Weekend Adventures

This past weekend we were able to explore more of the country that we are living in. First we went to the Chinese and Japanese Gardens which are just on the other side of Jurong Lake. In some of the pictures I have posted in previous blogs you might be able to see the pagodas in the back ground.

I had see part of the gardens but Toby had not. Elyse enjoyed climbing up the steps to the pagodas and running across the bridges. We spent most of our time in the Japanese Gardens which is very peaceful. If it wasn't so hot, I could see myself reading or just hanging out in the gardens often.

In addition to the gardens, we went to Chinatown. When we exited the MRT station we were met by a street full of vendors. The were selling souvenirs, clothes, and food. There were a lot of tailors who would give Toby a good price on a suit as well.

We wandered around the vendors and then went to a Hindu temple and a Chinese temple. As we explored, we were lucky enough to see the Chinese New Year decorations through the streets. We only got to see a small part of the area. We will definitely go back.

Christmas Morning

We had a great Christmas morning. To begin with, Elyse gave us the gift of sleep. She slept an hour later than she normally does, so for that, Toby and I were grateful. When Elyse did wake up and went it to the living room, she was very excited about what she saw. She began to explore her presents. The first things she found was her new table and chairs from Grandma and Grandpa. Next she noticed something hidden under a blanket: her car. She found the horn and kept pushing it, laughing and running away, just to come back a push it some more. Eventually she lifted off the blanket and found Lightning McQueen waiting for her. She loves it. Her other favorite toy is the toy dog Aunt Pat and Uncle Don gave her. She points at it and says "dog" over and over.

Although we weren't around family we were able to talk to them which was wonderful. Overall it was a fantastic Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!

I Try

Today I tried another food activity: finger painting with pudding. At first Elyse would only touch the pudding with a spoon, but then she got the hang of it. It went better than the cookies, but it still ended with tears. She wanted the camera, and when I wouldn't give it to her, nothing made her happy. Perhaps these projects would go better without me taking pictures of them.

Random Thoughts

Here are just some random things I have being thinking about and noticing. They don't go together and might not make sense, but I thought I would share them with you:

1. Don't Singaporeans work? I was at the mall yesterday (Monday) at 2:30 and the mall was packed! It was like it would be in the States during the Christmas season. I don't understand how there can me that many people out and about on Monday afternoon!

2. I saw a guy with bright orange socks and a matching top. I don't think anyone will miss him as he goes for a run.

3. I've noticed a lot of parents here hold the wrist of their child instead of their hand as they lead them around.

4. The style for Indian men is to have a mustache.

5. I'm reading Exodus right now and I wonder why God is so exact in some areas "Have them make a chest of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. " (Ex. 25:10) and seem so vague in other areas.

6. Elyse doesn't like sand. I wonder what she'll do when we take her to the beach.

7. The other day I read my emails, got Elyse ready for the day, read Elyse at least 10 stories, went for a walk, went to Starbucks, went to the park, returned some library books and it was only 10:30. I feel like I had a full day and I it was still morning. I don't know how to fill my days. I get bored and restless.

....There is Elyse, I guess I better start my day.

New Dress

A friend of ours sent this beautiful Christmas dress for Elyse. Thanks Susan!

This is Fun?

So after seeing all these happy kids making cookies on other people's blogs, I decided it was Elyse's turn to have fun with cookie dough. I had finally gotten a mixer and gathered all the ingredients so we were set. I striped Elyse down so she wouldn't get her clothes dirty as she helped out.

All was going well until I pulled out the mixer. She saw it and started crying. I hadn't even started it yet. When I turned it on, the tears really began to flow. I guess it reminded her of the hairdryer which she is so afraid of.

I kept the mixer on until the butter and eggs were mixed in and then I decided to hand mix the rest. Elyse sort of liked helping with that. When the dough was done I put some in front of her and she did her "all done" sign and looked at me as if to say "you want me to touch this goo?" I did give her a spatula and she liked that for awhile. Needless to say this was not the experience I was hoping for. Oh well, at least the cookies turned out ok.

Tour of the Neighborhood

I realized I haven't posted any pictures of our neighborhood. So, here are some of the things we see around our home:

Our MRT station.

Inside the MRT. It wasn't very crowded.

Most Singaporeans live in HDBs which are large apt complexes.

Here is the one across the street from us.
This is a Chinese temple right across from the market.
We have a few markets close to us. There are many stores like this one. They occupy space inside and then spill out into the sidewalk area. This store sells household items.

Most Singaporeans frequent eating areas called hawker stands or coffee shops. The coffee shops are small versions of the hawker stands. They are like outdoor food courts. Here is one of many coffee shops by our apt.

This is one of the fruit markets by my house. I go to this area for my fruit most of the time.

Here are the vegetable stands I go to.

This is one of the wet markets by my house. They sell meat and fish. I have only bought meat here twice. I usually buy it from the supermarket.

So, that's a glimpse of what we see daily.

Christmas Dress

Grandma and Grandpa gave Elyse a very cute dress for Christmas. I think she looks great in it and so does Toby so we took some pictures, ok a lot of pictures, but I am just going to share a few. In these pictures you will see some of the faces that Elyse is making lately. I'm not sure where they came from. She has been doing the pucker face often. In the video she is twirling and then falls because she got herself dizzy. This is also something new.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Today we got our Christmas tree, but it wasn't as easy as we expected. Our plan was to go to IKEA, get our tree and be on our way but that's not what happened. When we got to IKEA we found out that they only had trees 3 meters high. They showed us the smallest one they had, but it was way to big for our apartment. I was very upset. I had my mind set on getting a Christmas tree (I even found eggnog the day before so we could drink it as we decorated) and it looked like that wasn't going to happen. I started to cry.

