Today we saw a lovely production of Charlotte's Web at the Ulu Pandaan CC near Holland Village. The theatre was ice cold, that was my only complaint. Otherwise, it was such a wonderful adaptation and Frunty said he preferred to see live theatre versus movies. Afterwards the four of us headed to Cha Cha Cha, a Mexican restaurant nearby, for corn tortillas and lime margheritas. It was funny because the rat in Charlotte's Web named Templeton kept saying "cha cha cha" when he came on stage. The kids were thrilled to see this rat waiting for a taxi outside after the show!
Grampa: the kids remembered watching the movie with you!
Yesterday I took Frunty to see an English production of Gruffalo at the Alliance Francaise Theatre. His ticket was a birthday gift from our friends, Antje and her boys. I was able to get a last-minute ticket. It was a really fun show too. We look forward to future performances. And in the meantime, I think I will enrol the kids at the A.F to continue their French in a more formal setting as our French babysitter prepares to head home!
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Friday, 21 May 2010
The SKCF
Or maybe the KCFS. We have not decided on our group's name yet but basically, it stands for:
Korean-Canadian Special Fridays
The last Friday of each month, Hyun-Jee, her son, Sung Wan, the kids and I have a special, celebratory, after-school outting. We have gone for foot massages followed by Korean BBQ, the science center and sushi and are looking forward to Snow City once they bring back their winter coats after the June holiday. Today we went to see the latest Shrek movie which we all thoroughly enjoyed and then had sushi at Tampines Mall #1.
I know, it is not the last Friday but this month, we had to celebrate early as Hyun-Jee could only get flights to Seoul for Tuesday. Sung-Wan will miss a few days of school but not our CKFS day since we held it early!
Speaking of June holidays, we have a great month planned with time in Singapore to use our friends' cards (how many do we have now?! Free admission to so many places by now!) And time for some homework too.
I am taking the kids for 5 days to Borneo (Malaysia) to visit an orangutan sanctuary, see proboscis monkeys and fireflies. Then the 4 of us head down to Bali and over to the Gili Islands for our three birthdays! Island-hopping here we come!
(We've booked Amy for two weeks back home with her family.)
All of this excitement is pretty fun over here. Keeps the spirits high!
Korean-Canadian Special Fridays
The last Friday of each month, Hyun-Jee, her son, Sung Wan, the kids and I have a special, celebratory, after-school outting. We have gone for foot massages followed by Korean BBQ, the science center and sushi and are looking forward to Snow City once they bring back their winter coats after the June holiday. Today we went to see the latest Shrek movie which we all thoroughly enjoyed and then had sushi at Tampines Mall #1.
I know, it is not the last Friday but this month, we had to celebrate early as Hyun-Jee could only get flights to Seoul for Tuesday. Sung-Wan will miss a few days of school but not our CKFS day since we held it early!
Speaking of June holidays, we have a great month planned with time in Singapore to use our friends' cards (how many do we have now?! Free admission to so many places by now!) And time for some homework too.
I am taking the kids for 5 days to Borneo (Malaysia) to visit an orangutan sanctuary, see proboscis monkeys and fireflies. Then the 4 of us head down to Bali and over to the Gili Islands for our three birthdays! Island-hopping here we come!
(We've booked Amy for two weeks back home with her family.)
All of this excitement is pretty fun over here. Keeps the spirits high!
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Singaporean School System
Well...big, sigh. What can I say? So far I haven't said much on my blog but I would like to chronicle todays conversation with Pit's K1 teacher, Ms. Gan, who has been concerned in the past but now is "very worried" that Pit will not be able to "cope with spelling."
First of all, for the record, we are practising spelling, math, reading etc. and learning an instrument. Pit's Italian is coming along, he still remembers French and is learning a bit of Mandarin and Tagalog. His swimming is very good as is his yoga. Frunty is teaching him some karate. I am so proud of him in many ways and find him to be quite well-rounded. Pit is interested in learning what we are doing in the kitchen too and helping when he can.
Today Ms. Gan informed me that she is very worried that Pit will not be able to cope with spelling and that the little boy beside him, Justin from China, has been trained "very well by his parents." I guess it depends how you define "trained." I could have responded:
"You are very concerned with Pit. Thanks for sharing your feelings. Do you need a hug?" (I learned this lingo in the Positive Parenting book) But I am not her parent so I tried to explain very briefly that we have a different philosophy for our kids which does not include just studying and we think that Pit will be just "fine".
