Hallowe'en Photos: Trick or Treating!

We had a great turn out tonight! Tons of families, I lost count, participated. Children danced like elves and ran like devils to search for candies. Adults got dressed up too! You can see Lenka in a red, hot devil costume herself! Frunty is holding onto his scarey, pumpkin mask so it does not fly off while he gets ready to race to the next house. Pit had a tough night. Needed some hugs.

The picture of the children by the pool waiting for the 6:45 pm briefing. Just a fraction of those who participated! Even Amy got into the swing of things with her cat costume. She had fun handing out bonbons! Happy Hallowe'en!

Hallowe'en Photos: Pre-trick or treating fun!

Friends joined us in our home for a pre-trick or treating party. Sung Wan from Korea who dressed as Harry Potter and his mom, Hyun Jee came. Killian the skeleton and his parents came too for pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, bloody hot dogs and spider cookies. Red "blood" juice with spiders on top was yummy too. Good job, Frunts and Pit for putting on such a fun event and of course, we all wished that Papa were with us! (He is working in Melbourne!)

Hallowe'en at D'M!

Frunty, Pit and I delivered 174 flyers inviting the residents of D'M to participate in Hallowe'en this year. We asked those interested in participating to post the pumpkin picture we provided on the invitation or decorate their home in some other way so that we trick or treaters would know whom not to bother. At 5pm, dectective Frunty ran around D'M and counted 20 participating homes. Not bad. So at 6:45pm, when we headed to the pool in our costumes, I was completely taken aback. There must have been at least 50 children in costumes with their parents. I was astonished and could hardly give the briefing I prepared. In the hour before we started trick or treating, many homes got ready!! After I somehow addressed this huge crowd, a member of the "committee" approached me and announced that from now on, D'M would make Hallowe'en an official event and there would be "funding". What an amazing result of our efforts which put smiles on everyone's faces.

But the fun did not start with trick or treating at 6:45 pm. At 5pm, we had our friends, Sam, Niamh and Killian over for pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples and bloody hot dogs with spider cookies for dessert! It was really funny. Pit had a hard night though and told me later he did not want me to be the one to organize next year. But that's okay because next year, I won't have to because it is now an official D'M event! Happy Hallowe'en everyone!!!

Vive le Couchsurfing!

Papa was away in India, came home for one day and has now flown off to Melbourne for another week. To help us pass the time in a fun way, the kids and I search for couch surfers who are travelling in Singapore, invite them over for dinner and practise Italian and French with them. We all seem to be having a fun time and Frunty and Pit say they love being junior couch surfers.

In these photos, you will see Frunty and Pit with their Italian couch surfing friend, Caterina, who occasionally comes to practise Italian with us. You will also see the French couple who stayed over one night and their parents who joined us for a good bye dinner chez nous. What I could not believe is that they carried around a very special bottle of Muscat for us for two weeks while they travelled around Bali. (they had arranged to stay with us before they left France) But also that on the last day of their trip, Gwen and I rode over to pick Pit up from kindergarten together and then Fred played endlessly with the boys instead of sightseeing. They said that the kids' French is excellent so I am proud of our efforts! Last week Frunty sent postcards to some friends in Belgium en francais. He told me he really loves French again and Pit is gaining confidence too.

Baby Shower for Declan!

Here are some photos of the baby shower that we hosted for Baby Declan today. It was Papa's idea to host a shower for his colleagues, Alex and Scott, who just adopted this adorable little bundle of joy! It was a lot of fun with great company, including Scott's parents who are visiting from the States. Lots of laughter as the games were a hit...especially the cotton ball and clothes peg games! Just like the shower Zia Elena threw for us, we tasted baby food too! Consensus: "Yuck!"



Later...

Papa was leaving for the airport to fly to Melbourne and as he walked away from our home, he yelled back to us, "come take a look!" Pit and I ran down the path and who should we see but about 6 kids coming towards us in costumes! Alarmed, I scratched my head wondering if somehow I had typed the wrong date on the 174 flyers that Frunty, Pit and I delivered last week to each home at D'M. Would more kids start arriving and my two, in their jammies, have to scramble to get changed!? I asked the parents of these tricksters and, big sigh of relief, these kids were only practising!! They were checking out all the homes that are decorated so that they are ready for tomorrow night when we celebrate Hallowe'en together! For reals. Now how cute is that? Good for them!

Fun homework Time!

