And The Winner Is...

Big Cat #1 is the Leopard! Click on the picture below to read what the difference between the two is...

Now that you are so smart and know the difference you can tell which cat this is in the video below:)

Ice Cream Friday's

Every day after school there is a man who sits at the back gate of school selling ice cream. This year we decided to make Friday afternoon's "Ice Cream Day" on our way home from school! His little stand is attached to a small motorcycle and when he's done for the day he will collapse the umbrella, close up the freezer, and take off! It's a little funny to see him driving up the street...! I didn't get a picture of our ice cream man but I did get one at Changi Coastal Walk a few weekends ago. It's $1.00 for a cone or an ice cream sandwich of sorts and we think it's pretty good!

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Does anyone else do this??? I have a color coded calendar - Ryan is light blue, I'm pink, He and I together are a purplish color, the twins together are green, Kenton is blue, Kaitlyn is red, Ethan is purple, all of us together are orange, and birthday's/anniversary's are yellow (except I shouldn't say that last part since I haven't sent anyone a card in....WOW, time to change the subject!) Let me just say that if I DIDN'T do this the twins would never know which uniform (PE or regular or sometimes free dress) to wear which day, which library books go back on which days, which day I'm supposed to be at the PTA office, which days Ryan's traveling, and which days Ethan has a playgroup...

A Jaguar or A Leopard?

Okay, so when Ethan and I were at the zoo the other day I took a picture of both a leopard and a jaguar. Back in March I posted a picture of Ethan watching one of these cats and commented that I had no idea which was which. I'm giving YOU the chance to vote to see if you are any smarter than I was (am!) One condition...NO CHEATING! Do not Google, check a dictionary, or ask a zookeeper:) Good Luck!! Results will be posted when poll ends.

Big Cat #1
Big Cat #2

UGH!

And you all thought that having dental work done in the US was bad! Ryan and I were at the local mall today and looked down to the first floor from the second floor and saw that they had a dental clinic set up in the middle of the mall!! Anyone could watch you having your teeth cleaned from the second floor, it was loud, and there were long lines of people waiting for their turn. No Thanks!!

Zoo Meetup

Today we went with SATP to the zoo. This works out well because we only live about 10 minutes from there so it was an easy meetup to go to! When we got there it started raining but we all trooped on anyway. There were about 11 moms plus toddlers there.

We got to see something I've never seen before. The Orangutans are put into a special tree top exhibit that so you can view them up close. When their time is done there the zoo keepers lead them by the hand back to their cage - right out in the open!
The rhino's were rolling in the mud to keep cool.
This picture reminds me of the scripture that refers to the day when the lion will lay peacefully with the lamb.
A group of school children were on a field trip here and marched on in spite of the rain. They just donned multi-colored rain ponchos and kept going.
Ethan reunites with his little friend Leann. This is as good of a picture as I was going to get of two very active 21 month olds!

Ethan looks like he's having fun but he was really nervous to be on top of this statue!
These otter's aren't really real:O
Ethan spent quite a lot of time watching the otters swim around. He kept saying, "Wimming!" I would say that this was his favorite exhibit...I like it too except that it STINKS!
Notice how the orangutans are taking cover with their arms from the rain! These are the ones that were later led back to their cages by the zoo keepers.
We keep Ethan dry during the rain with a rain cover. It stays in the bottom of the stroller at all times since a rainstorm can pop up at any time!

Festival of the Hungry Ghosts

WARNING: IF YOU ARE A BIT SQUEAMISH YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS POST (or at least the first picture.)

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We are officially in the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This is when the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is celebrated. The following is a quote from my book "Handbook For Expatriates, Working and Living in Singapore" by Goh Kheng Chuan.

"This festival originates from the Taoist belief that the gates of hell are thrown open throughout the seventh month of the lunar year. During this period, spirits are allowed to wander free. Food, incense, silver and gold paper money and paper houses are offered to the dead in order to appease them. Chinese operas and banquets are held all over the island to entertain the wandering spirits. Outdoor concerts and colorful Wayangs (Chinese Street Operas) can be seen at street corners in Chinatown and other venues throughout the island."

I debated about whether to post about this festival because I in no way want to give Satan credit or "free press." I decided though that this is what we experience on every street corner during this month so I would share with you a little about it. The more I have learned about the Chinese culture I have realized that they are enslaved by their superstitions. How freeing it is to not have to live in fear of not appeasing the right spirits or gods but to simply live a sanctified life through Jesus Christ and God will provide for us!

"And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full."

Deuteronomy 11:13-15

May we lift up the nations of the world in prayer who do not believe in God and who do not accept Jesus as their Savior that they may learn the Truth and be freed from the bonds of Satan!

Inside the tents set up for the festival there is a huge array of food. In this particular tent was a pig and box after box of roasted chickens and much fruit and wine.
Usually along with all the food you will see joss sticks (incense) burning and a lot of paper money and Papier-mâché clothes are burned. The Chinese believe that by burning these items they are providing for their relatives in the afterlife. They will sometimes keep these offerings going around the clock and it's not unusual to see the maids "feeding the fire" when the employers are at work.

I found this picture of Kaitlyn from Christmas 2005 and thought it was cute:) She's 3 1/2 and is getting ready to play out in the snow at my mom's house.

Pulau Ubin

About a month or so ago I joined the Singapore Active Toddler's Playgroup as a way to meet other moms and as an outlet for Ethan when the twins went back to school. This morning we went to a "meetup" on the island of Pulau (pronounced "plow") Ubin. It means "granite island" in Malay and is named this because it used to contain granite quarries. They quit using these quarries in 1999 and now the government parks owns it and only 50 people are left living there. We got there by taking a 10 minute bumboat ride from a jetty near the Changi airport. Once you are there you can choose to walk or ride a bike and explore. Our group went on the Sensory Trail which is maintained by both the parks services and the Singapore American School students. We had a guide who was able to identify all types of plants and we were able to touch, smell, and taste many of them as well as learn their uses.

