Well, it's back to getting up early for me! We had a very nice four day weekend and it was so hard to wake up this morning at 6am:) We spent Thursday up at our new condo taking pictures and letting the kids swim. There is a much more kid-friendly pool there than the one at our serviced apartment so they enjoyed that. We took the MRT up and as we were walking from the MRT station to our condo we passed by some HDB (government) housing. We just stood on the sidewalk for awhile and listened to all the families that had gathered for CNY - from where we stood it sounded like a convention although it was individual families in individual apartments! A lot of locals keep their windows open instead of using the air-con. so that is how we could hear them.

On Friday we went to Sentosa Island - and won't be doing that again over CNY! We couldn't believe the amount of people waiting to go out there. You can take a train or a cable car to get their and the queue's for both were very long. Once we were on the island there were lines to everything. We found a trail and hiked it down to the beach which was also super-crowded. Some lady shared her daughter's beach toys with the twins so they dug around for awhile before we decided to head home away from the crowds! It was still fun because we rode a cable car there and the train back:)

Saturday we celebrated Collin's birthday with him via Skype and played checkers with him for awhile. After lunch we went swimming before heading out to Clarke Quay for supper with a family we recently met.

Sunday was spent the usual way - church, lunch, and relaxing in the afternoon. We headed to East Coast Park Beach for awhile but didn't stay there long as there was trash everywhere. We're assuming it was from CNY because it was much cleaner when we went a few weeks ago.

Now it is back to the regular routine - which includes getting up so early! I'm going to start packing up our place this week in anticipation of moving next week. We'll see since they have changed the move date on us three times now. Hope everyone had a blessed weekend - we are thinking of you!

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!

CNY

Kenton marching in the New Year's parade at school. You could either wear traditional Chinese wear or a red shirt. The whistle he is blowing we found in China Town last weekend. The idea is to make a lot of noise so that something evil is scared away - I have no idea what that evil was but I'm telling you there isn't much that would stick around for the noise of this parade! There were teachers in the front pounding on drums and cymbols and the kids followed with whatever noise makers their moms could come up with. Amazingly, Ethan wasn't scared!

Kaitlyn's class leaving the classroom to march in the parade. You may not be able to tell from the picture but all the classrooms open to the outdoors. The hallways are actually outside! I will try to remember to take pictures the next time I am at SAS.

We are looking toward China Town in this picture. I decided to go ahead and include it since the lights won't be there the next time we venture that way.

Would anyone care to purchase a rat? I have to say that they are kind of cute:) I'm not sure what's growing in the pots...it's a plant that I have seen a lot of lately so it symbolizes some kind of good luck to the Chinese. These were some of the wares available for purchase in China Town.

The following video starts with a stall in China Town. Each stall has a man that is yelling out what he is selling. If you actually stop he begins to explain why his product is superior. Occasionally they would switch to English if they saw me looking over their wares. They use microphones clipped on to the front of their shirts so that they can be heard over the other hawkers when you are standing directly in front of their stall. The middle and last part of the video are from the parade today. I didn't get as much video as I would have liked as I kept having a little escapee that I had to track down:)

New Diet Needed ASAP!

It's true - I went shopping today for a company dinner next weekend (we're supposed to wear traditional Chinese clothes) and discovered that I'm an XXL! Here I thought I was doing so well since Christmas and had actually lost weight just to discover that I'm an extra, extra Large!!! :( How on earth did I jump 4 sizes in one month? Pardon me while I go drown my sorrows in a can of Coke. And maybe some chocolate ice cream. Oh, and some potato chips. I may as well make it true:)

A Lonely Road

I've come to the realization that parenting is often a lonely road. Advice can be given on how to help overcome a problem (i.e. potty training) but each child and each parent is unique and has their own personality and in the end we need to figure out on our own what works and what doesn't. Friends can cheer us on, advice books can be read, Mom can be consulted but ultimately it's between us and our children. What do you do with a 5 year old boy who just can't shut his brain off at night so he can fall asleep? How do you get a 14 month old baby to keep their little hands away from something that could hurt them when you can see that they understand "No" but they are just too curious? How do you discipline a 5 year old girl who has developed an attitude since beginning kindergarten and quite frankly doesn't care what you think? All the advice in the world can be given but we're the one that it falls on to find the answers on how to best raise our three gifts from God. May He grant us sufficient patience, love, and wisdom to get us past our own inadequacy and failings and through the trials of raising children!

On a much happier note I have discovered the joys of doing my grocery shopping online and having it delivered to our front door! I have never minded doing the actual shopping through the store but I've never much enjoyed loading and unloading the car and hauling all the groceries into the house. On Saturday I went online with my list in hand and clicked on what I needed. It was delivered to my home this evening so all I had to do was unpack the bags!!! I was stocking up for CNY so there was no way I could get that many groceries home by myself without a car...hey, any excuse works for me:) I plan on doing a lot of my shopping this way as it was way more stress-free! AND for the best part - I can stick to my cash only budget as you pay when it's delivered. I can honestly say that will be one thing that I will miss when we move from here:(

PS: Still working on what to say about China Town - my camera died about two pictures in (my fault for not checking how much battery life we had left) so I'm thinking about waiting to tell about China Town until after our next visit there. Hopefully than I'll have lots of pictures and videos to try and paint a picture of the experience!

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've joined the ranks (Mom, don't read this)

Yep. I joined in the insane practice of walking when it's lightening out with an umbrella. Now, mind you, I had no other choice - but that didn't lessen the insaneness of it. I've been casually observing this practice from my window thinking, "NO way!" "Why would anyone with a brain hold onto a metal umbrella out in the open when it's lightening out!" Well, let me tell you I spent about 2 minutes on the phone to Ryan asking him to pray for me and about 15 minutes dashing from shelter to shelter praying hard that God would keep us safe! And I'm here to say that he did. And I hope that I never have to do that again!!