The fun continues!

I'm on Nyquil with a completely stuffed up head, so if this doesn't make much sense, you know why. I've managed to get sick amongst all the fun that's been happening here. Ugh. 

Below are  pictures highlighting some of the fun things we've done. Their time has been packed full of new sights, walking, loving on the boys, walking some more, eating delicious food, walking that food off, playing with the boys, visiting us at school and walking. Dick said the other night, "I think I've walked more here in the past 2 weeks than I've walked in the last year!" Such is our life. 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here and we're having a potluck with 8 other SAIS families. Should be fun. I'm bringing my mom's mashed potatoes, thankful that I'm not in charge of the turkey. 

On Friday Dick and Adam will spend the day golfing in Malaysia while Vicki and I are having a spa day in Indonesia. It's not everyday I get to say a sentence like that!

This makes me laugh..."Christmas Memories" sign in a tropical climate. Hard to believe. 

Fun day at the water park!

Another "When in Asia" moment. On the MRT and everyone is on their phone or reading. :)

GREAT Italian dinner and walk down Orchard Rd. after the water park

Orchard Rd has beautiful Christmas decorations up 

Where it all started...the Starbucks by our hotel on Orchard Rd. Closing it's doors this weekend. :(

Holy downpour. On our way to dinner, the water had flooded the sidewalks. 

The guys hanging out, watching the kids play after breakfast

Boys at Sunday brunch - Food for Thought in the Botanical Gardens

Playing Batman of course

My computer is having a hard time keeping up with me, so I'll post the rest of the pictures later. Wishing ALL of our friends & family back home a wonderful, restful, and laughter filled Thanksgiving. We have much to be thankful for his holiday.

Nanny & Grandpa's week

While I don't have any pictures to post from my camera, Vicki has several from their daily adventures. Wednesday they spent the day getting massages, walking around Little India and eating Michelle's spring rolls. Thursday they walked around the Marina Bay Sands & Gardens by Bay area and joined us for Michelle's delicious chicken curry and prata. They loved it and in true Dickster fashion, he brought over Indian music to play while we ate our Indian food. That will come as no suprise to those that know him well. :) Yesterday they joined us in the Parent Cafe at school for lunch, saw both Adam and I do a little teaching, and played with the boys. Last night Adam took his dad out for drinks to celebrate a co-workers birthday, while Vicki and I went to one of my favorite Singapore spots - Holland Village for dinner & shopping.

I hope they have enjoyed their week as much as we've enjoyed seeing them each day! This weekend I'll get some pictures, as we're headed to a water park, the Night Safari, the Botanical Gardens and China Town.

On a different note - Luke proudly came home Monday and let Adam know, "Daddy! I kissed a girl at school today!" He's only 4 and it's starting already. Drew had a great week at school. Every Wednesday nursery has Splash Day where they get to wear their swimsuits and participate in all sorts of water play. He LOVES Splash Day!

Back to D&V. One thing I have really enjoyed about them here is having people from home experience our life in Singapore. We explain it and describe it when we can, but it's totally different being able to "live" it for awhile. They've come to see how non-intrusive it is to have Michelle live here, how easy the public transportation is, how the humidity never goes away, how late people stay up here, how many different cultures live here (and live peacefully together), how clean the MRT is, how expensive things are, and hopefully why we are enjoying our time here. There's SO much to do!

Time to start our weekend. Go Ducks - we'll be watching the game Sunday!

Nanny & Grandpa's visit begins!

We have had a GREAT time with Nanny & Grandpa the last few days. We met them at their hotel Sunday morning and walked through the Clarke Quay area a bit and ate brunch at a new place called The Fabulous Baker Boy. Great little restaurant - simple, comfortable and kid friendly. From there we went back to our place, swam, showed them our school and had dinner at our favorite Hawker market. Monday they spent the morning playing with Drew, picked Luke up from school (those everyday things that I know Nanny has missed since she isn't watching the boys anymore) and swam some more. After work, Adam and I took them to one of our favs for dinner, Din Tai Fung. Then we made our way to the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. This hotel has a lot of neat history to it, one of which it opened in 1887 and the other is that they are the original creators of the famous Singapore Sling drink. My favorite part of the evening was having drinks on top of the Fullerton Bay Hotel. They have a great rooftop bar and the views are spectacular!

I don't think the BIG smiles have left any of their faces yet :)

Their hotel is in Clarke Quay - one of my favorite areas

So great to be together again! 

LOVE the view from here!

Entrance to the bar - infinity pool with Marina Bay Sands in the background. Not bad.

Today is Deepavali (a Hindu holiday/festival) so we had the day off from school. We spent the morning at Sentosa where Nanny & Grandpa got to try out the luge with the boys and take a ride up the Sky Tower. We enjoyed a lazy afternoon/evening by hanging out at home and ordering from our favorite pizza place as the rain rolled in. Headed back to work tomorrow for the rest of the week, but have left them with enough fun things to see & explore on their own. 

Sentosa

Grandpa grossed us all out by holding this python. The look on his face was priceless when the guy opened the basket and the snake popped out. He held it though. 

Nanny had her first "When in Asia" moment... exercising at a park. This equipment is in parks all over Singapore.

Little India, China Town, Arab Street and the Night Safari are next up on our list! The fun is just beginning :)

Barclays Singapore Open

The PGA is here in Singapore! Adam and Luke spent the morning and early afternoon watching golfers do their thing. Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Padraig Harrington to name a few (that I can remember). After one of Phil's shots, Luke yelled, "Nice shot Phil!" and Phil kindly turned and waved to him. That's my boy. 

Phil, Adam & Padraig...first name basis because I'm too lazy to type last names. Stevie is there too - Tiger's old caddy. 