This tree is a cocoa tree and has pods that grow on it that contain the cocoa beans.
Here is the beginning of the Sensory Trail
The above picture was taken in the village center. I will write a post later to explain this festival in greater detail but it's in celebration of the "Hungry Ghosts Festival."
Kaitlyn and a little friend are making a "house" out of a palm leaf, sticks, and leaves.
Kaitlyn in holding a coconut that has started to sprout. This can now be planted to grow a coconut tree! Too bad we don't have a yard...
This is the view we had approaching the island. It is reminiscent of what Singapore used to look like maybe as early as 30 years ago.
These houses out over the water on stilts are common.
The above are the traditional Malay houses that you will find in kampung (villages.) They are open air and pretty rustic.
Kaitlyn and these two boys carried this palm leaf through most of the trail in order to build their "house" at the end.

I learned that this is called a banana PLANT not a tree. The thing hanging down under the bananas is actually a flower from which more bananas are starting to grow.
These are the bumboats that we rode to the island in. They are noisy, not real clean, and ride low in the water.
If you look in the left corner of the picture you can see a cocoa pod.
You will need to click on this picture to make it larger to see the fishing villages that are built out on the water. They are not connected to land except for the stilts they are built on.
Disembarking the bumboat was quite an experience! The captain backs the boat right up to the stairs and revs the motor while in reverse to hold the boat there while passengers alight! It was a little intimidating for the kids to get off the boat like this - especially as the waters are choppy from other boats so you are moving around! There is no such thing as a "no wake" zone here!

Before supper tonight Kenton was on the couch reading a book. The next time I looked Ethan had climbed up and was looking at a truck book. The peaceful scene lasted about another 30 seconds before Ethan began using his book as a weapon...SIGH! Ethan also threw a ball out of our fourth story window...He threw it and came running over to where I was sitting and looked at me with very wide eyes. The next thing I knew I could hear BOUNCE, bounce, bounce four stories down. The turkey KNEW that he wasn't supposed to do that!!!

Around 4:30 this afternoon we had a storm roll in. I have always loved the way the sky looks and the feel of the air cooling down and the distant rumbles of thunder proceeding an incoming storm. I also wanted to show my bougainvillea...when I returned home from the summer it wasn't doing very well with only a few leaves on it. After putting it in a bigger pot and fertilizing it I was surprised one morning with a multitude of blooms! It still has a way to go with the recovery (it's supposed to be covered in leaves) but I figure we've made a good start! Anyone who knows me well knows that I do NOT have a green thumb and I tend to kill most anything that I try to grow. It's a miracle that my children have survived as long as they have....:)
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TOMORROW'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! Oh wait, I should be a little less enthusiastic...tomorrow's the first day of school!

I really will miss them...

Pictures!!!

Okay, I think that I have finally figured out a way to get the pictures from KL to you. It also includes the pictures I took of The Woodgrove shopping center across the street from where we live. You can click on this link and it will take you to the online photo album where you should be able to click on "slideshow" to view the pictures along with the full captions.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kjwsquared/KualaLumpur02?authkey=e07EsAy5HaE

New School Year, New Teachers!

This morning we went down to the school for the Open House where we got to meet the twins' teachers for the new year. They both seem really nice and we are looking forward to the new year! Both twins were excited to see that there are a few students from last year in their new classes this year. I was tapped to be a room mom in Kenton's class so that will be one more thing on my already busy calendar:)

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Kaitlyn's new teacher is Michelle Morton. She seemed really nice so we are excited to see how it goes.
Kenton's new teacher is Sarah Absolom-Coole. She is from Australia and has three small boys at home. Her theme for the year is "Captain Cool's pirates!" That should keep Kenton's interest for awhile!!

Update

Ethan is finally better. His fever broke last night and he started eating again today. I will try to update sometime next week as we are CRAZY busy but I wanted to update that he isn't dying of dengue or anything:)

Have a great weekend!

Sorry I haven't gotten around to posting those pictures yet. Ethan has had a high fever (103 - 104) since Sunday so I've been shuttling him around to doctor's appointments the past two days. There is dengue fever - a mosquito born illness - in our neighborhood and the doctor had him tested yesterday for that. It's doubtful that will come back positive as his platelet count was normal and this is usually decreased by the illness. His white blood cell count however was high indicating some type of infection. They cultured his urine last night and started him on antibiotics. We are waiting for all the results and praying that his fever starts to come down soon. We were on a playdate a week and a half ago with a family in the neighborhood and the mom called me today to say that her two year old tested positive for dengue. Here's a link to follow if you want to read more on dengue fever: http://www.dengue.gov.sg/subject.asp?id=10

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Last weekend we flew up to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia for a three day weekend. We stayed at Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel where there was a water park and amusement park. Friday we spent at the hotel pool and checking out the local shopping center where there is an ice rink. Kaitlyn especially liked to watch the girls practicing their figure skating! Saturday we spent at the water park/amusement park. There wasn't much of a line on the rides so there were a few times when they didn't have to get off and just stayed on for a few turns. Ethan didn't want to get off and loved every minute of it! Sunday afternoon on our way to the airport we stopped in downtown KL at the Petronas towers. They are twin towers that are linked by a walkway about 3/4 the way up. We had a fun, relaxing weekend and now are ready for school to begin again next week!

I will try to get the pictures posted soon - I've tried several times with no success. In the process though I found the pictures I tried to take of the shopping area across the street from us so I will try to get those posted as well.

Hope everyone has a great week!