Sunday, 25 September 2011
It's that time of year again!
The Formula 1 night race is here in Singapore again this year. Papa and Frunty are watching it downtown right now...5 laps to go. We did a baby switch at about 7pm when I met Papa with Frunty at Gate 7 in order to pick up Pit. Pit enjoyed watching a porsche race and an Angry Bird game show with Papa from 4-7pm. Frunty will see the grande finale but I don't know about any shows afterwards as it is a school night. Both boys were able to wear there Formula 1 baseball hats again this year so I was pretty thrilled! Our friends, the McMahons, went too and got us the tickets next to their seats. Boy, was it loud!
After I picked up Pit, we went clothes/shoe shopping and then looked every where for a Subway. In the end, Pit had a burger from Burger King. I had a very early dinner by the pool tonight as Frunty and I made a quick appearance at the twins' birthday party before heading downtown to meet Papa and Pit. The twins', Tristan and Kieran, live a few houses from our home. Along with karate this morning and house hunting, it was quite a busy day and I am ready for a big, long sleep! Good night!
p.s. Pit wants me to add that a porsche crashed near his seat. It was exciting and not scarey.
After I picked up Pit, we went clothes/shoe shopping and then looked every where for a Subway. In the end, Pit had a burger from Burger King. I had a very early dinner by the pool tonight as Frunty and I made a quick appearance at the twins' birthday party before heading downtown to meet Papa and Pit. The twins', Tristan and Kieran, live a few houses from our home. Along with karate this morning and house hunting, it was quite a busy day and I am ready for a big, long sleep! Good night!
p.s. Pit wants me to add that a porsche crashed near his seat. It was exciting and not scarey.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Riding bikes
I don't know how many bikes we now have in our garage. All second hand and all enjoyed by our family and those who visit. We just love bike riding and it is something I do almost everyday. I still miss my two Belgian bikes but alas, have moved on to old clunkers that no one wants to steal. Actually, we did have one stolen a few weeks ago but found it locked at the mrt. I promptly locked my own lock to it and wrote a note telling the culprit to take off his lock! He/she didn't so the police are now involved and our bike is at the station while the investigator does his job. Singapore is a serious place when it comes to crime!
Pit said on Thursday, "I am riding my bike to school today" and off we went for the first time! It sure was fun and a lot easier for me to ride without a 6 year old behind me!! And then afterschool, he wanted to ride his bike all the way to Simei along the park connector and back home again. He was unstoppable! And asked when he could ride his bike again. So it is Saturday and we will go for a family cycle later in the day when it cools down a bit. Good fun in the sun!
Pit said on Thursday, "I am riding my bike to school today" and off we went for the first time! It sure was fun and a lot easier for me to ride without a 6 year old behind me!! And then afterschool, he wanted to ride his bike all the way to Simei along the park connector and back home again. He was unstoppable! And asked when he could ride his bike again. So it is Saturday and we will go for a family cycle later in the day when it cools down a bit. Good fun in the sun!
Sunday, 18 September 2011
A busy weekend!
Our weekend started on Friday with our French atelier during which the boys enjoyed making gaufres, scorpion crafts and jumping in the pool. They also made some new friends from France who just joined the Agnes' club. Papa and I enjoyed our cocktails by the pool later that night while the boys had a night swim which is one of their favourite activities too!
On Saturday, the boys enjoyed karate as they did on Sunday as well. Some students visited from Japan and displayed their kata to us. That night, we went to Pit's school for a mooncake-lantern festival. The boys received a handled box full of goodies along with their lantern and moon cakes made with lotus and red bean pastes. Our kids sure eat everything now and I am so proud of their enthusiasm in all respects. During the festival, the children played a lot of great games.
Our highlight of the weekend was time spent at Frunty's classmate's home. Irfan and his family hosted us for an incredibly delicious Indian meal. Zeenat, Irfan's mom, made the meal without gi (clarified butter) so it was quite light compared to meals eaten at restaurants in Little India. We were thrilled to see the boys playing for roughly 5 hours without tv or computer! They played board games and wrote a script for their movie which they started to film with our little camera. Bravo guys! Finally a family on our wave length!
Some how we squeezed in roller blading and running also. And a trip to the dentist to perfect Frunty's new front tooth! (which was broken off during a slide ride in Phuket!) You can bet that after their shower, massage and story time in Italiano con Papa, the boys dreamily entered la-la land! Oh wait, in Singapore, it's lah-lah land!
(not crazy about the gun in the last picture but since Irfan's father is a police officer, we'll let that one go!)
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Highlights of our Phuket trip
We enjoyed watching our boys discover new hobbies, like scuba diving with instructor Sammy, and regular hobbies like cooking and fishing. For the first time, we ate the fresh fish the boys caught. One delicious mahi mahi and one delectable tuna that Ameer, the chief executive chef at the Moevenpick Phuket, grilled up for us two nights in a row! Only 3 mahi mahi were caught that day and all by Frunty! During our Thai cooking lesson near Kata Beach, the boys made Tom Yam soup, cashew chicken and one of their favourites, mango sticky rice! We cooked with Jennifer from Vancouver who enjoyed eating what we had created at lunchtime with Papa too, who joined us after a stroll around town. We were extremely lucky with the weather. It was rainy season but for our week in Thailand, we only got showers at night!
Monday, 12 September 2011
Visiting Papa's birthplace
One of the reasons Papa chose to celebrate his 40th in his birthplace was to show our boys where he was born and where he lived for the first year of his life. We had a really fun time walking down memory lane and that is particularly thanks to having Nonna and Nonno with us who made it extra special. Listening to their stories as we visited the hospital where Papa was born, walked through the park where his sisters used to play and where he was pushed in a stroller, seeing the condo where they lived on embassy row, made the whole experience really interesting.
