. We rode a sky box up to the top which was roughly a 3km and 15 minute ride. The kids had a blast at the indoor park and were exhausted when we left.

We did a little more sightseeing and went to Little India for dinner that evening.

The next morning, fellow #1 came back to take us to Petronas towers - we were able to go to the skybridge to view the city. After that - we went to the KL tower - where we were able to go to the top and take in even more views of the city.

All in all - it was a great quick getaway and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. In short - KL is similar to Singapore though not as clean. Most of the toilets are the kids that are in the ground that you have to squat to use - there is no toilet paper. Instead there is a hose that you "wash" yourself off with. Also - you have to pay to use most of the public toilets. We survived!!!

Hands on the Wheel

2008-08-01T17:31:00.003+08:00

I have been driving in Singapore now for about 7 weeks. The first 5 of which were sporadic due to B and I sharing a car. Now that I have my own - the kids and I have been venturing out quite a bit.

I did not find it hard at all to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Although, I do get taken aback still when I see a child sitting where you are used to seeing a driver. There are no car seats - babies are carried by adults in the car - just like we all were as children.
I do try to pay attention to what I am doing - never answer the cell phone (hand phone as they call it here) if it rings. I try not to look at what the children are pointing out or peek in the backseat at what they are doing. You never know when I may drift or turn into the wrong lane.
But the ones you really have to watch out for are the locals. Yes, CRAZY is the word for most drivers in Asian countries. Although Singapore is relatively tame, you have to watch everyone else at all times:

Buses - they have designated stops where they pull out of traffic and and onto the side of the road. But they do not give a hoot for who's next to them when they get back on. You'd better pray the timing is right when they start to pull back into traffic.

Work trucks - these mini-trucks are everywhere, carrying workers back and forth to their destinations. At any given time there are 4-5 men sleeping in the back. They cannot keep up with the flow of traffic and slow everyone down.

Taxis - Taxi drivers feel like they own the roads in Singapore - they do not pay attention to those dotted lines that we all try to stay in when we drive. They seem to drift all the time - no matter if you are right next to them. As if to keep their options open as to which lane they want to be in.

Motorcycles - apparently the rule of driving in a straight line does not apply to motorcyclists. They are slower then the flow of traffic - but when you are stopped at a stoplight - they all queue to the front. They ride in between all the cars that have just passed them and go right to the front of the line - only for you to have to pass them all over again until the next traffic light. They weave in and out of cars - you can easily hit one of you are not careful.

Expats - People who drive super nice cars and pay attention to all the rules - where did they come from, the US???

My Family

2008-07-29T23:35:00.001+08:00

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Engrish

2008-07-22T20:38:00.000+08:00

While the unofficial language of Singapore is Singlish, I can't help but pass on some examples of the other unofficial language here: Engrish.
Enjoy!!!

Singaporean guide to Parenting Preparation

2008-07-22T13:10:00.004+08:00

I came across this yesterday on a local website... Thought I would share:

