It Can Only Go Up From Here

Could a day get any worse? Let's see...it started out with Ethan getting into the fridge and pulling a shelf in the door down - picture glass jars meeting marble floor. Yep, mayonnaise and spaghetti sauce and butter all over the kitchen floor. So, I kick all kids out of the kitchen, pick up glass, clean up mayonnaise, sweep up shards of glass from all over the floor, and end with mopping to try to get all the grease. Then, Ethan tears apart a flower arrangement and pulls a glass dish out of the hutch onto the marble floor....thankfully it didn't break. Then he gets on top of the table (one of the twins left their chair out) and spills OJ all over the table and himself - time for a change of clothes. Then he (starting to see a theme here?) grabs a full container (we're talking the big ones, not the individual serving size) of yogurt and starts walking around while dumping it all over the floor. Another change of clothes for Ethan and cue the mop again. Last but not least, I find him banging a toy against a wood toy box making dents in the wood. He's in bed for a nap. Oh - and all this happened with THREE of us in the house. The twins are home from school today as Kenton wasn't feeling well and I didn't have a way to get Kaitlyn to school without taking Kenton.

The Unexpected

I was getting ready to type this post when I looked down at my keyboard and saw this tiny little inch worm. It seriously was "inching" across the keyboard! I don't think that I have ever seen anything like it before. I scooped him up on an envelope and told Kenton to take him outside. He just came back in and said, "Don't worry, Mom! I put him where it was safe and dry!" I can't say that I was worried - I just wanted him out of MY house:)

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Speaking of dry it's been raining A LOT this past week. I read online where March is the end of the North East Monsoon season and generally is when the rain picks up again before becoming drier through the "summer" months.

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"North-East Monsoon Season - December to early March

Northeast winds prevail, sometimes reaching 20 km/h. Cloudy conditions in December and January with frequent afternoon showers. Spells of widespread moderate to heavy rain occur lasting from 1 to 3 days at a stretch. Relatively drier in February till early March. Also generally windy with wind speeds sometimes reaching 30 to 40 km/h in the months of January and February." www.app.nea.gov.sg

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I don't mind the rain so much as it's made for cooler days around here - the average high has been low 90's and today the highest temp recorded has been 82 degrees. When I went to pick the twins up from school there was a cool breeze blowing and a smell of cut grass was wafting on the breeze. It reminded me of Spring back home and made me lonesome for my tulips! I know that they are poking up through the ground right now - and the rabbits have probably gotten to them as I doubt our renters would know to put blood meal around them.

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Ryan was in Thailand last week (in Phuket) and this week is in Australia along the "Gold Coast" area. He's been presenting to different groups within the company and has started visiting with customers. His first Six Sigma class starts up the third week of March and that will be here in Singapore.

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Apparently the previous tenant didn't pay all his bills! We keep getting ominous looking envelopes in the mail that we suspect may be from bill collectors that are addressed to the same guy. Ryan said that a few weeks ago a bill collector showed up on our door step looking for him - Yikes! One day in the mail we received mail for THREE different families who must have lived here in the past. I don't know how the mail works here in Singapore - if people don't notify the PO of change of address or if they are not efficient at forwarding mail.

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I had the first of four scrapbooking classes last night with five other women. It was fun and I'm feeling motivated to start turning out pages - too bad my scrapbooking "things" are sitting exactly where I left them by the front door when I arrived home last night!

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Kaitlyn likes to roam around the house listening to "her" music and singing.
Twins doing their homework yesterday on the couch. They usually have reading to do and Kenton has spelling words once a week that he needs to correct.

Our Ship Has Come In

I've always wanted to say that:) Unfortunately our ship did not contain money BUT it did contain our life's belongings which is just as nice!

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WoW! What to say about move-in day? Let's see, Ethan's into everything, some boxes contain items from three different levels of our old place, I have a LONG list of things that we still need, Ethan's driving me crazy, we still don't have the promised patio furniture (I think that we're back to looking for it ourselves), the movers kind of dumped things out of boxes, and Ethan systematically broke glass on the marble floor.