Big surprise in Bangkok
Our trip from Singapore was uneventful but when we arrived in Bangkok, what a surprise awaited us! We entered our hotel room to find a big, surprise party organized by...nonna and nonno who flew from Toronto to celebrate Papa's 40th with us. Several Italian cousins and Thai friends were there too as they live in Bangkok. The food was incredible...all Italian nibblies. Nonna and Nonno also brought many treats from Toronto to make it a very special (and allergy-free party)!Thanks so much for such a special 40th which will never ever be forgotten. What a great example for Frunty and Pit of how fun spontaneity can be as Nonna and Nonno booked at the last minute!
Friday, 2 September 2011
Bangkok and Phuket: Part II of Papa's Birthday!
Tonight we are heading to Bangkok, Papa's birthplace, for a few days before flying to the island of Phuket to rest. It is part II of Papa's birthday. Monsoons have just hit Phuket and there were pretty serious floods. I mean, the wheels on trucks were under water in pictures we saw but we are hoping all of that is a thing of the past and we can enjoy some sunny, dry days at the beach! If not, we'll be happy to help the locals sweep our their shops/homes/restaurants etc.
It'll be fun visiting the Italian relatives in BKK who have some restaurants. We look forward to catching up with family and old friends like Khun Pakorn whom we visited in 1997! This time last year, I took the boys to Krabi, Thailand where we had great fun and were lucky with missing the worst of the monsoon weather. Let's hope the same is true this year!
It'll be fun visiting the Italian relatives in BKK who have some restaurants. We look forward to catching up with family and old friends like Khun Pakorn whom we visited in 1997! This time last year, I took the boys to Krabi, Thailand where we had great fun and were lucky with missing the worst of the monsoon weather. Let's hope the same is true this year!
Dancing at TPS
For Teacher's Day, our dance troupe performed a Jai Ho, bollywood dance. It was quite fun and somehow, I managed to perform and enjoy the experience to the fullest despite having a fever! I came home afterwards and slept about 16 hours! When I was dancing, I was thinking about all the teachers in the world, myself included. Most of us try so hard to, as the principal said in her speech, "make a difference."
Afterwards, the part of the principal's speech which affected me the most was when she said, and I paraphrase,
there was a time when a student's character was more important than his/her grades.
I recalled the moms who sat around talking yet again about their childrens' grades and about the last test and the next exam. I remembered how one mom came very late to dance practise because she was phoning her family in India about the latest test "scores". Each time, I smile and congratulate. Until the teacher comes up to me after a performance and says, "Frunty did not do so well on his tests". Then I smile but inside, I crack.
I don't expect, "nice dance!" after I have sweated through the performance with my fever. But I also don't expect talking about test scores during a party. Enough is enough.
This morning, I phoned a mom to coordinate a get-together in Phuket only to be reminded that our children must study during the break. And then, the admission. Her son got almost perfect test scores because she got her hands on (purchased?) some previous tests which had, she said, "the exact same questions."
Frunty- you studied hard. We helped you balance your studies with sports and play time, travel and adventures. In my eyes, you did well because you juggled everything to the best of your abilities with the pressure you face. A classroom packed with competitive students and a very loud fan that makes teachers have to yell while teaching. You came home and worked on and off-line. I am proud of you regardless of your scores. NEGU. Never ever give up.
Yesterday, after the party, one of Frunty's classmates also ran over to me.
Jeffrey: "Hi, Mrs. S."
Me: "Hi, Jeffrey! How's it going?"
Jeffrey: "Got really good test scores, lah. F not good."
Me: (silence) "Well, good job! See you later, Jeffrey."
How he found out Frunty's test scores, who knows? I do know though that I am going to have to calm down. And keep dancing in the face of fire.
Click on:
Afterwards, the part of the principal's speech which affected me the most was when she said, and I paraphrase,
there was a time when a student's character was more important than his/her grades.
I recalled the moms who sat around talking yet again about their childrens' grades and about the last test and the next exam. I remembered how one mom came very late to dance practise because she was phoning her family in India about the latest test "scores". Each time, I smile and congratulate. Until the teacher comes up to me after a performance and says, "Frunty did not do so well on his tests". Then I smile but inside, I crack.
I don't expect, "nice dance!" after I have sweated through the performance with my fever. But I also don't expect talking about test scores during a party. Enough is enough.
This morning, I phoned a mom to coordinate a get-together in Phuket only to be reminded that our children must study during the break. And then, the admission. Her son got almost perfect test scores because she got her hands on (purchased?) some previous tests which had, she said, "the exact same questions."
Frunty- you studied hard. We helped you balance your studies with sports and play time, travel and adventures. In my eyes, you did well because you juggled everything to the best of your abilities with the pressure you face. A classroom packed with competitive students and a very loud fan that makes teachers have to yell while teaching. You came home and worked on and off-line. I am proud of you regardless of your scores. NEGU. Never ever give up.
Yesterday, after the party, one of Frunty's classmates also ran over to me.
Jeffrey: "Hi, Mrs. S."
Me: "Hi, Jeffrey! How's it going?"
Jeffrey: "Got really good test scores, lah. F not good."
Me: (silence) "Well, good job! See you later, Jeffrey."
How he found out Frunty's test scores, who knows? I do know though that I am going to have to calm down. And keep dancing in the face of fire.
Click on:
