GLEEful Weekend

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Singapore Botanic Garden, Orchid National Garden


Water play at the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden



Brandon with Daddy's new stylish headphones

Today, Steven wanted to check out the Singapore Botanic Garden, and I wanted to check out the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden. The gardens are right next to each other, so we took a cab to the "adult" garden first. The garden is so fantastic, and there is so much to see. I enjoyed my second trip to the garden just as much, if not more, as my first trip there. We went through the bonzai garden and the cactus garden. We saw the National Flower of Singapore, a hybrid orchid called "Vanda Miss Joaquim". Unfortunately, there were currently no flowers in bloom. They do grow throughout the year, so hopefully we can see them on another trip to the garden. We also saw a "rubber tree". When this tree is cut, it exudes a sticky substance that is the raw material for natural rubber. There was a actually a sign next to the tree asking people not to take pieces of the tree for latex.

Since Steven was with us this time at the garden, we did pay to visit the National Orchid Garden. Wow. So many different orchids and so many different colors. Such a perfect flower.

I found out last week that Andrea Bocelli is performing at the ampitheater in the botanic garden in early May!!! It's a free concert. However, because it will be so popular, they opened up a lottery for tickets on the internet. You had to submit your name, and then in a week or so, they will let you know if you were chosen for tickets. Unfortunately, I missed the deadline for submitting my name... :( I wonder if there is a way to buy tickets from people who get them free? I am sooooo sad!!! I told Steven that if I could go to this concert, it would quite possibly be my most memorable moment during my stay here in Singpore. It's possible that it would be one of the most memorable events of my life too. :) I LOVE Andrea! I'll keep you posted on the tickets. I'm not holding my breath. Part of me even wishes I hadn't found out about the concert... :)

We walked from the botanic garden to the children's garden. We didn't plan to stay long at the children's garden, but we wanted to let Brandon run around and play for a while before heading home. I have heard so many great things about the children's garden. As soon as we walked into the garden, we saw a water play area for children with several fountains spraying water. Pot of gold!!! Brandon went wild! We spent enough time there that we didn't see any more of the garden. We'll be back there several more times!!!

Busy, busy, busy. We were really hoping to have a few down hours later in the afternoon. However, Brandon woke up pretty cranky from his nap. The only thing that he seemed to want was to go "bye bye". I guess we'd be walking some more!!!

We decided to take a different walking route to the Forum to let Brandon play. There is a street here called "One Tree Hill", so we took a short stroll on it. Couldn't pass it up. :)

At the Forum, I saw a woman that I've run into three times now at a couple of different play areas. Found out that she lives very close to the new apartment that we're looking at. I think that many people I am meeting live in the new area, so moving could cut down on some cabs and/or cab costs for me.

After dinner, I had to grab an ice cream sandwich from one of the hawkers on Orchard Road. We watched the Singapore episode of The Amazing Race, and I was curious about whether or not they actually put the ice cream on a slice of bread. So, they pull out a big block of ice cream, cut a slab of it off, and slap it either in a slice of bread or between two wafers. The one I got was in wafers. Pretty good!

Before heading home, we walked to the grocery. It was nice having Steven's help there! An extra set of hands for help with Brandon and for carrying the groceries.

I've noticed that the eggs in the grocery stores here are kept at room temperature. A little weird. I bought some eggs for the first time yesterday, so we'll see how it goes. :)

I was happy to find Brandon's favorite rice cracker at the grocery. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the crackers are called "Mum Mums" at home, but "Baby Bites" here. Same, same, but different!

On our way home from the grocery, it was just starting to get dark outside. It felt so nice to be out after dark. There a nice breeze, and the weather was very pleasant. I think that we need a date night soon! I've had several babysitter recommendations from people I've met. Maybe we'll try one of them.



A little behind on getting my blogs up this weekend. I was treasuring my time with Steven. Plus, we started to watch Glee from the very first episode. This weekend, we've been trying to catch up on the show while Brandon is napping and sleeping. We are addicted!!! Steven is up to episode 11, and I'm up to 8. He watches some while I'm sleeping, so I'll have to catch up while he's at work. Like I said, it was a very, very GLEEful weekend!!!

Saturday!

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Brandon sleeping like a big boy! He now sleeps on his back instead of on his belly!

Brandon and his cute little naked body

Shopping Gallery near Tanglin Mall. I loved the architecture!

This morning we were in the mood for a good breakfast, so we walked to a place that was recommended to us by a friend. We were told that they had good crispy bacon. Yummmm!

We're still getting use to the business hours here in S'pore. Most businesses don't open until 10 - 11 am. As we arrived at Dome before it opened at 10:30, we had to let Brandon run around in the mall a bit to kill time. He didn't mind. :)

The breakfast was indeed yummy. I especially liked my cappucino. I've been loving those here lately.

After breakfast, we took a cab to check out the apartment that we have the option of moving to. We both like our current apartment and location, so we don't want to move unless the new place is much nicer. We both liked the new apartment quite a bit! It is in a newer building, and the serviced apartment has many more amenities. For example, the new place has maid service more days of the week, and it has an included continental breakfast Monday through Friday. Hard to pass that up! There is one more apartment we might look into this week. We're thinking that we'll do the move though.

The new apartment has a free shuttle that leaves every hour and has several drop off locations on Orchard Road. As we were leaving the new apartment building, we planned to take the shuttle part of the way home. We got on the bus, sat for a few minutes waiting for it to leave, and then decided to walk instead. We were curious about the new neighborhood and how far we will be walking to things if we move. As we walked out onto the street, we weren't sure what direction was best, so I stopped a woman on the street to ask for directions. She was also American and very friendly. It was the funniest thing; I have to laugh at the timing. If we would have taken the shuttle, we never would have talked to this woman. It turns out that her husband and son were ETHS grads! Small, small world! The woman's husband is no longer living, and she is only in Singapore for a short time. She does come here often on business though. She and Steven exchanged business cards. Maybe we will connect again someday either here or in the U.S.

After Brandon's nap, we all went for a swim. I really did feel like I was on vacation while we were down at the pool. Hot weather, palm trees, a refreshing swim. It's strange to live in a place with this weather. I think it's great that we are getting to experience this different life here. I do miss the seasons back home though. Right now, the weather is starting to get nice, and I miss taking Brandon to outdoor parks in the middle of the afternoon. Most of the play that Brandon is doing here is indoors. We are outside a lot, but mainly just when we're walking. I could definitely let Brandon play outside here, but it would probably be best to go very early in the morning. It's just not as comfortable as a nice cool spring day in Chicago. We haven't adjusted to this climate quite yet.

In the late afternoon, we took a cab to Tanglin Mall. It was our first visit to the mall, and it seemed very kid friendly. Brandon played in some of the toy stores there before we went to dinner.

We are doing so much walking here. It is great, but it is very exhausting!!! By the end of the day, I am cashed!

Brandon finally cut his fourth molar! Yay! I hope that the teething and pain subsides for a while.

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Friday Play

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Brandon at our playdate

Brandon playing in one of our cabinets

Last night was the best night of sleep Brandon has ever had! He slept from 7:30 pm to 6:45 am without waking up once!!! Wow! I wish that I could have gone to bed a little earlier and slept well too. Maybe Brandon will do it again tonight???

This morning, Brandon and I went to a playdate with the same group from last Friday. It is so nice for people to invite us into their homes. It's a great, safe place for Brandon to play, there are new toys, and there are other kids! Brandon plays so well when there are other children. I'm able to enjoy myself and talk to other adults too! We are both happy! It is so much harder when our playdates are at coffee shops or restaurants. Still fun, but harder on both of us.

This afternoon, we were invited to play at Royce's gym. It's basically a big play area with lots of toys and things to climb on. There were three other women there from the AWA. I also ran into a woman that I met last week at the Forum. She introduced me to a couple of her friends. I hope to meet up with her soon.

It is really difficult not having a car. While it is a luxury and not necessary, it would be really helpful. I can walk to most things, but today I had to take a cab to the morning playdate and the afternoon playdate. I walked part of the way, first, this morning before jumping in a cab. That was nice. And, this afternoon, I could have probably taken the train, but I wasn't quite sure how far of a walk the gym was from the train. It was looking like rain, and I didn't want to get stuck in a downpour. At home, it is so easy to throw everything in the car and put Brandon in his car seat. Here, I have to carry everything. Also, it's not easy having Brandon on my lap in the cabs. He is squirmy, and he doesn't love being strapped down to me. I do my best to entertain him with snacks, toys, and anything else. Even though the cab rides are cheap, I hate spending money on them.

I was talking to more people about helpers today. While it would be nice to have someone cook, clean, do our laundry, and look after Brandon some, I just don't think that I want to get use to something like that. It's not something that I'm going to have when we return to Chicago, and I don't want to come to expect that someone cook Brandon's food for him. Yes, it would be nice. But, I like being self-sufficient. Plus, even though helpers are cheap, they still aren't free. It would be really nice to get Steven's law school loans completely paid off very soon instead!

Brandon was rather fussy today when we were at home. He has another cold... Big sigh... So, I think that his nose is bothering him. When we're at home and he is a little bored, he has time to think about the fact that he's not feeling 100%. Plus, I'm in the process of weening Brandon right now. It's really not been that bad... We are down to nursing only one time a day, which is right before bed. I thought it would be hard to cut out the feeding before the nap, but it wasn't. I just take Brandon out in the mornings and wear him out so he is exhausted and crashes for his nap. :)

The bedroom that Brandon is sleeping in has his crib and two single beds. This afternoon, I had the managment send a couple of people to remove one of the beds. I wanted to give Brandon more space in his room for play. Taking out the bed really opened up the room! I moved Brandon's new ABC playmat into his bedroom, and now it feels even more like it could be Brandon's room.

We are really enjoying our time here in Singapore. However, I do miss the comforts of home - my car, the rest of our stuff, our bed, our family and friends. It takes time for new places to feel like home. People keep telling me that in six months I will love it here and want to stay. Yes, Singapore is great, and I do expect that I will love it even more with time. But, it is just so far away from family and friends, and we are so close to those people. I'm sure that when expats stay in foreign countries for so long, their friends do become their family. But, the distance is hard.

Not sure that we will move to another apartment, but we might look at a few more this weekend. I love our current location. So, if the other apartments are much like the one we're in, then I think we'll stay where we are. If one of them is much nicer and/or larger than where we are, then we might consider moving for the rest of our stay.

While Brandon napped today, I watched the last episode of Survivor on our Slingbox. It was awesome! The quality wasn't bad at all today. Loved watching one of our shows!!!

Hopefully this weekend we can stock up on some more food for the apartment. It's been really hard to cook, and I feel bad about that - especially for Brandon. I have been trying to feed him a healthy, well-balanced diet, but it is soooo hard. We haven't completely settled in yet, and I feel out of place in my own kitchen. So many things to buy before I can think about my cooking options. Been a little bummed about that...

So, one new think with Brandon - We have been giving him iron drops since we found out he was anemic at his 12 month appointment. He hated the drops! For over a month, twice a day, I have had to sit on Brandon, literally, to hold him down. Then, I have had to squeeze him mouth open, jam the drops in, and then hold his mouth closed so he doesn't spit out the vitamins. All of a sudden, Brandon decided yesterday that he wasn't going to fight me anymore!!!??? Why now? Just weird... I still lay him down, but I don't have to hold him down. I say, "Aaahhh" and down he takes them. Strange...

Looking forward to the weekend!

AWA

This morning, Brandon and I met the AWA playgroup at The Coffee Club at the Forum. This week there were some new moms there, and it was so nice to meet them and their little ones. It's such a small world... One of the moms there today knows the mom who lives one floor below us. The three of us are going to get together next week for breakfast.

After hanging out at The Coffee Club, some of us went up to the play area in the mall. I am so thankful for that place! Brandon loves it!

This afternoon, Brandon and I spent some time at the pool. I think he actually likes his life vest now. Before we left to go down to the pool, he handed me the life vest to put it on him. There were more kids down at the pool today. One little girl had a ball with her. Brandon was eyeing that ball down! The girl was so nice; she shared her ball with Brandon. He was so happy!

Great end to the day - Brandon and I took the train down to meet Steven for dinner again. So nice to have that time with him.

Oops! I forgot to take any pictures today! First day since we've been here... Oh, well. Got a good video. Brandon is taking more of an interest in little cars. Vroom vroom!

Little India

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Little India

Brandon in his new life jacket. He loves it! :)

This morning our lives were changed. Steven's brother hooked up a Slingbox for us at his house, and now we can watch American television! Thank you soooo much, Jer! We have set up a couple of season passes on the Tivo, and we can't wait to watch our shows. The only shows we have been able to keep up with here are American Idol and Glee. We never had the chance to watch Glee at home, but now I am addicted!

Today, Brandon and I didn't have any playdate plans, so when we walked Steven to the MRT we decided to get on the train too. We took the red line with Steven for one stop, and then we switched to the purple line for one stop. We got off at the Little India stop.

Little India was definitely different than the other parts of Singapore that we've seen. It was clean, but it didn't seem as clean as some other parts of the city. While I did see one mall, most of the shopping was markets (food, clothes, etc.). Many little stores were selling produce, and the prices were better than in the big grocery stores I've visited. There were clothing stands and souvenir stands. I didn't buy anything, but I was wondering if Little India is a place where you can negotiate prices. I'll have to find out.

There were so many food stands, and even though it was a bit before lunch I wanted to try something tasty. But, I'm going to be honest. There were some good smells and some bad smells, and overall nothing smelled very appetizing. I really wanted to be brave and just order something and try it, but I couldn't do it. Maybe next time. It's funny. I might have done better if Steven had been with us. While Steven is the pickier eater, he is often the one who is more willing to try something. I did stop at a juice stand and get a apple-beet-carrot juice. It was tasty, but a little to beety for me. At least I tried something, right?

Brandon got up a little too early this morning, and he crashed in the stroller a couple of hours before when he normally takes his nap. He woke up when we got back on the MRT, so I decided to stay out and go to the Paragon on Orchard Road so he could play.

On the way to the Paragon, I stopped at 7-Eleven and got my cell phone hooked up. Yay! Now I have a phone!

When we got to the Paragon, Brandon and I ran into two moms and babies that we had met on Monday. They were having coffee and asked us to join. Such a nice surprise for our day! They met each other in Singapore, but they are both from South Africa.

After letting Brandon run some energy out at the mall, we headed to Toys-R-Us. I bought Brandon a life jacket since he has been so crazy at the pool lately. I also bought him an alpahbet floor mat and a generic Lego toy that was on sale. Trying to get a few things for the apartment that make it feel more like home to Brandon.

This evening Brandon and I went down to the pool before bedtime. Brandon was not a fan of his new life vest when I first put it on! But, once we got down to the pool, it didn't seem to bother him. And, the vest was great. Even though I still followed Brandon around the whole time, it helped me relax. You know - just in case. There were a couple of other families at the pool tonight, and Brandon was mesmerized. He loves other people, especially other kids. He just kept waving at everyone. It was so cute!!!

New Neighbor

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Housework and Snacktime!

This morning, Steven, Brandon, and I walked to the Great World City mall. We hung out there for a bit before Steven headed to work. I bought a cell phone yesterday, and I wanted to buy the Sim card for the phone at Singtel. I'm going to just buy calling cards for the phone as I need them. I forgot my passport though this morning so I was unable to get my phone up and running. You have to have a passport here to get a cell phone, and if you want to sign a long term phone contract, then you have to show your work pass. Singtel is like America's AT&T. Right now, they are the only phone company in Singapore that carries the iPhone. Oh, the iPhone... So tempting...

We also decided to walk to the Great World City because I was planning on meeting some other moms at a coffee shop there. A mom that I met last Friday at the playgroup invited me. Brandon was up at 7 am this morning, so 11:30 was a horrible time for us to meet at a restaurant. I knew that he would be fussy, but I really wanted to get to know other moms. I decided to go and just leave if I needed to. I was able to enjoy a quick coffee, but then as suspected I had to head home. I know that many people wouldn't understand why I don't just want Brandon to nap in his stroller while I am out. Sometimes this is fine, but I really like to be home for Brandon's nap. 1) Brandon sleeps better in his crib and 2) It's the only hour and a half of my day that I have time to myself.

While I was a little flustered and out of sorts at the coffee shop, I am glad that I went for a while. I met some really nice moms, one of which just happens to live in our apartment building one floor below us!

This afternoon, I stopped down at my neighbors to see if she wanted to go with me to the Forum playground. She has a three year old daughter, and they live in a three bedroom apartment in our building. Their apartment was so nice! Much larger than ours, and it seemed like a home. They have been here for ten months and will be here for a while. She is from Malaysia, and her husband is from America. She met him years ago when he was in Malaysia for work, then they moved to Texas for a while, and now they are here. They plan to go back to the States eventually.

My neighbor joined me at the playground. It was really nice to talk to her. In a way, it was like talking to someone back home since she has lived in America. But, her family is only a 45 min. drive from here, so it was also a little bit like talking to a local. I don't think she would consider herself a local. She is not from Singapore, and Malaysia and Singapore are very different. I guess I mainly mean that since she is Asian, and she is familiar with Asia and the area.

I opened a window in our apartment tonight. It's a little crazy because our windows here have no screens and no bars. It wouldn't be too hard to just fall out. It's a good thing that Brandon can't reach the handles to open the windows. Just in case, though, I don't think that I'll show him that the windows actually open!

Forgot to mention in yesterday's blog that I weighed Brandon on a hospital scale while at the NMSG. He weighed 10 kg. So, at 13 1/2 months, he weighs 22 pounds.

Brandon was a little fussy today. I hope that the fourth molar pops soon!

NMSG Meeting

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Brandon in his favorite spot - the couch

He enjoys eating crackers, playing with his new IKEA toy, and looking out the window - "Let me out of here!" :)

This morning, Brandon and I walked to the Camden Medical Center for a New Moms Support Group of Singapore function. There was a speaker at the hospital who talked about vaccinations for children. I was interested in hearing about additional vaccinations Brandon might need based on other Asia travel we might do while we are here.

This was my first NMSG event, and I really enjoyed it! The meeting was in a large room, so there was plenty of room for Brandon to run around. And, I mean, literally, "run around". There were also toys. And, I met some more great people at the group. One lady I recognized and realized that I had met her last weekend at the Forum playground.

After the group, I went to lunch with some moms. Everyone is so inviting and welcoming!

This evening, Brandon and I walked to the Somerset MRT station. I wanted to go to this clothing store that sells only cotton clothes. It is soooo hot here, and I needed a couple more cotton skirts. We also made a trip to the grocery. Yesterday, I spent about an hour doing online grocery shopping. I was going to have the groceries delivered since it is hard to do the shopping here without a car. I can walk to the grocery, but I can only carry so much back. So, I got all of these groceries in my online shopping cart, and then I waited for Steven to get home before placing the order. I wanted to find out if there was anything he wanted that I missed. When I went to place the order, my shopping cart was empty! I guess that I was idle for so long, the site automatically emptied my cart. I was so frustrated, and today I just didn't have the patience for online shopping.

I found out that they sell Brandon's favorite crackers here. At home, they are called Mum Mums. Here, they are called Baby Bites. Same package, but a different name. I've noticed a few things like this. I wonder why??? Would Baby Bites not sell as well in America, even though the packages look the exact same?

My dad told me the other day that my blog makes it sounds like I am living in Disney World. In a way, I am. It is so clean, and the moms I have met seem to be living a vacation life. Lots of fun activities and helpers... So many things that people have taken care of for them... So, I learned today that Singapore is actually called "Disneyland with the death penalty". Funny.

One mom told me today that she likes living in Singapore because she can be a stay-at-home mom here. She said that if they moved back to the UK, then she would have to work. I wonder if this is a reason that so many moms love living here. They have more options and a better life than they would if they lived in their home countries. I found out that Singapore is one of the few countries (city-states) where helpers are "allowed". Hong Kong is another city. It is easy for women from other countries to get work passes to come to Singapore to be helpers. Many of the helpers are from the Phillipines and Vietnam. I met one helper who left her two boys back in Vietnam to come here for work. I guess that she can make more money here and, therefore, provide a better life for her children back home.

In the last few days, I have met a couple of women without helpers. However, the majority of people I have met do have them.

Still hoping to explore another part of the city soon, but it is hard for me to do by myself. Brandon can only handle so much of the heat and the stroller. Exploring means that we have to be out walking in the heat for a while, and it's hard to be out for that many hours without an extra set of hands to help with Brandon.

Brandon is catching on to more every day! Today I asked him if he wanted to talk to Grandma. He went straight for the computer! He is getting the hang of Skype! :) Also, if you ask him to wave, he will wave. This is cool to me because I don't have to wave to show him. If I say the word "wave", he understands. Such a neat stage! I am impressed every time I see that Brandon is learning! He loves attention too. At lunch today, Brandon grabbed my metal fork. I took it from him, and then I saw him staring me straight in the eyes with this ear to ear grin. Suspicious. Then, I noticed that his hand was hovering over another fork and knife next to him. Little stinker! What was funny to me was that he didn't just grab the fork and knife. He was just looking for a reaction from Mommy! He got it. I quickly moved the other silverware away... Oh, Brandon. You crack me up!!! :)