March!

You know, one would think that I'd be used to the weather by now. Nope. Every day, every week, every month, I wait for the weather to change - to give me some idea that it's a new season, some idea that the year is moving forward. But no. Yet somehow, even with sun and humidity EVERY SINGLE DAY, the year is flying by. Only three and a half months until we come home. Much of what we said we missed a few months ago is still greatly missed today...

-Family, friends and ELLA
-A cool breeze
-The need for a light jacket (or any jacket for that matter)
-Jeans
-Straight Hair
-Carpet
-Having our place feel naturally cool (not air con cool)

and on and on...

We do miss having a car, but not everyday. We certainly don't miss the expenses that come with having a car, but we miss one the most when we're trying to get home in the pouring rain. Cabs are hard to come by once it rains and umbrellas can't contain Singapore downpours.

These past 10 days have been bumpy. Sometimes speed bumpy and other times tires-blowing-out bumpy. It has been harder to snap out of this funk and I think it's because we are starting to feel how long we've been away. While coming home is so close, we still have much to do in that time. Hong Kong, Vietnam and Vicki's visit. I'm also hopeful for a visit from Lisa. I guess that's a pretty good "spring."

We are looking forward to the weekend - fun with friends and time with our boys. Luke and Drew are doing very well, still entertaining us every single day. Most recently Drew "entertained" me by filling the bathtub halfway up with water and using the toilet bowl brush holder to transport the water from the tub to our bed. And our floor. And the bathroom floor. Everywhere. You should have seen how proud that boy was of himself. Shouting "I DO THAT! I DO THAT!" as he pointed to the puddles. In that moment, it was far from cute. Especially considering I fell on the way into the bedroom from all the water. Funny how sometimes cement walls make everything so much louder and other times you can't even hear a bathtub running. Lesson learned.

Bumpy roads aside, February was a great month. Chinese New Year, my Mom & Denis were here, Adam got to visit Dubai, and we had some great times with friends. Ready for March!

xo

.

Dubai

Adam has been enjoying his few days in Dubai. I was jealous before he left and after seeing the pictures, I'm even more so. What a cool place. In his words, "the beaches are AMAZING!" One thing Singapore doesn't have is nice beaches- due to all the shipping boats that come in. He's also been loving the food. I'm envious that he took jeans and a light jacket. Oh what I wouldn't give for the need to put those things on! It's fun that he's seeing a new part of the world.

We miss him a lot around here and look forward to his return on Sunday night!













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Great week so far in Singapore! Mom and Denis have been enjoying Sydney, Adam is off to Dubai and I'm here with the boys. Someone's gotta do it. But man do their lives sound exciting :)

Adam promised to send pics of Dubai...I'm dying to go there! I'll get them posted when I have some.

Meanwhile, I got a front row showing to Gangnam Style by Luke tonight as we were in the hot tub. Drew fell and hurt his knee last night so he walks around as if his leg were going to fall off at any minute. Never a dull moment.

Auntie sent a huge box filled with Valentine love and wow were they excited! Thanks Auntie :)






Below are a few pictures from Luke's date with Adam this weekend to watch the Singapore Slingers. The player below played for Oregon State and was caught off guard hearing Luke yell, "Go Beavs!" as they warmed up.


A group of kids from SAIS watched together...


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Valentine's Day

Adam and I aren't big Valentine's Day people. At all. But on that night, my mom and Denis gave the boys new soccer uniforms (or are they football uniforms??)







and as I cleaned out Luke's backpack, I saw what he chose to make at school on Valentine's Day. All by himself.




The amount of love those two have for each other stops me in my tracks everyday. Before greeting anyone else in the house, they find each other first when one comes home. They talk, they laugh, they cause trouble, they play and they fight. They're brothers.

I read a quote today that I lOVE and it holds so true for my two little people.

"Everyone deserves the chance to be loved and valued for who they are, not punished or judged for who they aren't."

Little people know that. And when I saw that sweet card, I was reminded of that too.

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day to our friends and family back home!

xo

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We're not in Kansas anymore

I can honestly say I've never received an email at work like this before...