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We are slowly getting unpacked - the kitchen is done, the laundry room and maid's room (storage room) are done, the dining area and living room are unpacked although not entirely put together, and I'm working on the office. The three bedrooms still need to be done but it's easy to just shut the door. I'm getting everything into closets and off the floor and than next week I'll work on organizing everything.

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We had an interesting experience the first night in the condo. After we went to bed we starting hearing a clicking noise - like the noise a barbed wire fence makes, or when you click two fingernails together. We turned on the lights and started rustling through all our clothes on the floor but the noise continued and we never saw anything. We went into the hallway next where we also heard the noise and figured out that it was coming from the floorboards. Our next thought was that we had some kind of pest living in the wood floors and were worried that our furniture would be next. There are a few of you who we called that first night that are going to laugh when you hear what we have learned that it was! Since the condo hadn't been lived in for awhile the noise was being produced by the wood floor because we had turned the air con on...:) Yep, it's from the air conditioning! I guess it was drying out the floor boards which had been recently varnished and causing them to shift and "click!" I'm just thankful that it wasn't the death-watch beetle...or geckos...or cockroaches!

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Anyway, today was another Singapore day but I'll save that for another post - some day I'll laugh but not today! Thank you to my friend who prayed for me at lunch:)

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Kaitlyn came home early from school with a 103 fever - stay tuned! Hopefully it is viral and will clear up soon. OH, YEAH! While I was picking her up from the nurse's office they were checking a class for lice...say a prayer that it avoids us!

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On Sunday we brought our first load over to our "new" place and Ethan kept climbing into the suitcases with the toys and playing:)

This is part of the kitchen. I will post a link to a podcast with a video tour once we've finished unpacking and everything is set up.

This picture is a little dark because of the windows in the background. The back wall is all windows and off to your right behind the screen are sliding glass doors leading out to a patio.

Another view of the living room. It's starting to look like home! We have a 2 hour free handyman service through our moving company that will come and hang pictures and my clock.

Boxes, boxes everywhere! This was the beginning of unloading us:) Here you are looking towards the front door on the right and the kitchen straight ahead. It's our eating area and the living room is directly behind me.

PS: I was having some trouble with formatting paragraphs so therefore the "*****" between paragraphs. Also my spell check isn't working so hopfuly i din't spel to much rong!! Better go save my things from ETHAN!

Blast From The Past

Wow! I was browsing through videos when I came across this one - am I ever glad I caught Kenton with his blankie!! It will bring back memories, Mom R and Joan!

Wet Market Field Trip and Smelly Fish

Friday morning I was able to find a sitter for Ethan so I could go with Kaitlyn's class to a local wet market. These are usually found underneath HBD housing flats (or government housing) and are made up of a bunch of different stalls/stores selling a variety of things. They are known as wet markets because the floor around the meat will be wet from melting ice.

Kaitlyn and I were in a group together with one other mom, Kay, and Jessica. We had three goals for the trip: a scavenger hunt, buy a Chinese New Year decoration for the classroom, and buy a typical Singapore lunch from a hawker center.

Kay, Kaitlyn, and Jessica are waiting for us to order lunch.

The little orange trees or bushes (I can't quite figure out what they are) and the pussy willows you see symbolize prosperity - you will see these in arrangements in store windows and the orange bushes can be seen outside establishments to symbolize that they had a prosperous year and are hoping for another one. I'm guessing that they are displayed whether or not the previous year was prosperous:)
Kaitlyn is looking at decorations to buy. Each child brought $5.00 along - $2.50 for the decorations and $2.50 for lunch.
Kaitlyn is showing off her clipboard with the scavenger hunt. They were looking for CNY related items like the color gold, dragons, rats, fish, pussy willows, new clothes, etc.
You can even buy live fish for an aquarium at the wet markets!
The girls are going through a shop where they are selling CNY paraphenalia. I bought "hung bao" packets that you are to give to children with money inside to wish them prosperity in the new year.
More CNY decorations. As you can see from the signs they are inexpensive. I think that you are supposed to barter for them but I didn't. It was easier not too:)
Kaitlyn and Jessica try to find items for the scavenger hunt.
Behind Kaitlyn is one of the fish stalls. It's smelly and a little disturbing because the whole, entire fish, eyes and all are being sold! There are shrimp directly behind Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn, Jessica, and Kay are ready to begin their adventure at the wet market! There is a bike shop directly behind them.
You can find inexpensive electrical items here at this store.