Parenting Preparation exercise:
(complete with a little Singlish)
Mess Exercise - Smear peanut butter all over your sofa and curtains. Place a fishball under your sofa cushion and leave it there for 3 months.
Toy Exercise - Buy a giant box of Lego. (Thumbtacks also can.) Ask your friend to spread them all over the floor of your flat. Simulate the middle of the night by putting on a blindfold and trying to walk to your toilet or kitchen. When you step on a Lego or thumbtack, do not scream because this would wake your child up at night.
Supermarket Exercise - Go to Hay Dairies in Lim Chu Kang and borrow two of their goats. Take them with you to your supermarket to do your groceries. Always keep them in sight, and pay for anything they eat or damage.
Dressing Exercise - Buy one very big, very buay song live octopus. Try to stuff it into a small net bag and make sure all its arms stay inside.
Feeding Exercise - Get a large plastic bottle. Fill it halfway with water. Suspend the bottle from the ceiling with a bungee cord. Separately, make a bowl of Quaker Oats by adding warm milk to the dry oats. Start to swing the jug. As it swings, try to insert as many spoonfuls of the soggy oats as you can into the mouth of the bottle. As you do, make sounds like “um-um-um” or pretend to be an aeroplane. After a while, just dump the contents of the bottle onto the floor.
Night-Time Exercise - Fill a small cloth bag with 5 kg of sand. Soak it completely in water. At 3 pm, pick up the bag and stand up, swaying gently back and forth while humming songs. Keep doing this till 8 pm. Put down the bag, and set your alarm clock for 9 pm, then try to sleep. At 9 pm, wake up, pick up the bag again and resume swaying and humming every song you’ve ever known. If you run out of songs, make some up. Continue till 5 am. Take a nap, and set alarm clock for 6 am. At 6 am, wake up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look happy.
Car Exercise - Forget the BMW and buy a MPV. Buy a cone of ice cream and put it in your dashboard compartment. Leave it there. Take a twenty cent coin. Stick it into your CD player. Buy a big packet of cookies. Mash them into your back seat. Take your car keys and run them along both sides of your car. There! Just like the real thing!
Mother's Body Exercise - Buy a large bean bag chair. Attach it to the front of your clothes for 9 months. After that, remove 6 beans.
Financial Exercise - Go to the nearest NTUC. Go to the cashier and give her your wallet, telling her to help herself. Now go to your bank and arrange for your pay to be GIRO’d directly to NTUC from now on. Go to the mama stall and buy a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.
Sanity Exercise - Make sure your TV can only switch to children’s channels. Throw out all your DVDs and buy only the Best of the Wiggles, Barney, Dora the Explorer, etc. Check in every few weeks with your psychiatrist to see if your IQ is still normal.
Final Exercise - Find a couple who already have a young child. Lecture them on how they can improve their tolerance lah, discipline lah, toilet training lah, patience lah, the child’s table manners lah, the kid’s PSLE results lah, etc. Tell them how the kindergarten they enrolled their kid in is just not good enough, and they must enroll in all sorts of extra classes like Music & Drama, Speech, and donno what else. Emphasise to them that they must never, ever allow their kids to stray onto the wrong path or their future will be doomed forever. Enjoy this experience while it lasts. Because when you have your own kid, it’ll happen to you.

Being a mom...

2008-07-15T14:28:00.005+08:00

I think that as mothers we put on so many different hats everyday that we lose ourselves in the day to day grind. On any given day we are teachers, nurses, homemakers, cooks, secretaries, seamstress, launderers, maids...the list goes on and on. I am guilty of getting caught up in the "bog" of things that need to be done. And with the move, that list grew by 500%. I always try to have a little time with the kids during the day so that they don't think of mom as this ogre that is constantly carping at them to "Hang up your towels" or "Eat your vegetables" or "Flush the toilet" or "Wash your hands". Today we read, played games, did picture searches and lazed around for about 2 1/2 hours. I forget how good it feels to listen, watch, and observe. They are incredible, they are just waiting for me to tell them stories or facts. ME! How was I so lucky that God put these 2 little amazing creatures in my care. That He thought enough of me to take care of a child with special health needs. That He gave me the other, so sweet and innocent.
I wish that I could bottle this feeling and keep it for all those times that I am running around like a crazy woman.

The word "Love" seems so small for what I feel for my family. My husband, my children, our parents, my friends.
An oldie, but a goodie...

Things I've noticed

2008-07-12T17:31:00.006+08:00

I've noticed:
The maids are the ones who take children to the park.
Singaporeans are some of the kindest people I have met.
People here hand things to you with 2 hands as a sign of respect.
I have never seen another culture that likes to shop or eat out as much as this one.
People who have cars like to put toys in the rear widow.
It can rain at any given moment - even if it's not forecasted.
Singlish is an actual language (oh la, can can).
A car wash in Singapore looks exactly like a car wash at any US gas station, except instead of there being equipment inside - there are actual people.
People here are night owls.
Singapore is not a democracy - therefore there is a lot of censorship.
Customer Service is almost non-existant.
Music and fashion seem to be a tad ahead of the US.

As I remember more - I'll add them.

Unpacking...