Never been so easy! On his new little Kritter seat, with his homework on his new Kritter table and the Monster Mash playing on his new, little cd player, Pit worked hard and effortlessly on his Chinese characters and his project entitled "Santorini Greece: My Walk on the Beach." Homework time today was a walk in the park!

David from Belgium

We are on a roll with our couchsurfing friends! Tonight we hosted David from the Flemish part of Belgium who spoke excellent French with us and brought along a box of...you guessed it and what would any self-respecting Belgian do in his position, CHOCOLATES! We had a nice dinner together, shared travel stories and plans and then played a jeu de societe qui s'appelle Pirate Attaque! As you can see in the picture, the kids did not want David to leave but alas! Tomorrow he is off to BKK.

I think that couch surfing is teaching our kids that we can share our world with some, carefully selected strangers who become friends and in so doing, have a lot of fun. I have not seen Pit laugh so hard in a little while. It was infectious! Bon voyage, David!

Vive la France!

Finally it was just fantastique! And effortless! Wow! What a pleasure to find such a great babysitter. Chloe from Bretagne...kind, thoughtful, mature and in control...came over and practised French with the kids tonight. She came in the kitchen while I cooked and asked if they could go to the park. She took care of them, not the other way around. So I actually could relax. We started the informal lesson, as always, with our bottle "question-answer" game, sang some songs and played some jeux de societe. Then when I saw things were fine, I snuck away and heard more and more French from our boys. It was delightful. Chloe taught us a new song about animals.

Before bed, Frunty said to me that he loves Chloe and that he is starting to like French again. Proof that when you find a great teacher, your child will soar.

Papa is on his way to India. I hope he has a good flight and a fine trip. He'll be there for almost a week, come home for a day and then zip off to Oz for another week. We will have fun though, with Caterina from Napoli and Chloe from Bretagne, keeping us company and keeping two of the most beautiful languages alive in our home! Pit told me yesterday that he really wants to learn German. I told him he has to wait for Gramma to arrive. Hopefully with her raspberry or strawberry jam!!

Pit's School Concert: Mighty Beanz to the Rescue!

Fantastic job, Pit! You did it and we could not be prouder. You did not want to get on stage with your class and perform, "What a friend we have in Jesus." In fact, last week at the dress rehearsal you completely refused to join in. But this week, in front of all the parents and students, you participated! Although you refused to do the arm motions, you did dance a little and even smiled a bit at the end!

Last week, your principal, Mrs. Seah, asked me into her office to pray for you. She may have thought it was the praying but we all know that it was the Mighty Beanz reward that got you on stage!

But seriously, we know that you did not want to let your team down. You knew your class was relying on you after training so hard. So you did the right thing, beanz or no beanz.

So good for you, Pit! You are one step closer to becoming a man. You did something you did not want to do and we are proud of you. I am sure you are proud of yourself!

Happy Graduation Day from K1, Pit! Well done!

Smokey Days

Singapore is suffering from smokey, smog which is being blown up from burning farms in Indonesia. It's illegal but guess what, happens anyway. Not nice. Today we are at home. Frunty's school is on exams so he was scheduled to be at home anyway and Pit only had one hour today because tomorrow is concert day so we kept him home to avoid being out in the fog. Now it is raining and we hope that it cuts through the smoke. So what to do on a rainy at home? The usual. Frunty just baked a carrot cake for tonight's party (Papa's colleagues are coming over for a big Italian feast) and Pit is playing with cars and sometimes resting as needed. Time for a bit of homework. And you know what, as usual, no one has asked for tv not once...and I pride ourselves on that. Hope you all have cleaner air where you live. It's nasty over here!

Baby Siena

It's always fun to visit a new baby. Today we met Papa's colleague's baby, Siena, who is a few months old and very beautiful. Mom and Dad are doing great it seems and have enjoyed some visits from family who flew over from Australia. We brought along a Lamaze Moose which Pit chose and a Thai lunch which Amy prepared. Afterwards, we went to the pool where the kids had such a good time with Papa and Uncle Sam while Auntie Sue and I chatted about babies, of course! Have fun with your moose, Siena, you gorgeous baby! We loved meeting you!

Nelly from Strasbourg

Today Nelly came over for a few hours of French on her way to the airport to fly to Phuket. She may or may not return to Singapore but at least we had the chance to meet her once during her year of traveling. We are fellow couch surfing friends and it was fun meeting in person. The easiest way to maintain our French would be to probably enroll at the Alliance Francaise. The problem is that it is far and goes late on a school night or takes up our weekend. I prefer the flexibility of having a babysitter/tutor or couchsurfing friend when it suits us. More work to arrange though but more exciting. Have fun in Thailand, Nelly, and hope to see you again!

