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!

Children's Day 2010

PSG members organized games and gave prizes to all students today during the Children's Day celebration at Tampines Primary School.

I really liked how Frunty's classmate, Aquil, made his own Ratatouille costume using cardboard. He was really cute as was Frunty in army costume which he and I shared today. (Frunty and Pit found real, Singapore army fatigues in the garbage at our condo last year.)

Today we celebrated Children's Day at Tampines Primary school. Dressed-up parent volunteers created various games and gave prizes to the students from P1-6. I was in charge of the dress-up booth but when they saw my costume, the other PSG members encouraged me to help with the war games: students shooting suction cup darts onto a poster. It turned out well as Frunty and his friends were hanging out at the war booth! Frunty and Pit enjoyed trying the different games, receiving their stamps and picking up their prizes. All of this was followed by a show performed by the principal and the teachers in which they danced and karaoked on stage. Tomorrow both boys have the day off and Papa will stay home for a big surprise x 2...stay tuned!

Formula 1: Saturday and Sunday

Papa and the kids enjoyed their days together at the Formula 1. Watching the cars, eating great snacks, walking around to see different views, it was a special weekend for sure.

On Saturday night, Papa and I went together, watched some practises and a bit of the Adam Lambert show.

Sunday night, Frunty did not want the party to end and stayed right til the end, listening to Mariah Carey as they headed to the MRT for the journey home. An experience of a lifetime!

Photos from Formula 1: Friday Night

It was hard to get good photos of these cars whizzing by! Luckily we sat near a corner on the circuit so the cars had to slow down a bit.

Mommy waiting for the race practise to begin, in my Formula 1 gear.

Before the race practise, Frunty ready to enjoy his limited edition, special Formula 1 treat in his new race cap.

Formula 1 Fever

Last year, we had just arrived when the Formula 1 kicked off so we watched it lazily on tv. This year, we got the amazing opportunity to actually attend the three days of practises and races. It was very exciting, very loud, and really "cool". (although very hot and humid!)

On Friday night, I took Frunty. We stopped for pastries in the shape of Formula 1 race cars and got take-out sushi. We really enjoyed the BMWs, Porsches, whizzing by and Frunty was able to stay up long enough to see the actual practises. We also saw two shows, a dirt bike performance and a group of musicians called Escala.

On Saturday, Papa took the red eye back to Singapore from India and after a good nap, took Pit to the Formula 1. Again, pastries on the way! (by the way, we try to stick to our diet as much as possible but the occasional treat is sweet!)

On Sunday, Papa took Frunty. They stayed right til the very end of the race and Frunty seemed happy that Alonso from the Ferrari team won! As they headed to the MRT, they could hear the Mariah Carey concert. Frunty stood beside my bed at some unearthly hour and said something to me. I think I heard the word "exciting". Even though he was clearly very tired this morning as he ate breakfast before school, he regaled me with all kinds of info about burning cars and other mishaps and triumphs along the circuit.

We appreciated calls from Nonna Lili, Max and Emi in Turin to chat about the Formula 1. They were watching it too. Pit and I were watching it on tv. So we all had the fever! Nonna and Nonno also called to touch base on Zia Monica's birthday. We do not get a lot of phone calls so when we do, it really is very special and I was happy to hear Pit speaking Italian so well and was surprised at my own abilities to chat! What a great weekend!