2008-07-10T20:44:00.000+08:00

Still stinks...

Unpacking...

2008-07-09T17:41:00.001+08:00

Stinks.

The "smell" of home

2008-07-08T18:34:00.005+08:00

Our sea shipment arrived today - all pieces in the house and accounted for. The delivery supervisor had me sit in a chair and mark off boxes as they were being brought inside. When the love seat came off the truck - he immediately unwrapped it and put it down for me to sit on instead of a hard chair. I stuck my face in one of the pillows... MMMMMMMM, it smelled like home. I almost got teary eyed. I didn't even particularly miss my house in The Woodlands - I missed the smell. With most of the furniture unwrapped, the smell of "home" is overwhelming. You would have thought we were a Febreze commercial today with the three of our noses sniffing the sofa cushions...

Being a little overprotective

2008-07-08T10:09:00.003+08:00

We have always thought that we would keep V in Tae Kwon Do after we moved. Knowing that martial arts over here is a serious business, we knew also that there may be a few roadblocks that we may have to clear, for example, we had a feeling that V would not be able to start as a second degree here.
We went to try out a class yesterday evening. I won't mention the affiliation, it's not fair to other schools of the same. The class was disorganized, he bashed the affiliation we were previously with and the instructor was VERY full of himself for being a 4th degree.
He was not as kind to V as I had hoped, in fact, he was downright belittling. His accent was heavy and the terminology they use is different than it is in the States. When V did not answer right away because he was trying to process what he was asking, he looked right at him and asked "Are you sure you are a 2nd GUP?"
I know that this was only our first experience, but V is such a creature of habit, it left him a little soured. I do believe that we will find the school that is right for him, but I was sad that as much as this man professed that they are a "family oriented" school - he didn't treat my son that way. I had an overwhelming urge to slap a grown man.
So, to Mr. M - you are missed more than you will ever know. We will be anxiously waiting to come back to our "family oriented" school.

Getting out and about

2008-06-30T12:47:00.005+08:00

Little be little, we seem to knock our "to do" list down. It's more like 2 steps forward, one step back. We are finding out that this culture here is big on "freebies". So when we bought our TV's, each came with a free gift (surround sound system, bluray player, etc...). We were excited that we could get just a little more for our money. Imagine our surprise when the salesman handed up a piece of paper giving us the details of what, when and how we needed to go pick them up. So we trekked out the other day to 2 different locations. We got 2 out of the three gifts, the other was on backorder. The boxes were massive and heavy and try carrying them out to your car when there is no place to park, and no one to help you get them in the car - we knew there had to be a hitch ;-)

We went to dinner with some of B's colleagues at the Singapore Island Country Club - what a great evening. The view from the restaurant was the golf course. When we finished dinner - we were toured around the area. Beautiful countryside... I just wanted to grab a book and sit outside for the rest of the evening. Great amenities and the hospitality is top notch. The one thing we did notice between the country club and the American club is that if you are paying for a membership, the rest of the amenities are rather inexpensive. That's the way it should be...

We went to the Singapore Zoo and did the Night Safari - WOW! Very cool... It is a 45 minute ride on a tram with no lighting through the zoo's natural habitat. We saw animals we have never seen or even heard of before. Little S was a tad bit nervous as he kept telling me to make sure I had 2 hands on my purse and camera at all times. I guess it's sweet that he didn't want my things falling overboard - although I think he was more concerned with our things instead of Mommy...

We have also been bowling and swimming at The American Club. It also includes a library, gameroom, video rental, restaurants and other various services. So far so good - we are really having a great time - right now it really feels like we are on vacation.

Meeting People

2008-06-19T20:54:00.003+08:00

At the gym after class, I met 2 women. The first one was a sweetheart. Young, blond from Austin. In fact, has a lot of knowledge of The Woodlands, because she grew up just north of there. Really nice, moving back to the States in December.

The second lady - typical socialite. The type that probably hangs out at the American Club, goes shopping and doesn't do much else. She was asking me if I had found doctors, grocery stores, hairdressers. She told me that I needed to be careful where I went to get my hair done because not many people know how to cut "American" hair.