Cops and Robbers

I took Pit to school today and he noticed the street sign post giving directions to the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC). He then proceeded to explain to me that the logo shows a policeman catching two robbers. We had a good conversation on this point.
"Papa?"
"Yes."
"Are there robbers in Singapore?"
"No. Not many."
"Can we see a robber in real life?"
"Well, maybe we can visit the police centre."
"I know! How about we dress in camouflage and wear black shoes and hide in the bushes at night. Then can we see a robber?"
"I don't think so. There are not many robbers in Singapore."
"Aww! I really want to see a robber in real-life."

Couch Surfing

Frunty, Pit and I joined Couchsurfing.com to correspond with people all over the world who love travelling like we do and just hosted an Indian woman from Qatar named Mary who left this morning after three nights with us. She is moving to Kolkata and has invited us to visit in the future. Mary was very friendly and brought date cookies from Qatar. En route from Bali back to Qatar, Mary had a worldwind tour of Singapore. Here is a picture of the 4 of us taken by Papa. I should say, the 6 of because if you look closely you'll see some furry, little creatures! Happy Travels and all the best, Mary!

Another great use for our garage!

Pit has learned how to ride his bike with Papa in our garage. Frunty joined afterwards. You may be surprised to see him in a fleecy with the hood on in this intense, tropical heat. Despite being under the weather, Frunty supported his brother by cycling beside him! Now back to bed, Frunts!!

A New Bike Rider!

Yeah, Pit has joined our family as a fellow bike rider...ready for Gramma and Grampa's visit when we will cycle to the East Coast together. That was what he told me yesterday with a big smile on his face as Papa helped Pit learn how to ride a bike. And he can't wait to practise again after school. For the longest time, Pit was quite happy with his training wheels. Papa helped give Pit an achievable goal by saying, "Let's get ready for Gramma and Grampa's visit. We need to practise cycling so you are ready!" And Pit said, "Ok!" And that was that!

Our Garage

There are many advantages to not having a car, especially for the planet. For our family, it means that we have a big, empty garage perfect for playing with boxes and doing messy crafts like spray painting! In the heat of the day, our shaded garage is a fun place to kick a ball around too! Papa and Pit are working on some surprises down there right now for Frunty who has a temperature...to cheer him up!

Frunty's First Job!

You are looking at my assistant, English teacher! In the photo he is in the process of helping our new student, Srihari from India, with his composition. Yes, Frunty has started to work! Once a week, he will assist me during the lesson by correcting pronunciation, encouraging our new student and supporting me.

I am so proud of Frunty because he took on this role naturally. After the lesson I realized that Frunty had actually assisted me throughout the lesson. Good job, Frunts!

Thanks for your help! You are a natural and taught very well.

New Friends

We are so lucky to have some new friends. Papa's colleague, Sam, was finally joined by his wife and son who had been living in Australia while he was living here in Singapore. Luckily they chose, coincidentally, to live at our condo and one day we saw them in the pool!

Killian is 5 years old and loads of fun!The three of them get along together really well...cross our fingers that they have more fun than friction. Although for boys, maybe the friction is fun!?!

We are very grateful to know this Irish-Australian family and enjoyed an outing to the cinema on Sunday to see "Alpha and Omega". With spontaneous
playdates and other planned activities, we look forward to lots of fun times ahead! Welcome to D'M!

Furry Gifts for Children's Day!

Children's Day Part Two

The children woke up this morning to find an extra special surprise at breakfast. You guessed it! A cage with two, baby hamsters inside. Boy, were they excited and had their names already for their new little friends: Sam and Bozo. (Sam is sometimes called "Ham".) Frunty is very good at catching these fast, little critters and putting them in their exercise balls, luckily. Pit is on his way too although last night I had to chase one of the hamsters outside on the back porch. I don't like squeezing them but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.

After breakfast and playing with cardboard boxes in the garage, I took the kids to Wet Wet Wild for fun in the sun. We came home and the kids played at their new friend's house, Killian, while I got ready to host Killian's folks and another family here in our home. We celebrated Children's Day together with a big, Indian feast and headed off to the pool for a night swim which is always magical.

Getting ready for a dinner party now means, for me, setting the table and making sure the flowers and my dress look just so. Seriously, there is more to it than that but seriously, I am grateful to have a helper! It was a really nice evening with new friends for which I am the most grateful.

Happy Anniversary to Nonna and Nonno, by the way, for 49 years of marriage. Well done...so far!