The girls are ready to eat their chicken rice - a distinct Singaporean meal that is mild enough for kids. I have had it twice - once I really liked it and this time I didn't so much. It all depends on how the chicken is prepared. The first time I had a vegtable, bok choy, I think that was really good. We didn't order the kids vegtables;) I had pepsi as they didn't have Coke and there is a big difference between the Pepsi made here and the Pepsi made in the US.
A hawker's center stall selling all kinds of food. They usually have pictures of each dish on the menu which is nice because you know exactly what you are ordering.
This is a fruit and vegtable stand. They have a much wider variety than the grocery stores and it's usually cheaper.
And We're done! The girls are in front of a fresh flowers stall - I didn't see prices but I've been told that they are VERY cheap - maybe 50cents a stalk. No excuses for the men to not bring home fresh flowers EVERY day:)


Below is a video of Kaitlyn and her classmates doing the annoying chicken dance that they learned in music class this week. Joan - ignore the temptation to break into song about now...=O Notice that most of the little girls are in dresses. I have seen very few little girls in shorts even at the school....a refreshing change over the US I have to say! Lately Kailtyn had been refusing her dresses and now I can tell her, "But it's what all the little girls are wearing!"

We are headed to China Town for an adventure this evening so be sure to check back in the next few days for more pictures and experiences! We've heard it's crazy to go this time of year but we figure what a better time to go and learn more.

I was able to find a place to print photos last evening. Kaitlyn needed two pictures for school today - one when she was a baby and one from now. Thankfully I have a lot of pictures on our computer or she may not have had any baby pictures for the project.

Slowly but surely I'm finding most of what I need. I don't know if I mentioned the other day that I finally found a store that carries office supplies - it was tucked inside a book store and I NEVER would have looked there! I also found a bigger grocery store in that same mall - more choices, same prices. I found a box of Lucky Charms as a surprise for the twins - they are stale but the kids don't seem to mind! I was pleasantly surprised today when we opened a box of Wheatables from the same store that they are still fresh! That's a plus over here where the humidity is usually 70% or higher. The average rain fall for January is 7.8 inches - compare that to an average of 1.2 for Kansas city in the same month!

Kenton is home from school sick this morning and as you can see Ethan's thrilled that his buddy is home! I can't keep him away from Kenton so I'm praying that he doesn't get sick as well! He never sits on the couch when he's home by himself:) As you can see, Kenton is mad at me because I won't let him eat! That's the hardest part of the flu, I think!

Kenton's been into drawing Bengal Tigers lately:) Thought I'd share some of his recent art work! I like how they are smiling - are they looking at me thinking, "Lunch!"???


The video is from Ryan's recent trip to Macau up by China. He was there for the Adhesive Group's annual business meeting. He said that he was 6 stories up in the hotel and the water from the fountain was at least eye level with him at times! It is set to music which you may not be able to hear. He said that Macau was a lot like Las Vegas - just the China version. I think that he'll post his experiences for us sometime over the weekend:)

$6/lb???

Today was a crazy busy day so I apologize that I didn't get anyone called! I did try to catch up on a few e-mails while you were all sleeping but only had so much time - sorry if I haven't gotten to yours yet! For those who keep asking about our home phone - I fried our router and we haven't had time to figure out how to get a new one...Sorry!

We started off the day going to the Hong Kong Bank of Singapore to set up our accounts. We were able to take a bus straight there but had trouble getting a bus back. After we walked to the second bus stop and were looking at a map a nice man asked if we needed help and pointed out that we were only about a 5 minute walk back to our apartment! It was a nice walk and the good thing is that Kaitlyn and Ethan were ready for naps when we got back. True to form, since he was 2 years old, Kenton continues to resist naps even when he's falling asleep on his feet!! I was able to get in a short nap before a storm woke up Ethan and sent Kenton running into my room. It rained most of last night and quite a bit during the day today. We experienced our first thunderstorm but it was kind of a dud compared to the Midwestern whoppers! The twins think that it's so much fun to use umbrellas - we'll see if they still feel that way when we leave here:)