I guess it's a good thing I'm Asian!

Aaaahhhh...

2008-06-19T20:18:00.007+08:00

I went to the gym today!!! For those of you that know me, I was thrilled to be able to get to the gym today and work out. I got in about 45 minutes of cardio and I took Body Pump for the first time in three weeks. It was great to hear the tunes that I love and be in a high energy situation. The instructor (I'll leave out his name) was a local Singaporean. He made the corniest jokes and from being in there just 5 minutes, I could tell that most of the women in the class don't laugh with him, they laugh AT him. After the warm-up, I was thrilled, because here was an instructor that knew his choreography and knew how to keep the beat. At least, so I thought...

He started with the warmup - perfect. One of my favorite warm-up songs. "Come to Me". I was singing along - tapping my feet, just so happy to be back.
Next was squats - a song I have NEVER heard before. It had something to do about being ready for a race...
Next, chest. "Uno Dos Tres Maria" Another good one. By about this point, I realized that after each track when everyone moans, he copies us and then giggles like a girl.
Back and Hamstrings - "Africa" Now, I know this one by heart. He put in about 500 extra triple rows after the jumble jumble part that all of us pretend to know how to sing. No break where there should have been, so after the 500 triple rows, 6 clean and presses.
Triceps - another one of my favorites "Ain't it funny". It was a booger.
Biceps - "Stand Tough" - by this time I realized that I couldn't do my normal weight, so I went down a baby. The instructor giggled like a girl and told us we were all old ladies. WHAT???
Lunges - didn't recognize this one... but it was pretty old, had calf raises and squats in it.
Shoulders - "One night in bangkok" A good one - but he added 500 pulses - in a row. AND he told me I had to stack my plates instead of holding them separately.
Abs - never heard the song before - something having to do with holding a pretend ball in your arms and then extending your legs then putting one arm behind your ear and lifting the other one to your ankle while your feet are extended in mid air.
Yeah - that's what I thought too.

He sings out loud also - picture a buff, fairly good looking Asian man singing 2 octaves too high for a man and totally off key. And I kept thinking how much I was REALLY going to miss R and J at the gym.

BUT, I loved every minute of it!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T14:53:00.003+08:00

Happy Father's Day to one of the most wonderful men I have ever met - my DH. And a happy day to all the Father's in the world. I love you B and I love you Dad!!!

A few minor inconveniences...

2008-06-12T11:06:00.004+08:00

Well, we are finally in the house and very excited to be here. I was able to get most of my indian grocery shopping done and was happy to make a home cooked meal. I did the usual: soaked lentils, made the dough for roti, etc... I then proceeded to start making dinner. We have our Vonage set up and as I was talking to my dad, I realized that I didn't have any type of rolling pin for the roti. Oh well, I guess toast will have to do.

There are many things here that remind you that this is an Asian society and not the good 'ol USA. For instance - in order to use an outlet, you have to flip a switch so that it has power. There are water heater switches for each bathroom. If they are not on, you have to wait 15 minutes before you can get in the shower. There are no outlets in the bathroom so you need to find somewhere else to dry your hair.

But the kicker is there is no garbage disposal in the sink. So you have to do it the old fashioned way - throw all the gunk out by hand. The good thing is that garbage pick up is virtually every day - except weekends. Gotta love that.

The kids and I ventured out to the grocery store today. We walked down and took a cab back considering there was no way we could have carried it. It was nice to get out and smell the air and look around. Even the little one enjoyed himself. I'm like a kid in a candy store - you can get almost any Asian produce for very little money. The dry and boxed goods is what'll kill you. I think the grocery stores are destined to be crowded. There is so little space - even the mini shopping carts are hard to maneuver through. Most of the buildings here are built upwards not outwards.

All in all - we are just enjoying the differences and really learning to appreciate them.

Til next time,

S

Ready to move in.