Phil hitting a tough shot - some cute little blondie in the front :) His buddy Jack and Adam's friend Mike joined them. 

Another autograph to add to the collection. Padraig Harrington!

Looking forward to a great Mexican dinner with friends tonight and Dick & Vicki's arrival! 

The In-Laws are coming!!

We are SO, SO excited to see Dick & Vicki! They arrive Sunday at 1am. Just in time to head to the hotel, get some sleep, and be ready to play with two little boys who can't wait to hug them and love on them.

Having them here for 2 weeks is forcing us to do a lot of the touristy stuff we've put on hold because we live here. It's true what people say. We find ourselves putting things off because we're here for two years. Before we know it, we've lived here 4 months and everything is still on our list.
In the next few weeks I should finally be able to post some great pics of Singapore and what it has to offer. :)

Conferences are tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting with families and having them over with. Even across the world they are A TON of work. 12 hour work days this week makes for one tired momma!

Drew is love, love, loving school. In fact, we're adding back Fridays. I picked him up after class today. Before they released him I was spying on him during carpet time. There he was, sitting next to the TA, perfectly still on the carpet, listening to Miss Shamani read a story. So cute. Man I could eat that little boy up.  

Ate dinner with some friends at a great Swiss restaurant tonight. Who wouldn't want Swiss food in Singapore? After dinner we enjoyed walking down Orchard Road as they have a lot of their Christmas decorations up. Adam said, "It's not even Thanksgiving yet!"...but then again, we have to remember that we're the only ones that care about Thanksgiving.

I think...I thiiiink the weather is actually cooling off a bit. We've noticed that it has definitely been a bit more pleasant lately. That is, in between the major rain storms we get suddenly and the humidity that still allows you to wear tank tops during the "cool" season.

Hugs to family & friends back home!

JOY...and irony

Since returning from Bali, and thinking about the word JOY my friend Jill taught me, I have been writing down at least one thing from each day that brings me joy. I know many people use November as a time to be thankful (my dear husband uses it as a time to grow a mustache, but that's another story),  and find one thing they are thankful for every day, but I like focusing on JOY so much more. The reason is because that word truly makes me stop and find happiness in my day. I love ending each day with some happiness. Who wouldn't?

Today I had to laugh at the irony of my joy. My first bit of joy was sitting on a bench, talking to Adam at a waterpark (yep, there's a LOT of those in Singapore), while watching Luke guide Drew through areas he was scared of. Hand on his back, bent down and coaching his little brother. Instant smile to our faces. We were simultaneously sweating our butts off because it was so hot, but that's beside the point. JOY was felt.

For joy part 2, I'm sitting in my classroom, drinking Starbucks, with a sweater on, looking at our recent testing data and planning for the week. It's peaceful, I'm doing what I love, and I've got my latte. BUT I'M IN A SWEATER. If I were keeping track of things I'm thankful for, you can bet air conditioning would be at the top of my list.

Adam had fun in Indonesia with his friends. He got to play some golf, sleep without kids waking him up, and have a bad reaction to something he ate. I can guess that part is not his JOY. Poor guy.

Here's hoping you all can take the time to find some JOY in your day. Every day.

Sending big hugs to all of our friends & family. You are missed!

Oh Singapore...

One thing I noticed here is when you go in for services (like getting your hair done), it's common to have many people waiting on you. I went to get my hair done today and one lady took me to my seat and put the apron/gown thing on me. Then came the colorist. She was amazing and worked her magic on my hair. When that was done, in swooped another lady who washed my hair. Then, my hair was dried and trimmed by a man, the 4th and almost final person. When I was done another lady escorted me to the front where I paid. Sheesh! No wonder things are so expensive. You're paying the wages of the 26 people who help you.  

Went to the doctor the weekend we got home from Bali. I had avoided the sickness all the boys had just long enough to get us through our vacation. Adam still wasn't totally back to normal, so he went in with me. Literally. We both went into the same exam room. In this room was the typical table, sink, gloves, etc., etc. but there was also something we're not used to seeing in that room. The doctor's desk. AND THE DOCTOR WHO NEVER GOT UP FROM HIS DESK. I actually had to "lean in closer" so he could take my temperature without having to get up. I knew I just needed antibiotics, so after I told him my symptoms and he took my temperature, he gave me what I needed and I was on my way. It was quite comical. Needless to say, we'll be taking the boys to the pediatricians at International World Medicine clinic. My fingers are crossed that those doctors stand up and walk around. 

When you've been here awhile, you start to say things that you haven't normally said before. Funny thing is though, it's not exactly "talking like the locals." We have such a mesh of cultures at SAIS, that I'm not really sure where all these sayings are coming from. I do know that I've caught myself saying "cheers!" instead of goodbye and this week Luke told me, "Mommy, Miss Christabel asked me to do something and I did it straight away!" 

And then there's Drew. He had had a GREAT week at school. So great that Michelle now drops him off and leaves. He comes home singing songs in Mandarin that none of us really understand, but they sure make him happy. It's like a switch has flipped with that little guy...we're eating him up! 

Below are some pics from the SAIS Halloween Spooktacular last night. It was a bit overwhelming for the boys, but they had fun. Adam spent Friday night and all day Saturday golfing in Indonesia with 5 other guys. The plan was to play 36 holes of golf today- we'll see if he makes it!

 

Our little ballers 

Having some candy with Ella

Luke and his buddy Owen

Luke & Miss Christabel - we love her! 

The boys "trunk or treating" - parents filled the parking garage with their decorated trunks. Kids went car to car to trick-or-treat. Interesting twist on it. 

One more week until our first visitors arrive. Can't wait to have Dick & Vicki here next weekend! :)