Luckily Toby remembered that they had trees at some nurseries on Thompson Road. Toby figured out how to get there and we were on our way, until we saw a traffic jam. I, again, was upset because part of the Christmas tree fun is getting the tree and I wasn't having fun. We were turning around when Toby realized that the nurseries weren't that far away, so we continued on and my mood was restored. We found a great tree (shipped from the US) and brought it home.

We decided to decorate the tree while Elyse was napping. We got out the eggnog began to decorate. It was a little slower than at home because the ornaments didn't have hooks. We had to tie fishing line together to hang them, but in the end we had a decorated tree, well half of a decorated tree since we didn't hand any ornaments on the back where we would never look.

When Elyse woke up, she was very curious about the tree. It was fun to see her look at it and point out all of the ornaments. So far she hasn't tried to take any of the ornaments off. We will see what tomorrow brings.

I am so happy that we found a tree! It smells and feels like Christmas (even if we are in our shorts).

Learning to Cook

Today a friend of mine who is Singaporean taught me how to make wantons. She brought over the stuff and in between entertaining our daughters, we made some pork wantons. It was very simple and very good. I will definitely make them again.

I am thankful that I have met a local to show me Singaporean stuff. She showed me around the market, answered my many questions and now has taught me how to cook. I look forward to learning more about Singapore and the people's way of life.

In Her Daddy's Shoes

Just One Stop Away

Guess where we went today.

Early Christmas Gift

The mall close to our house is expanding and included in the expansion is a STARBUCKS! I am so excited! Before I had to travel about 50 minutes to the nearest store which means being out of the house about 3 hrs (if I want to read a little). I wouldn't say I'm addicted to Starbucks, but it is one of my comfort foods/drinks. I really enjoy going to a Starbucks with a book and drinking a Chai. The new store (just one MRT stop away) opens Dec. 10. Merry Christmas to me!

Pony Tail

I tried putting Elyse's hair in a pony tail today. With the help of her existing pig tails, it stayed in for about 30 minutes, then she had three pig tails.

Grammy and Gramps

Toby's parents came for a visit on there way to the States for Christmas. We had a lot of fun while they were here. Elyse even got an early Christmas gift: a rocking chair. She loves it!

Here we are at the IMM playground:
Elyse in her rocking chair:

Grammy and Gramps reading one of Elyse's favorite books, What's up Duck?:

Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving didn't turn out like we had planned. We were invited to a friend's house to have the traditional dinner, but unfortunately Elyse and I got sick. Instead of turkey I had toast, Elyse had rice, and Toby ate the spinach cheese thing we were going to bring over to our friends. Oh, well. Even if the dinner wasn't traditional, we were still able to realize how thankful we are for the blessings in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

White Christmas?

I just saw chestnuts roasting out buy the MRT. Does that mean there will be a White Christmas here in Singapore? Perhaps not. Maybe it means there will be butter on the loose.

Dragon boats and a Merlion

This past weekend we wanted to explore Singapore a bit more. We decided to visit a place called Chijmes (pronounced 'chimes') which was once a church but now houses restaurants and shops that sell things from around Asia. We saw that it didn't open until 11, so we decided to go to the Boat Quay and see the Merlion which is the symbol of Singapore before Chijmes opened.

When we got off the MRT we noticed a big crowd by the river. It turned out that they were having dragon boat races. Dragon boats are these skinny boats that hold maybe 20 people seated with an oar each, a person standing in the back to steer, and a person in the front, seated, beating a drum. (You can look at the picture and see it better than I am explaining it).

These races were sprints. It was crazy. When we first watched it, we were by the finish line. As the boats approached you could here the drums and shouting getting louder and louder as the people rowed frantically. It was pretty cool. I guess in June (?) there is a dragon boat festival.

After watching the races we headed to the mouth of the Singapore River and saw the Merlion. Definitely the place to go for tourists. After we took part of the photo taking, we headed for Chijmes. When we got there it was 11:30 and only 2 restaurants were open. We ate and walked around a few shops until Elyse needed to go home for here nap. We only saw a part of Chijmes and hope to go back soon.

This is a video of the part of the race. It's not the best quality since I was zoomed in so close, but you can see how fast they were going and you can sort of here the drums. Also, look at how the drummers (on the front of the boat) are being jerked around as the the boat moves forward.

Showering Before Work

Today I joined the rest of the working world (or at least most of it), I had to shower and get dressed before I went to work. I was used to being in my PJs until about 9:00 and then I would shower and get dressed. What has changed you might ask? Well, Elyse has given up her first nap. When she napped, I would shower. Now if I want a shower I have to get up before her. Not that I stop being a mom during the night, but I still feel like I start "work" when Elyse gets up. Although I have to get up a bit earlier, I do think this new schedule will work well; we have the whole morning to go off and explore Singapore and visit friends.

Elyse, by the way, still doesn't have to get ready first thing in the morning.

E-I-E-I-O

Elyse has started lining up her farm animals around the apartment. I think it's cute.