2008-06-09T08:37:00.000+08:00

We are ever so close to moving in to our new place. Since we have completely unloaded in our apartment, I am going to start moving some of our things over today. Which also means I get to take B's car and try to make it to the house on my own. I'm fairly sure how to get there, just need to take it easy, not drive too fast and resist the urge to drift to the left. Wish me luck!
The kids have been very good. I can't imagine how different this must feel to them. Although it probably feels as if we are on vacation right now since the apartment has a pool and play area complete with video games. Still, with all the running around we have been doing, they have really tried hard not to upset the apple cart.
The one that really has it the worst is B. He can't get fully started in his new job until he has us settled - I think once we are in the house, it will get better. I don't get a car for another month or so, so I plan to get better acquainted with the public transportation system. There are bus stops wherever you go - so getting around will not be an issue. And most stores will deliver if you buy a certain amount.
As soon as I get our own internet up and running in our home - I'll get some pictures posted.

S

Sights and Sounds of Singapore

2008-06-05T16:47:00.001+08:00

Well, we've now been here for about 4 days and after the initial shock of jet lag and just being in a different country, I think that we are really getting to see parts of the "real" Singapore. It just as tropical as I imagined. As we were at the pool yesterday, there were armed forces maneuvers going on. There was a helicopter flanked by 2 blackhawks that was repeatedly flying over the island as well as a fighter jet. I took pictures of the helicopters flying through the palm trees. It looked exactly like something out of "China Beach" - for those of you old enough to remember that show...
A lot of the locals here do not have air conditioning as it is very expensive to run. So they dry their clothes on clotheslines on the nth floor of their highrise. I tried drying my clothes like that also until our dryer in our apartment was fixed - 2 days later, they still were not dry due to the humidity here. There are highrises everywhere to accomodate all the people that live here - and today B told me that they want to increase the population by 2 million people! You see construction of highrise after highrise on every street corner.
I drove today for the first time here - I was not as nervous as I thought. Since they drive on the other side of the road here - lefts are rights and rights are lefts. We picked out a car - but you cannot drive them off the lot here - you have to wait roughly 3-5 weeks for all the paperwork to clear. The motorcycles take their own right-of-ways and you really have to watch out for them.
I did get a local Singapore "hand phone" (cell phone) so at least I can call B if I need him.
The smell of Singapore to me is sea water mixed with fish and bus fuel - very Asian. In the public places where they do have A/C - I think they have it turned down to 60 degrees. I constantly feel like a popsicle.
I am excited to get possession of our new place tomorrow - to have a place to call "home". This interim living thing gets really old, really fast. Hopefully in a week or so, we will be up and running fully. That is, until I get my car and until our things arive from the US.

Until next time...
S

The Move...part 2

2008-06-04T14:29:00.000+08:00

After finally getting back on the plane in Moscow, we departed for Singapore. By this time we had already been on the plane for 12 hours and had another 10 to go. It was morning by this time and we were all wide awake. After playing countless games against each other and watching even more movies, it was time for a nap. The kids slept nicely while I continued trying to learn Mandarin to not much avail. I was fine with "dog", "cat", "map", etc... but when the computer started in on " Would you like wine with your meal? Yes, I would like wine with my meal", I was a lost cause.

We landed in Singapore to a balmy 88 degrees which was just fine for me. Both plane rides were chilly as was Moscow (53 degrees). The airport was beautiful - very modern, lots of glass. The kids were so excited! Customs was a breeze - there was no one in line and they let us in with no issues - this after the flight attendant made sure to tell us that we had to document our length of stay no longer than 14 days since that's the longest amount of time you can stay in Singapore on vacation. And since we did not have our employee/dependent passes yet, it's a good thing she told us that.

A limo service picked us up at the airport in a Mercedes van which was perfect considering the amount of luggage we had with us. On our ride to the apartment that we are temporarily staying in, there was so much to soak in, I'm not sure we caught it all. I do remember thinking that parts of Singapore were very similar to India - the British parts of India that is. I didn't seem to mind the driving on the opposite side of the road. It didn't feel as awkward as I thought. It is very much a tropical paradise - with palm trees and storm clouds around every corner.

