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!

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.

School Update

I'm happy to report that both twins are doing well so far with school. They both slipped into the new routine and school without any trouble and told me ALL about it when they arrived home today! There was a moment of brief panic when I realized that I didn't know exactly where they were to be dropped off and I saw buses flying by EVERYwhere. I learned that is what the helper on the bus is for...she spotted me standing on a corner looking around frantically and brought the twins safely to me:) We made it inside right before a Singapore Soaker hit!! (Complete with lightening and thunder:)

$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.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip and Other Things

Well, I survived my first field trip with a group of Kindergartners!! It was an ear splitting good time - listening to a whole bus load of 5 year olds sing nursery rhymes over and over and OVER isn't exactly my idea of a way to spend my morning! BUT, it was fun to spend the time with the twins and see how they are with their friends at school:)

Kaitlyn hit the slides with two of her friends - over and over again. Are you starting to see a theme here?!?

We rode a hay rack out to the pumpkin patch where we had our pick of tiny pumpkins to take home with us. Here is Kaitlyn with the one that she picked out.

Here is Kenton with HIS tiny, little pumpkin!

Kaitlyn decided to jump in with the boys and make a scarecrow.

Here is Mrs. Wiley's Kindergarten class - Fall 2007

Onto the "other" things. I thought that I'd write a quick update on Singapore. We've been keeping really busy doing all the little things that come along with such a move. I scheduled Hepatitis A vaccines for us next week along with our usual flu shots. That is really the only recommendation for shots that we haven't already gotten. I'm going to see if they will speed up Ethan's schedule as Indonesia has reported cases of Polio. We have interviewed two rental management companies for our home and now are making the final decision of which one to go with. Both want to start showing the house beginning of November to potential renters so we've been cleaning out and cleaning up. We've been filling out paperwork to get work passes and dependent passes for Singapore. We are waiting official word from the Singapore American School on whether the twins are in for the Spring semester or not. If they aren't we have a choice of a private Christian school or homeschooling until next Fall when they could for sure get in. We have the moving company coming in the middle of November to tell us what will fit in a 40 foot container and what the transit times are for our things. We also get a 650 lb air shipment of things that we will need immediately. I have gone through the house and made a very detailed spread sheet of what's staying, going, being stored, or donated. This way we know exactly what to tell the movers and we have a detailed shipping list in case something gets lost or damaged. We have started stocking up on things like our favorite soaps, diapers, summer clothes, printer paper, etc. to send over in our shipment. I have quite an extensive list of things to get in case they don't have it there, thanks to Lynn:) I am ordering a really good stroller since we'll be doing a lot of walking...We've also picked out area rugs to send since they are considerably cheaper here. All the condos have marble floors and I want to have cozy rugs:) We're also starting to collect medical records to take with us as well. There is SO much planning that goes into a move like this that it can be overwhelming at times! Than, we take a step back, a deep breath, and say a prayer that God will work out the small details along with the big ones...and so far He has!!

We have our first Parent/Teacher conference tomorrow and than we are heading back to Illinois for the weekend. Ryan's going to spend time in Peoria helping Grandma Joos get a few things done and I'm going to help the twins make a REAL pumpkin pie:) Should be fun! We're heading to Elgin for the weekend and than we are home until Thanksgiving while our families come and visit US:)

Peace and Quiet

Finally I have some peace and quiet around here:) The kiddos have been in bed since 8 although they aren't sleeping yet - well, Ethan is but the two that really need to be aren't! It was a rather quiet Monday around here. It was cloudy and cool most of the day so I stayed home and unmotivated. I achieved three things today - I got the twins off to school, I made supper, and I cleaned out the junk drawer. I think that last task more than makes up for the fact that I achieved little else today:)

Ryan and I nailed down the dates today for our move and he contacted the moving company to get everything confirmed. The twins should be accepted into SAS and our official acceptance letter will be here by early November. It's amazing how all the pieces continue to fall into place! When I start to worry about something I make myself take a step back and think about how God is completely in control of our lives and this move. It makes things easier for sure!

We hosted our last potluck:( yesterday. It was a very nice evening and it was fun to decorate my tables with nice dishes and tablecloths and centerpieces! With three little ones running around I don't get to do that often. This week will be a busy one. I have a meeting tomorrow at school for the Fall Party and than it's my day to volunteer in the classroom. Wednesday I head to Topeka for a little get together with my Sabetha friends - I'm really looking forward to meeting up with them and getting to spend some time without children...uninterrupted talking - how nice! Friday I head off on a field trip with the twins to the pumpkin patch - should be fun as long as it doesn't rain:) This weekend we head to Illinois for a wedding - October is going to be over before we know it!