Dear All,

Some of you may have already noticed, over the past 2 days we have got constant sightings of monkeys on our perimeter fences. This morning, it was sighted on top of the turnstile at Gate 1.

Quick Summary on what to do if you encounter monkeys:

INDOORS

OPEN

If monkeys enter your office/ class: 1.     Stop whatever you are doing immediately. 2.     Make sure that our students are move to a safe place, sometimes, staying put could be the better option. 3.     Remain calm and quiet. Do not make sudden movements and do not maintain direct eye contact with the monkeys. 4.     Look for an exit for the monkeys. 5.     Without cornering the monkeys, keep hitting the ground with a stick OR direct a strong jet of water at the monkeys to lead them towards the exit. 6.     Alternatively, move to a safe place and wait for the monkeys to leave. 7.     Do not try to hit the monkeys. 8.     If you have a child with you, put him/her on your shoulders. This will increase your perceived size, which could deter the monkeys from approaching you and your child.

If monkeys approach you: 1.     Stop whatever you are doing immediately. 2.     Make sure that our students are move to a safe place, sometimes, staying put could be the better option. 3.     Remain calm and quiet. Do not make sudden movements and do not maintain direct eye contact with the monkeys. 4.     Look away and back off slowly. Do not turn away from the monkeys and run. 5.     If you are holding an object which is attracting the monkeys, conceal or discard it. 6.     Do not try to hit the monkeys. 7.     If you have a child with you, put him/her on your shoulders. This will increase your perceived size, which could deter the monkeys from approaching you and your child. 8.     Keep away from the area until the monkeys have left.

Hoping I won't encounter one close up...I can't imagine trying to get a third grader on my shoulders.

Too funny!

Tolerance

To tolerate something means to allow the existence, occurance, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference. 


As we sat around the dinner table last night, Denis said the word tolerance when referring to Singapore. It stuck with me. Tolerance. How do we live a life that includes tolerance for people's ideas and beliefs that are different from ours? How do we teach tolerance? How do we become more tolerant? 

There are many times during our weeks where we compare the way things are in the states to how they are here. How can we not? That was our life for 30+ years and now we live a life so completely different. Yes, the same in many ways, but culturally it is so different. 

As many of us do, I am constantly thinking of ways to be better. Improve. Be more present. Take away meaning from each experience. Be more open-minded. Be more tolerant. 

I do know that children come into this world ready to give love and receive love. They don't know hate. They are shown and taught hate. They are taught intolerance by adult's actions and words. You see, every time an adult asserts that his/her way is the right way (or the only way), children learn from that. They are sponges, taking it all in. 

Then there's this tricky thing of selfishness. By nature, kids are selfish beings. As adults, it's our job to teach them and show them selflessness. Giving instead of receiving. 

If we have grown in anyway since being here, I hope it is in tolerance. Different beliefs exist, different religions exist and who are we to interfere with that? Who are any of us? Isn't showing intolerance to someone's belief or practice the same as thinking you are better than they are? And isn't that at the heart of selfishness? 

America is hard. It's tricky and it's frustrating and it's lovely. All in one. Singapore is all of those things too, but for very different reasons. We want Luke & Drew to know that all of those things are okay. Things can be hard. They can be tricky and they can be lovely. 

I really believe it's in the moments when things are hard and tricky that we have to work the hardest at being tolerant. Listening, opening our minds and trying to understand other ways of doing things. Without interference. 

Since moving here I am listening more. Learning more. Opening my mind and trying to understand. I find that when I do those things, my world is more lovely.  

What if we taught our children to give to others? What if we showed them what it's like to disagree with someone respectfully? What if we provided them opportunities that allowed them to form their own opinions instead of taking on ours? 

You can imagine how much is going on in my head right now. Thankfully Adam gets me, he gets it. Together, we strive to model tolerance for our boys and in doing so, we have found that our minds have become much more open. That's a good thing. I thank Singapore for that. 


All that said...my tolerance has limits. Those limits are cockroaches. If I see another one I am going to freaking lose it. 