We checked into the apartment and rested a while then continued on to pick up B's car. We also got a tour of our new place. We were very excited to see it! Even though the kids had slept on the plane - they did stay up all day and finally crashed about 7pm (6am Houston time) and slept for about 12 hours. We have our days and nights staightnened out - but still get a little groggy around 4 in the afternoon.

More to follow...

The Move... Part 1

2008-06-02T20:07:00.000+08:00

We moved out of the house last Wednesday because the packers were so efficient and had left nothing for us to sit on...
The kids always seem to have fun at any hotel we stay in... but after 3 days of living on top of each other, they were ready to head on out. Little did they know...

We departed Houston on Saturday night at 11:45pm. The flight over to Moscow was fairly uneventful - the kids slept most of the way. We were in Business class on Singapore Airlines - which, I tell you, is the way to fly. We had our own in demand flight system to watch whatever we wanted (which for me included 2 Hindi movies and a lesson in Mandarin). The seats folded out into 6 foot beds - INCREDIBLE! And each meal was 4 courses.

When we landed in Moscow, the first impression I had walking off the aircraft was "GREY". Everything was grey, everyone was wearing grey. Very European, lots of smokers. Not the most well kept airport in the world. But it was still unimaginable that we were standing on Russian soil. I was actually there - albeit just the airport.
I only have a few minutes of Internet since the one in our room does not work, so more later...

Packing

2008-05-27T23:23:00.000+08:00

After 3 days of separating the house into 4 categories: Air, Sea, Storage and What We Can Carry... the packers are here. They are extremely pleasant and professional and from what I can tell - are doing an excellent job. After about 1 hour they are almost done with the study, dining room and family room. Since we are staying here until Thursday - I did ask them to leave the beds made for the time being. But we don't have anything in the family room to sit on ;-)
We also have 2 showings today, let's hope that they can see beyond the chaos what I've seen this whole time... My dream home.
I was anxious to get to this point - the thought of having all of my "stuff" packed and put on a cargo ship has been fairly unsettling. But now that the packers are here, there is a strange sense of calm that I feel - I am ready to get this show on the road and I think Saturday will come sooner than we all think.
And I get lunch today! My favorite dish - thanks C!!!

Murphy's Law

2008-05-22T00:37:00.000+08:00

You know Murphy's Law - the one that says it'll rain after you wash your car?
The last few days have been running fairly smoothly. We have most of our paperwork done, we have divided the house in to Sea shipment, Air shipment and storage, my dad helped us out immediately with a minor crisis and besides just being "busy", things seemed to be falling into place. Until yesterday...
We are planning to sell my car on Friday - and get a rental for the rest of the time we are here. As I was going out the door to run some errands - my car would not start. Mind you, this was the second time in 3 weeks. A sweet neighbor tried to help me jump start it to no avail - he even let me borrow his car to go get a new battery. Who does that??? After finding out that Wal-Mart does not carry a battery for my car, I called GMC roadside assistance. Another sweet man helped me get my car started long enough to drive it up to the dealership. He also gave me his personal cell phone number just in case I got stranded somewhere along the way. I finally get up to the dealer to find out that the other dealer where I normally get service did not fix a recall issue that they should have.

So THANK YOU to my neighbor who tried to help me start my car and let me borrow his, THANK YOU to the sweet man who helped me start my car, THANK YOU to the service department for fixing my car so quickly on last minute notice, THANK YOU to my dh who had to put up with my 500 phone calls, and lastly, THANK YOU to my beautiful friend who watched my children all afternoon.

Home

2008-05-17T11:42:00.000+08:00

With only 2 weeks to go, we are nearing the end of our stay here in Texas. I've come to feel as if this is home seeing as we have been here for 8 1/2 years. I will fondly think of this place that we will return to in 3-5 years.
I'll remember:
Dead armadillos on the road.
Love Bugs.
Mosquito Hawks.
Roaches the size of my big toe (and mine is BIG).
Seeing a copperhead in my yard (and freaking out, accidentally spilling the roundup and killing a 2ft by 2ft patch of grass).
Seeing our first lizard - IN our house.
Seeing more SUV's and trucks than anywhere else in the US.
Finally figuring out what a "kolache" was.
No zoning outside The Woodlands.
Billboards galore.
My beautiful home.
The best school we have ever attended.
Some of the best women I have ever met.