I type this as Frunty is just finishing his "mid-term exams." Deep breath. Take a deep breath, Momma!
First of all, for the record, we are practising spelling, math, reading etc. and learning an instrument. Pit's Italian is coming along, he still remembers French and is learning a bit of Mandarin and Tagalog. His swimming is very good as is his yoga. Frunty is teaching him some karate. I am so proud of him in many ways and find him to be quite well-rounded. Pit is interested in learning what we are doing in the kitchen too and helping when he can.
Today Ms. Gan informed me that she is very worried that Pit will not be able to cope with spelling and that the little boy beside him, Justin from China, has been trained "very well by his parents." I guess it depends how you define "trained." I could have responded:
"You are very concerned with Pit. Thanks for sharing your feelings. Do you need a hug?" (I learned this lingo in the Positive Parenting book) But I am not her parent so I tried to explain very briefly that we have a different philosophy for our kids which does not include just studying and we think that Pit will be just "fine".
I type this as Frunty is just finishing his "mid-term exams." Deep breath. Take a deep breath, Momma!
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Gramma's Jam
Pit's last words to me before I left him all snuggly in his bed were, "I can't wait til the next time I can have some of Gramma's jam." He was quite chatty after story time and in a quiet voice said he is just waiting and waiting for Nonna and Nonno to come and see his new home. And he wants to have a sleep over again with Grampa. And Frunty's prayer was beautiful. Part of it had to do with thanking God for his "mommy who makes a beautiful home." Honestly, I was so completely touched. I am writing all of this down for me because I never want to forget the sweetest boys I am sure I will ever know. I feel so grateful.
Our family has started taking music lessons together. Papa missed the first lesson but caught up afterwards and somehow can already play songs. We are not going to tell what instrument we are all learning. I was so surprised to hear Pit practising long after the teacher left our home. His tiny fingers working as well as his brain to make "music". And Frunty says he loves our teacher. I think Rick is pretty great too.
Anyone who is interested in a free concert can skype us when they have time and you can discover one of our new hobbies. Sure makes family time even more fun!!
Our family has started taking music lessons together. Papa missed the first lesson but caught up afterwards and somehow can already play songs. We are not going to tell what instrument we are all learning. I was so surprised to hear Pit practising long after the teacher left our home. His tiny fingers working as well as his brain to make "music". And Frunty says he loves our teacher. I think Rick is pretty great too.
Anyone who is interested in a free concert can skype us when they have time and you can discover one of our new hobbies. Sure makes family time even more fun!!
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Happy Birthday boys!
Since the month of June is a school holiday in Singapore, we decided to have the kids' joint birthday party yesterday, May 15th. As I write this, I realize it was the second anniversary of Mowgli's death...rest his soul. So yesterday we celebrated their birthdays and Mowgli's life!
We invited some friends from school and from our condo and hired a magician/clown named Richard who arrived with amazing balloons, his wife and son who all participated in the show. Plus his bird, Kiki. His show was just marvelous. Really great tricks and funny too.
When the guests arrived, they found their framed photo with respective birthday boy on the table. They proceeded to decorate the frames. Then they decorated cookies, yes, allergy free ones. Then it was the magic show and cupcake time followed by a couple of rounds of Pass-the-Parcel and then, to top things off, a nice swim together. Luckily we have life jackets because one of Pit's friends could not swim. We borrowed a cooler from Adam's family and had ice cold drinks. What a treat!
A few guests could not come due to fevers. Pity. It was such a nice party and we were lucky the weather was so good. I am really appreciative that we could rent the party room beside the pool where we stayed cool while doing crafts, magic show and birthday cake time and then, when the sun was safer, jump into the pool. What a great venue and I know Frunty and Pit had a ball just as we did. We were happy some parents stayed to help out especially with pool safety. Here is a list of our guests who attended so we don't forget:
Aaron (Indonesia-England)
Adam (England)
Amelia (Singaporean) and her sisters, Rachel and Michelle
Faith (Singaporean) and her brother
Frunty (Canada)
Pit (Belgium-Canada)
Soha-Abby (India)
Sung Wan (Korea)
The themes were, by the way, space ships(Frunty's choice) and aliens (Pit's choice). What was funny was how the frosting slid off the cupcakes and how quickly the balloons lost air because of the heat.
Today we took Flat Stanley who is visiting us from Washington to our Buddhist Temple, the Singapore Flyer and onto the new bridge without a name. I am tired now but happy to have had such a nice weekend.
p.s. Pit says his hometown is Brussels. Hence the Belgium-Canada in brackets.