Family Art Project

We have officially completed our first "Family Art Project"...it came home from school two weeks ago and we JUST did it this morning;) It consisted of Mom doing all the cutting, Dad doing all the designing, and Kaitlyn and Kenton messing up what we just did! Oh - and Ethan eating all the teeny, tiny pieces of scrap paper that he could find on the floor and than throwing up on the carpet. The scarecrows were still "drying" when the twins left for school so I took them in to the classroom for them...we wouldn't want them to get messed up on the bus, now would we? After all, Mom and Dad did a LOT of work on this FAMILY art project! To be fair, the twins really did do a lot...they colored and pasted and glitter glued. The entire time I was cutting the scarecrow pieces Kaitlyn kept saying, "Look at Mom's GOOD cutting skills...Boy she sure has GOOD cutting skills." I'm sure glad that all my years of cutting experience could be put to good use:)

Tonight we have our weekly Crown Financial Bible Study. I decided to try making my Mom's secret Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake...sure is hard when it's a secret recipe...:) I've heard that it gets RAVE reviews so we'll see how well I did tonight. The twins are going to a bonfire...it's homecoming tonight so there was NO chance of getting a sitter so they are going to the alternative activity that's been planned for the church kids. Ethan's going with us since he can't be trusted around a fire. I'd better go and get supper going so that we aren't late. The twins don't have school tomorrow so we may be taking a family trip to the pumpkin farm to get pumpkins for them to carve in a few weeks.

First Field Trip

The twins are going on their first field trip tomorrow to an apple orchard. They are SO excited and have been talking about nothing else all week!! "Mom, do I get to get up early tomorrow?" "No, dear....not for another four days." Than I sigh and think about what a long week it's going to be:) They get to go with the morning Kindergarten class which they think is the best thing ever...AND they get to be car riders for the day instead of bus riders!

Our Crown Financial bible study has been leading us through reviewing how we view our posessions. This is timely for me since I've been cleaning out closets and de-cluttering in anticipation of our move. It's amazing how I tend to hang on to things that I really should have gotten rid of years ago:) I don't tend to be a saver but I still have things I need to part with. When you look at everything from the perspective that God owns it and he's entrusting it to us to take care of you begin to realize that you can't possibly take care of everything you have so maybe it's time to clean out! "The more you have, the more you have to have to take care of the things you have!!" That's a quote from Jungle Jam - a CD the kids like to listen to! It's so true, though!

Uh Oh! I hear E - As the Lord has entrusted him to us I'd better go take care of His possesion :) Sure puts things in perspective, now doesn't it;)

Back Home

We made it safely home early Wed morning - about 2:00am! Ryan and I were up until about 4 because our timing is off. Katie and Lauren came back from Illinois with us for a few days and they were sleeping soon after we arrived - as was Ethan. The twins' came home from Joe and Joan's this morning around 9am - way too early for me to be awake:( Now it's all about digging out after being gone for a week and a half and than Katie and I are going to tackle some closets and begin getting ready for a garage sale. After next weekend things will finally slow down a little and I can concentrate on volunteering at the twins' school and taking care of Ethan. It will be supreme to have all of us back under one roof again tonight! I sure missed them while we were gone.

K and K had picture day today - and PE!! We'll see which one they did first;0 Kenton didn't want to go today and I suspect it's because he wanted to spend time with us. It's hard to know when they really need that time and when they need to learn that they still have responsibilities and can't skip school whenever they want.

Well, the babies are both sleeping so time to get something done before the twins' arrive home from school!

06, September 2007 9:36pm

I'm SO tired of being cold!! I did not come to Singapore expecting to be so cold! Every place we go, every car we ride in has the air conditioning so high that there has to be frost dripping from our noses! I will have to pack more jeans and light sweatshirts and sweaters than I initially thought! Speaking of clothing I've noticed that everyone tends to dress fairly conservative here. The American high school girls would not fit in here. Skirts are not uncommon here and neither are "dressy" clothing.

I wanted to write a little more about our hotel room. When you walk up to the door there is a doorbell and a sign which can be illuminated from within the room to say "Do Not Disturb." Right inside the door is a cardholder into which you insert your room key which turns on the lights. When you leave and take the card with you it shuts everything down - a unique way to conserve energy! Everything else is a normal room except for the outlets.

We visited the Singapore American School today and were very impressed. They have an outstanding program but the downside is over 3000 kids attend there between 3 years old and 12th grade. It's all on one campus so it's a little overwhelming! The primary school (K-2) is housed in one section so they don't interact with the older children. Than there's an intermediate section (3 - 5) with a middle school and a high school. They have spots for the twins' to start in January - this is a miracle as there are currently 300 children on a wait list to get in. Most International schools in the city have the same type of wait list.

Ryan had meetings in the afternoon and I took a nap. We are still messed up with the time changes! It sounds like by the time we are adjusted it will be time to come home:( Ryan's co-worker, Sim, took us out for a Chinese supper in a revolving restaurant with good views of Singapore. We overlooked the shipping yards for part of the time which was very interesting to watch. I was given the opportunity to use silverware since I've never used chopsticks but I decided that I may as well start learning. To eat in the hawkers centers you need to know how to use chopsticks. It wasn't too hard although Sim told me that I wasn't using them properly but than again, neither was he. The food was good - very healthy as everything is steamed, not fried. I wasn't up for it though as my stomach is still adjusting to all the new foods and it thought that it was breakfast time, not time to eat Chinese!!