I really do LOVE it here - and even though I am truly grateful to be off on this amazing adventure - I will be PROUD to come back "home".

The best mother's day present

2008-05-12T07:52:00.000+08:00

Present#1
What a great day it has been. My husband is out of the country and with today being mother's day and tomorrow being my birthday, I was feeling a little out of sorts since he was not here. Then my sweet sweet boys came down with homemade cards and presents. I was so proud that no one coached them or even had to remind them that today was mother's day.
Present #2
We have always had issues with the 7 year old eating fruits and veggies. Since he was a baby - he never liked fruits and ate only 2 veggies (even baby food). So we have been battling with him for a LONG time over this issue. In usual fashion, I put a few pieces of fruit on his plate for dinner - and Whadyaknow... he ate all of it! After I proceeded to tell him how PROUD I was of him, he looks up at me with the biggest doe eyes and says "Mommy, I just didn't want you to be frustrated with me on mother's day."

What more could you ask for...

May flowers?

2008-05-08T05:04:00.000+08:00

My friend and I were talking about what a busy month May normally is - at school, May is packed for us with Teacher Appreciation, 1st grade play, field days, 2 field trips and last minute projects. Not to mention that May also holds Mother's Day, my MIL's birthday, my birthday and our anniversary. And the fact that we are leaving the country on the 31st holds it's own deadline with the movers coming to pack and ship our things. Not exactly time to stop and smell the roses.

So I give thanks everyday for friends that steal me away from this craziness that I live in for a quick lunch or shopping spree.(I had a blast!) I don't know how I would survive with out you! You will just have to come to Singapore with me!

Feeling a little wimpy

2008-05-07T05:03:00.000+08:00

The kids had their full foreign travel physicals yesterday. They were little troopers. The little one had a royal meltdown at the sight of any needle - and of course the nurses wanted him to be the first to do all of the tests - so as to get it over with. Not good preparation for the 10 year old. He was already nervous as it was, then his brother proceeds to act a like a loon. I really felt bad for them - we were there from 9:00 to 2:00. Not a great way to spend your day.
Well, today it was my turn - and the kids were really lucky they didn't have to do all that was required of an adult. Stress test, EKG, chest xray, pulmonary test, TB test, typhoid and Hep shots, comprehensive blood work and urine tests. I think one of the shots has given me slight fever. I always feel really bad for the kids when they have any sort of medical procedure to go through - but today I really feel for what they went through yesterday. I at least am old enough to understand the reasoning behind all of this. To a 10 and 7 year old, they just think it's torture.
All in the call of duty for Mother Chevron...

It's true... I am crazy!

2008-05-05T08:56:00.000+08:00

Moving overseas comes with responsibilities that can be at times overwhelming. Since the electrical current is different over in Singapore, we cannot take anything that plugs into the wall here in the States. So we are going through the process of dividing our belongings up so that we can put those items in storage. The good news is that we can take most of our stuff with us.

We are also having to coordinate getting physicals and any shots that we may be required to have before leaving. But, what we weren't aware of was that my husband and I had to have psychological evaluations in order to go. We went to a neuropsychologist who administered a personality test. The test was 587 questions long! After about #300, I was breezing through them so quickly that I'm sure I marked TRUE for the question that said "I hear voices that other people do not." Or maybe I marked TRUE to the one that asked "I have an overwhelming urge to urinate in public places." Or HEAVEN FORBID I marked TRUE to the one that said "The man SHOULD be the head of household."
So when the test results come back, I may be blogging here from the good ol' USA while the rest of my family is basking in the sunshine in Singapore...

A new venture...

2008-05-05T08:52:00.000+08:00

I've never been very good at expressing my thoughts eloquently. But I've had so many people ask me whether I was starting a blog as soon as they heard we were moving to Singapore. I hope that this will be a great way to keep all of you updated on what's going on in our lives. Especially when it seems like these days the act of a phone call pushes my schedule over the edge! Let me know what you think.
SP