We invited some friends from school and from our condo and hired a magician/clown named Richard who arrived with amazing balloons, his wife and son who all participated in the show. Plus his bird, Kiki. His show was just marvelous. Really great tricks and funny too.
When the guests arrived, they found their framed photo with respective birthday boy on the table. They proceeded to decorate the frames. Then they decorated cookies, yes, allergy free ones. Then it was the magic show and cupcake time followed by a couple of rounds of Pass-the-Parcel and then, to top things off, a nice swim together. Luckily we have life jackets because one of Pit's friends could not swim. We borrowed a cooler from Adam's family and had ice cold drinks. What a treat!
A few guests could not come due to fevers. Pity. It was such a nice party and we were lucky the weather was so good. I am really appreciative that we could rent the party room beside the pool where we stayed cool while doing crafts, magic show and birthday cake time and then, when the sun was safer, jump into the pool. What a great venue and I know Frunty and Pit had a ball just as we did. We were happy some parents stayed to help out especially with pool safety. Here is a list of our guests who attended so we don't forget:
Aaron (Indonesia-England)
Adam (England)
Amelia (Singaporean) and her sisters, Rachel and Michelle
Faith (Singaporean) and her brother
Frunty (Canada)
Pit (Belgium-Canada)
Soha-Abby (India)
Sung Wan (Korea)
The themes were, by the way, space ships(Frunty's choice) and aliens (Pit's choice). What was funny was how the frosting slid off the cupcakes and how quickly the balloons lost air because of the heat.
Today we took Flat Stanley who is visiting us from Washington to our Buddhist Temple, the Singapore Flyer and onto the new bridge without a name. I am tired now but happy to have had such a nice weekend.
p.s. Pit says his hometown is Brussels. Hence the Belgium-Canada in brackets.
Monday, 10 May 2010
More Mother's Day celebrations
I thought that I had written all there was to be written about yesterday but alas, Papa surprised us by announcing an adventure to the Kallang Leisure Park for a sushi lunch, to purchase authentic mexican corn tortillas and to check out part two of my gift: a Karaoke box. Okay, that is just plain fun.
After all that jazz, we went to Parkway Parade for a sushi dinner (we never get tired of sushi, in case you hadn't noticed) and a visit to some of our favourite shops, including Borders. You know, the usual mall culture. I had so much fun with my boys that I did not slip away, as I had intended to, for my foot massage. I'll have to do that tomorrow. You know you've been in Singapore too long when you turn down a massage!! Maybe we are just so relaxed now (nearly comatose from the heat) that we don't have the same need for a massage as when we arrived, all stressed-out from the western world? Who knows!?
Have you walked into a sauna and thought you could only last 10 minutes tops?
I was thrilled to send and receive Mother's day wishes to and from friends and family in Toronto, Brussels and Singapore. People that make time to call or write...that is so appreciated! Thank you!
After all that jazz, we went to Parkway Parade for a sushi dinner (we never get tired of sushi, in case you hadn't noticed) and a visit to some of our favourite shops, including Borders. You know, the usual mall culture. I had so much fun with my boys that I did not slip away, as I had intended to, for my foot massage. I'll have to do that tomorrow. You know you've been in Singapore too long when you turn down a massage!! Maybe we are just so relaxed now (nearly comatose from the heat) that we don't have the same need for a massage as when we arrived, all stressed-out from the western world? Who knows!?
Have you walked into a sauna and thought you could only last 10 minutes tops?
I was thrilled to send and receive Mother's day wishes to and from friends and family in Toronto, Brussels and Singapore. People that make time to call or write...that is so appreciated! Thank you!
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Catching Up
We "lived" together in Waterloo, Montreal, and Switzerland and now, as fate would have it, have run into each other in Singapore! Yes, I am talking about long-time friends, the Williamsons. Yesterday we met up for a delicious sushi lunch and a fun time in an indoor play zone. Perfect because it had been raining. Afterwards, they came to our home for dinner. It was fun catching up!
They are on the same "diet" as we are so it sure was fun comparing notes, sharing ideas and support.
Happy Mother's Day to all the special moms I know. I got breakfast in bed and a lovely gift...a Tempur pillow. So soft! Hope everyone has a great day too!
They are on the same "diet" as we are so it sure was fun comparing notes, sharing ideas and support.
Happy Mother's Day to all the special moms I know. I got breakfast in bed and a lovely gift...a Tempur pillow. So soft! Hope everyone has a great day too!