Tuesday Firsts

Monday & Tuesday needed their own entries because we packed them full of fun stuff. Today was a day of firsts for us. The four of us rode the Singapore Flier and then my mom and I walked over to Gardens by the Bay for the afternoon. Very fun day. We briefly thought about taking the boys on the Flier, but then our common sense came back as we realized that would mean being trapped in a capsule with them for 30 minutes. I envisioned the wrestling matches beginning at minute 5. No thank you.

What a great way to see Singapore. Even in the rain showers....

Up, up and away in the capsule

We are HIGH up! The stage down below is where the Hong Bao Carnival is. 

We are at the VERY top here

Rainy few hours, but luckily it wasn't stormy 

Off in the distance you can see all the cargo ships 

After lunch, my mom and I headed over to Gardens by the Bay. I haven't gone yet, as I knew she would enjoy this place. It was filled with beautiful flowers!

Inside the Flower Dome

Those who know her, know how much she LOVES flowers! 

HUGE waterfalls in the Cloud Forest. Yep, we went to the top. 

Throughout the Dome they had Tangerine bushes in the shape of a snake. It's the year of the Snake afterall! 

Walked around one of my favorite malls here - very Vegas like with the canal and boat rides through the center. 

It's back to school for all of us tomorrow. We have so enjoyed our 4 days with Ma & Ampa!

Monday

The fun and sightseeing continued Monday with an open-top bus tour around the city. We all went on the bus for a few hours, had lunch, then left Ma & Ampa to explore some more on their own. They had a great time learning about Singapore and hopping off the bus to walk around a few places on their own. They even made it to Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling (where the drink originated!).

Drew has wanted to do this since we moved here! 

Love this! The snake head at the entrance to China Town. 

Lunch at the Hawker 

If only he could drive us home this way! Ella wanted no part of having her picture taken :)

After the boys had their naps, we headed out to the Hong Bao Carnival for Chinese New Year. We have been very lucky avoiding massive crowds and our luck held out again for this event. We had a great time. Culture, music, and fun rides! 

My mom wondered who this was - Luke told her in Chinese and what his significance was. That's way more than I knew!

Beautiful colors, lanterns and city views! 

Gong xi fa cai! (Happy New Year) It's the year of the snake. Supposedly a year of conservation, rebuilding and big changes. 

 xo

Ma & Ampa's Visit - First few days

We have LOVED having Ma & Ampa here. The weather hasn't been great, but we've made the most of the dry periods. Thursday night Michelle made her wonderful chicken curry for them and they enjoyed playing with the boys. We all had school Friday, but Luke and Drew were picked up at lunch time by Ma & Ampa so they could spend the afternoon together. We braved Chinatown Friday night (it's Chinese New Year) and had the famous chicken rice for dinner. Saturday was a day of shopping (for my mom and I), dinner at our favorite place, Din Tai Fung, and drinks at the Fullerton Bay Hotel. We took Dick and Vicki up there too...the views are beautiful. Today was spent at the new Aquarium in Sentosa. It started pouring while we were there and continued for the afternoon. People were everywhere around town because of the holiday, so we enjoyed a quiet afternoon at our place, playing and watching golf with a pizza dinner.

Because it's Chinese New Year, we have the next two days off from school. We are hoping to squeeze in an open top bus tour, the Night Safari and Gardens by the Bay. Never a shortage of things to do in Singapore!

Chicken curry dinner- reunited! 

Snuggling before bed

Ma & Ampa brought these super cool capes for the boys :)

Headed out to Chinatown!

Let the soccer game begin!

A new type of food for them. Din Tai Fung...they LOVED it. 

Drinks at Lantern - rooftop bar @ Fullerton Bay Hotel

Beautiful!

We are standing immediately off of the elevator. Might be the BEST elevator exit I've ever seen. 

The Merlion along Boat Quay 

Ma & Luke on the Sentosa Boardwalk

goofballs

The Aquarium was amazing!

Checking out the sharks. Drew kept shouting "Mom! Get my mask!" 

Singapore normal - leave in totally dry weather, come home in pouring rain!