On holiday

I am currently in NZ where most of you will know I have gorged myself on fresh seafood and wine.
I have lots of great photos to share but these will have to wait till we return in January.
So far the highlights have been Crayfish, Mouton Rothshield, smoked snapper, whitebait fritters and a fantastic rhubarb and Gooseberry Tart that Barbara made.

Of course non food highlights have been family especially watching Felix play with his cousin.
I will try to do a more complete post soon but I feel another nap coming on!

Some old Photos

A really cute one of Henry







Felix and the lego tower of doom













Herny makes friends at the pub,


The lights at depavalli













THe Milo Dinosaur

mine

This is my new baby!

Reassured

Yesterday on the bus we sat next to a older lady who asked me if I liked Holland Village (a area which is very popular with expats) I told her that I had been there a couple of times and thought it was OK but preferred other parts of Singapore more, she took a while to answer me and then reassured me by saying "well you don't look like a yuppie, that place is so full of stuck up yuppies on a Friday night getting drunk".

I am going to take that as a compliment.

Some randon pictures

This sign sums up Singapore, but is currently displayed at our condo as they are ripping up the tiles and putting new ones down.

Yes the leaf is almost as big as Felix! the tree is only small though very odd.

I put this in cos Henry is cute!
The funny story of Pikachu's big adventure:

Felix was given a Pikachu by one of the cleaning staff at his friend Georges condo, when we were in the lift going to Georges house for the first time, In the excitement of being in a new house with lots of cool toys Felix left Pikachu behind.
George held onto Pikachu till we came back to visit, he was very excited that Felix would have him back and Felix was also very excited about having Pikachu once again,
Pikachu spent the next few days with Felix, watching him eat and sleep, playing and attending music classes, then tragedy struck on a rather wet day we were running down the drive to catch the shuttle bus, to meet Nick for dinner when Pikachu slipped out of Felix's hand and down into a storm drain!
Now call me a chicken but I was not keen to put my hand into a drain in Singapore and not just because it was raining.
Felix was very upset he cried all the way to dinner and the only thing he really could say was "I have to tell George"
One week later the whole family was walking down the drive to go out to the science centre I noticed that the drain covers were off and jokingly said I wonder if Pikachu is still there, Nick looked and there he was just out of reach, Nick heroically borrowed a broom from the guards house and attempted a rescue, 5 minutes and a scrapped knee later,Pikachu was safely back with a very happy Felix.
Once at the Science centre Pikachu was carefully washed and dried and we all got on with enjoying ourselves.....but then as we were waiting for the bus Felix asked if I had Pikachu and of course he was no where to be found, the lesson to be learnt here is of course is easy come easy go!

oh the picture above is of a replacement Pikachu!
Felix the punk

Well it has been a a while since I have blogged (and even longer since Nick has) so I thought it was time I jotted a few things down

We have been fairly busy the last few weeks finding a preschool for Felix, exploring and of course eating.

Firstly I think I have found my new favorite lunch food its pork buns its very simply pork in a very Moorish sauce served in steamed bun with a bit of Chinese parsley (coriander) it is the best sandwich I have had!

We have been busy this week preparing for our Australasian tour, trying to do Christmas shopping etc, So today the boys and I headed to Chinatown, we stuck to the department stores and shopping centres as it very hot outside today and the kids tend to wilt.
Chinatown is like everyone imagines it to be filled with everything that is Chinese!
Henry of course was very popular once again with people posing to take photos with him.
I also could not help but buy the kids a few things as the clothes down here are so much cheaper than along Orchard road

On the weekend we made it to the Singapore Science centre with some friends and it was fantastic!
The highlight was shared between the Tesla coil (nicks favorite) and the waterworks exhibit which the children can play in, I am glad we got pre warning about this part, as we took togs for the boys and Nick, unfortunately I didn't take a change of clothes and through my own stupidity got absolutely drenched.
there were many exhibits we didn't see but we will purchase a membership next year as the centre was a winner.

I think that is about all I have time for right now I will try to follow this up with some photos soon also my new coffee machine arrives Friday so I am sure I will post many a photo and bore you all with my quest to make the best coffee I can on a domestic machine!

tourists stuff and crabs

The following photos are taken around Clarke Quay which is very much at the tourist end of town but also where you can get really good Chili Crab, we know because we ate it twice this week!
Felix is holding hands with Matilda, who is town for few days with her folks Laura and Simon.
Felix and Matilda have not seen each over since Felix was 1 and Matilda was 6months but soon bonded over jumping in puddles!

In other news this week Felix lost his boy (which to you that don't know was his toy he has had since he was a baby) this was a hard loss but hes doing OK now.

Currently I am looking out the window at the fog of smoke that has risen up, it is from the spraying they do for mosquito's luckily I got the washing in off the balcony and closed the door just in time before we got fumigated.

Tonight we are off to see the Christmas lights on Orchard road (yes in November).

I was just hanging nicks shirts up to dry on the bamboo racks out the back and didn't hear the sprayer coming I am now mosquito free and feeling a bit teary.

Morning at the Gardens

Felix and I, left Nick and Henry at home today and went to the children's garden at the botanical gardens,
We both had a great time although I did get attacked by ants which have a nasty bite.

We came home and spent a hour in the pool and Felix had to go to bed early!

Milestones thunderstorms and mutants

This week signaled a couple of Milestones for Felix ,
First he got his first MRT card (Public transport) this is a pretty big deal as he has to be a certain height and he has finally had a growth spurt as you can see from the photo he is pretty proud of his card and has been showing everyone on the train it.

His second achievement is also related to him growing a bit taller he is now tall enough to pee in the toilet! He is very proud of himself for both achievements!

Felix has also started to make friends around the condo, yesterday he asked one of the girls if she wanted to race on there scooters she then asked him if he wanted to join there club, very cute, he maybe the mascot however as they are all around 10-12 years old.