Later in the afternoon I made a trip to Cold Storage - the local grocery store that caters (kind of) to expats. I think that they cater more towards Europeans as there are more of them here than us. I was able to find an El Paso taco kit - and paid $6 US a pound for ground beef!! It was from Australia but it still tastes Asian. Thankfully the taco box told me exactly how much meat was needed - 500 Grams - or I wouldn't have had a clue what to tell the lady behind the meat counter what I needed! El Paso tacos here also come from Australia - isn't that a US brand? I noticed that Coca Cola is made in Singapore and Kellogg's cereal is made somewhere in Asia as well. That explains why it tastes different even though it looks the same:) I suppose we'll get used to it and come back to the US and think everything there tastes different. I'm compiling quite the list of things that I'm going to stock up during our next trip home. Or maybe someone who is coming to visit will be kind enough to bring some in their suitcase:)

We ended our day with more apartment shopping. We viewed two that are within walking distance of the Singapore American School - both were quite nice. We also went back through two - one from yesterday and one from Saturday that we also think will work. We're narrowing it down and will hopefully have come to a decision by morning! We are working on a list of pros and cons...

Anyway, I'd better post this before it gets much longer! I'm heading to bed as we've been having early mornings with the kiddos. That won't change as the bus is picking them up next week at 6:45am!!! I think that's crazy early for Kindergartners but there really isn't any other way to get them there - thankfully it's only until February when we can move into our new home.

Kids Sleeping EVERYWHERE!

Last night (Saturday evening) after a long day apartment hunting all three kids fell asleep in various spots! Kait fell asleep in a chair which doesn't look very comfortable! I'm pretty sure my back would give me trouble if I tried to fall asleep this way:)

Ethan fell asleep in Daddy's arms! What a better way to end the day? He fell asleep at 4pm for what was supposed to be a nap and slept through until 4 am and was ready to be awake for the day! We tried to wake him during the evening but you can see the result of that below!
We were given an extra cot for the twins but some things never change! They prefer to share a bed still:) I'm not arguing with that as I know that those days are numbered.
Ethan in one of his happier moments. He's been a little pistol - getting into absolutely everything! He's been much more a "boy" than Kenton was - this evening he was sitting on the couch with Ryan whacking him over the head with a toy.
Kenton was sitting at the table playing (where K & K have both learned they need to be to stay out of Ethan's reach) when Ethan decided to "talk" to Kenton. They went on this way for quite awhile!

Overheard...

"I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas on the bottom of my hear-rt!" (Words sung very, very loud by a 5 year old girl this morning while getting dressed!)

Prayers of the Innocent

Sometimes I wonder if anything I teach or tell the twins sinks in. Tonight I was given a special little glimpse into an innocent soul when Kaitlyn asked to say the bedtime prayer. After saying the "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" prayer I usually add a blessing on family and pray for any needs that we know of. Kaitlyn said the first part and hesitated before adding "God bless grandmas, grandpas, all our aunts and our uncles and our cousins, and bless daddy and make him come home safe to our house and tell (name withheld) that he needs to repent so he can go to heaven, In Jesus Name We Pray, Amen!"

Update on the cheesecake (and Thurs evening)

Kaitlyn in a finer moment...read on!

Well, my evening the other night did NOT turn out as planned...more about that in a minute....what DID turn out was the cheesecake and I ended up calling a (skinny) friend on Friday and told her to come and get the rest of it lest I finish off a half a cheesecake by myself - oh it CAN be done!

About the rest of that evening...Let's just say that Kaitlyn melted in a temper tantrum more than once and during the last one as we were cleaning up supper and getting ready to go to the Bible Study I told her that she didn't get to go to the bonfire and had to go to bed. She didn't receive that well but was in bed at 7:05...and was SOUND asleep by 7:10. I would say someone was over tired. I asked her the next morning if she'd learned her lesson and she said, "No." ARGHHHH!!! I was disappointed to miss the Bible study but she needed a consequence that would hurt - even if it was only for the 5 minutes it took her to fall asleep:)

PS to the 7:05 bedtime....she was wi-ide awake by 6:30am and in our room talking...we won't try putting her to bed that early again as I don't really like to see that side of 8am:) I know, I know...so I like to sleep in!!