I haven't had much time to take pictures as they have kept us fairly busy. Ryan and I have decided that a good way to describe Singapore is like Chicago with much more greenery, less cars, and an Asian flavor. We have seen McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Hard Rock Cafe, and even a Long John Silvers this evening! They have a lot of the same stores we do although it's the higher end shops - no Target or Wal-Mart:( We are going to have to get used to the metric system as that it what's used here.

Tomorrow's another busy day so I'm going to bed! Ryan's already there:) It's so odd to think that everyone back home is just beginning a day that we just ended!!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, Robin:)

We have a gray, cloudy day here which is a bit of a bummer but we need the rain so I won't complain! It would be the PERFECT day for sleeping in but I had to get up early to get a donation out for the Sherwood Center so I decided to stay up and get some things done! Ethan woke up with me but after a bottle he went back to sleep for awhile.

I spent this week house cleaning (ughhh) and getting ready for our trip next week. We leave in the am for a weekend of camping with the Weiss's and than Monday AM Ryan and I take off for a "Look, See" trip to Singapore. That's what his company calls it! The closer it gets to leaving the more anxious I am about leaving the kids. Usually it doesn't bother me much and I'm thankful for the break but I think that the distance this time is my problem. It's not "quick" to get back home in an emergency!

We are set up with Skype now and can talk for free to anyone else who also has it. We're going to try it out next week from Singapore to make sure everything works okay and than will decide for sure once we're there what will work best. Ryan's been gone this week to North Carolina so we've been able to try out the webcam...Ethan was SO excited the other night when he saw Ryan on the computer screen! He wasn't sure what to do and was squealing and jumping around:)

I'm heading to Back To School night tonight for the twins and than we head out in the morning. I've got a LOT of packing to get done today!

BTW: If you click on any of the pictures in my blog you can see them much bigger on the screen.

Odds and Ends Pictures

These flowers were sent to me from Melissa, Valarie, Katie, and Rachel with a LOVELY note attached to them! Thanks, girls for helping me to feel SO old:)

This picture was from the first day of Kindergarten. They came off the bus wearing those hats...they say,"I'm a Kindergarten Star" - I think that they were made in Art.

Kaitlyn received a haircut before her second day of school as I was tired of fighting tangles! It sure does grow fast! It's much more manageable now but can still be pulled up.

And last but not least - here's the birthday girl! She doesn't look too old, now does she?

Birthday's and such

Well, I'm officially another year older...and wiser:) 30 really isn't all that hard...the gray hairs are completely a different thing! I had a nice birthday lunch with some friends at Jalapeno's - a Mexican restaurant. Joan decided to bring me a cake when she heard that I was going to make my own...I don't usually bother with a cake for myself except the twins are now old enough to know that a birthday means a cake! Don and Eileen stopped by with a birthday balloon and gift basket and to see the twins come off the school bus....we had a really hot, humid wait for them! Oh - and I had flowers awaiting me when I returned home from my lunch...they came from my four LOVELY, young sisters:) Other than that I have been spending my day cleaning out the coat closet...I don't think that we are going to need coats in Singapore. Or hats. Or gloves. Or scarves. Or boots. I'm getting all the things that we're getting rid of ready for a big garage sale to be held sometime in September. I came down to wash up some of our winter coats and realized that I had left the clean clothes in the washing machine, AGAIN. This will make the third time that they are being washed to freshen them up...clothes sitting wet for a couple of days tend to start smelling mildewy! If that's a word. Well, I'm going to go and check the mail to see if there's anything in there for my birthday:)

First Day of School

These pictures are a little out of order. I still need to figure out how to download them in chronological order.



It didn't take Kaitlyn long to make a friend and start putting together a puzzle. We weren't there long when she learned where the bathroom was - always important info for a little girl!







Kenton found some toys after sitting at his desk sizing the situation up!







This is Mrs. Wiley, their teacher. She was very patient in posing for pictures for all the moms:)







AND of course we can't forget Ethan! He and mommy went on errands after the twins left and he was a happy little guy - doesn't seem to miss them too much! I found him pulling himself up to standing on the back of the chair - he'd than get stuck and cry until I rescued him or he fell. He's going to walk before he's crawling!

Kaitlyn and Kenton were ready to go about 30 minutes before the bus actually came so we went outside to take a "first day of school" picture! They were running around the house with backpacks on saying, "Mom, how long NOW before the bus comes!"

We were inside the house when I heard the bus pull up - she was about 5 minutes early. I think that it helped the twins as there wasn't really any time for them to be nervous about actually getting on - they just ran outside and straight onto the bus. Once they were on they may have had some second thoughts. Isn't a cute, little bus?

Of course I had to beat the bus to school:) This is the twins getting off the bus at school - Joan rode up there with me for moral support. AND, I wasn't the only parent there and armed with a camera.

It didn't take them long to figure out where to hang up their backpacks. I felt a little sorry for the teacher as she was overwhelmed with anxious parents in the room - I'm pretty sure that we were more nervous than the children were:)

Kenton went right to his seat and sat for a minute looking around trying to get his bearings. We had gone to school yesterday to drop off school supplies and to find out where they were to sit.