This post was interrupted by a massive thunderstorm, these are very common here but I must admit this one scarred me we are in a valley and on the top floor so it seems even louder up here, also there was a deafening noise that made me and Felix jump, which may have been one of the nearby buildings being hit which has happened twice now this month.

The picture of Henry is the only time this week he has not been screaming he is currently getting his molars and he is suffering with them he is not at all his usual charming self, I think this photo shows he has grown up a bit not as chubby now just solid!

The last photo is a little hard to make out sorry but it was the best shot I could get.
It is of a massive coi it is about as long as Felix is tall and very creepy it could be a extra in a sci fi film about mutant aquatics, however despite its grotesque size giving me the willies we visit it once a week after playgroup.

Thats all for now hopefully I will have some more food photos soon

life in Singapore

We are now settling into a bit of routine Felix has a regular music class and we are looking at kindergardens for next year. the snaps here are just some cute ones of the kids that I thought people may enjoy, As you can see from the picture of Henry he was very tired today, hes making up for lost time growing all his teeth at once and has not been sleeping super well, for once he is not the most smiley kid in Singapore.



I have had a little time off lately from the kids and have managed to find a good hairdresser on the first recommendation that I was given, I have not been so lucky with the myattempts at finding a waxer and a place to get my eyebrows done, with the result of my brows looking a little like Bert's from Sesame street.
I won't post a picture as I do not want to have the image following me a round cyber space.

Apart from that we have been getting on with life and starting Christmas shopping, and what must be a world record Singapore already has its decorations up!

Stay tuned for Halloween snaps.

Quick update

Hi all,
Sorry no photos on this post, but it has been a while and I thought I was endanger of being one of those bloggers who starts off with a blaze and then fizzes out to nothing. (see my last blog oldschoolnappies which had 1 post)

So I guess what s new has been that we have moved into our apartment, this has been a roller coaster of emotions.
Having all our things back has meant that we have all felt a lot more settled especially the boys as they have toys to play with and we are not going out all the time so we don't go crazy in the serviced apartment, also moving into our permanent place means we can start to do things like look for a kindergarten for Felix and have people over.
The down side is that it means we are in fact staying don't get me wrong Singapore is fantastic but it just needs a few good friends added.
We are also well and truly out of holiday mode with the everyday drudgery of dishes and sweeping (with all tiled floors its all I do) setting in.
We have also made some Friends who live not to far away which sweetens the deal some what.
Fitted in around the trips to Ikea and unpacking boxes we have managed to do some fun stuff to we took the boys to see the lights for Depavali in Little India which were fantastic we had dinner at a Kashmir restaurant which was OK but I don't think we will be rushing back .

We also had dinner at the local Canadian themed pub which is very close to where we live which was interesting and made me slightly nostalgic for my childhood.

Well that's enough I will try to include some photos net time as I know if I was reading this I would only look at the pictures anyway.

new post soon

we are back online but the internet is a bit scatty, will update soon

Offline

Due to the Starhub Calamity of 2009, we're off line until Thursday so no updates till at least then...

Nick

chicken rice

Today Tom was in town so we took a break from the toil of moving house and went to Five star chicken rice in River valley rd, we had chicken rice, kai lan in Garlic sauce, and tofu(which I can't remember the name of) it was definitely the best chicken rice i have had here but was also the most expensive, costing around $34 for 2 adults and 2 kid, the other good thing was they had plates for the kids.

Moving Day

I am so tired from moving and everything else going on that this post will be picture heavy words light! here are some before and after pictures of the move it gives you a vague idea of our apartment and how much stuff we had to fit onto it, keep in mind that these photos were taken when only half the stuff wasin, needless to say we are only half unpacked and not even half organised. Also a couple of pictures of the view.

Royal Prata cafe

The Royal Prata Cafe is just around the corner from where we have been staying we only tried it last week but have been back 3 times since, today I was luckily enough to try the Mutton Briyani before it sold out, and having tried it I can see why they never have any left when we go in the evening it is AMAZING, and only $4.50!
The kids love this place and it is very cheap, today we had 3 drinks, the Briyani, a bag of Poppadoms, a Chocolate Prata (I would not recommend this) and a tissue Prata all for $13.

They make a lime juice which is very common in Singapore which helps to combat the heat, and today I also tried the Teh Tarik ,which means pulled tea, its a mix of strong tea, condensed milk, and sugar which is poured rather spectacularly from one cup to another to aerate and cool it. As the ingredients suggest it is very sweet and strong but goes perfectly with spicy food.
The boys are very popular here and today we had all the guys who were working come out to see us, which is fantastic for keeping Henry occupied when he is Hungary.

Botanical gardens

As you can see from the Photos the Singapore Botanical gardens are stunning, you could write a whole blog on the place.
The boys and I headed up there late yesterday afternoon with the idea we would spend a hour having a quick look and then come home, however we stayed for 2 hours and could have spent the whole day there! Felix loved being able to run around and both the boys were fascinated with the Catfish and the Coi.



















there were also squirrels everywhere and try as I might to take a photo I am afraid they all looked like blurs.

the Children's garden was a hit of course it has three separate playgrounds including a water section as well as lots of sensory and educational areas.

there really is so much to see here that a few photos really do not do it justice!

Chinatown

hi these are some pics form Saturday when we went to Chinatown I ill admit that we forgot to take photos and our main reason to go there was to visit a cook bookshop/cafe but we will go back soon and take better photos.




















you can find a naughty corner anywhere, this was one very grumpy Felix.

While in Chinatown we also looked around some of the market shops and visited a temple, which Felix and Nick went into, but I stayed outside with Henry and the stroller even form outside it looked amazing probably should have taken some photos.....