The demands of family...

The demands of family

can be overwhelming

and demanding,

but there are always rewards.

We often feel pressured

to be someone we're not,
a different, more "picture perfect"

version of ourselves.

But we need to remove the mask,

show our true selves.

and hope that our loved ones

can accept us for who we are.

Time changes,

people grow and change,

personalities can clash,

but in the end, it's still our family.

A family is accepting,

no matter what.

A family is forgiving,

no matter what...

...and now matter how long it takes.

My adorable niece

We got to talk to Jacob's brother, Jason and his wife, Niki this evening, but more importantly, we also got to see our adorable niece, Sydney. Here she is, very interested in the computer...
Awwwwww, Sydney and her daddy :-)

Our day in Malaysia!

Our friends, Mun Cheong and Sue Lynn offered to take us to Malaysia for the day and the destination was Melaka...both their girls came as well as Juliana.

First stop...food and refreshments! Then lots of walking and shopping. This was at an antique store...

No idea what I was looking for or at, but this just shows how many items they can jam pack into a tiny little store!!

This guy was making the wooden clogs. Very beautiful, but comfortable? Nope!

The girls in their new hats and VERY proud of them!
This was just one view from one of the streets we walked down. Reminds me of Chinatown or Little India, because it's loaded with cards, food stalls and shops.

Just loved this sign! Hey, they're honest, right?

This was by the very shallow (and dirty) river, but definitely a photo moment!

This is downtown and to the right is the well-know clock tower in Malaysia.

Close up of the clock tower...Center of town by the foundation...

Right in front of the Christ Church Melaka...

Mun Cheong, Sue Lynn and the girls...

These are seats attached to bikes (don't know the proper name for them) that they take you for rides with. Didn't want to spend the money, but they were decorated very nicely!!

You know Jacob & trees and this one was pretty cool!

(Below) This site's sign stated: Melaka Fort Archaeological Research Project (The Site of Melaka Wall and Frederick Hendrick Bastion) This excavation will expose the foundation of Melaka Fort during the Portuguese and the Dutch period. The wall was demolished in the British in 1806-1807. This project will strengthen the history of Melaka through the finding of hard evidences.

The site was already squared off to be an archaeological site, so it was fascinating to see!

(Below) This is the Melaka Sultanate Water Wheel. From the plaque: The Melaka River is the site of the origin that witnessed the birth of the Melaka port during the Melaka Sultanate. It serves as an international port for both the East and the West including South East Asia, Chine, Indian, and Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. -- It was recorded that as many as 84 languages and dialects were spoken in Melaka with four harbormasters responsible harbormasters responsible for the welfare of foreign trader. At its peak, some 2,000 trading ships socket at the ancient port. -- The construction of the replica Water Wheel of the Melaka Sultanate represents the greatness of Melaka and its technological feat for tourist to view up close, The turning of the water wheel symbolizes the wheel of life and evolution of man's civilization. It's continuous revolution represents the guest for the discovery of knowledge with history to be viewed as a grade and lesson for all times.
It was a long day, but a wonderful one and we got to see a lot! We are once again thankful to our friends for taking us out for the day to a new place and experience a different culture. I think Jacob and I both look forward to seeing different parts of Malaysia in the future :-)

THANK YOU MUN CHEONG & SUE LYNN!!

Fun with mom and dad

After dinner, we decided to let Juliana have some TV time, since she ate such a good meal!! It didn't really work out to be TV time though as much as play time :-) She gets an instant burst of energy when Jacob and I are both around at the same time, which of course is limited to evenings and weekends, so we make the most of it!!

Apparently, my back is a comfy chair...We built a fort with the couch cushions that fell apart very quickly, so they just got piled around daddy and Juliana had fun climbing up one side and sliding down the other, over and over again. Gotta be creative, right? She had fun and even let Pooh have a go at it!

I love family nights so much!

She actually likes these?

Ms. Picky Eater won't eat some of the yummiest things we offer her (and I'm talking like certain desserts, candy, cookies, etc.), but salt and vinegar chips? Sure, why not!!

Congratulations to the Unruh Family!

My friend Gillian had her baby boy this morning and he weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20.1 inches long! Congratulations to the handsome addition to a wonderful family. They named him Marek, which I looked up and it means "warlike." A true Unruh then :-) I can't wait to meet him and hold him! Here's a picture of him that Camille took when she visited them at the hospital...

Food Mustaches :-)

Well, Juliana may be very picky when it comes to food, but when she likes something, she really likes it! She's getting a bit better with trying new things, but usually we have to hide it somewhere in rice or pasta.

Anyway, for a while, she went through a stage of no longer wanting to eat mashed potatoes. But two nights ago, she tried them again and was very pleased this time!! So here's that mustache...
She's so used to the camera now, she said "Cheese!" before this picture. Last night, Juliana ate a very good dinner, so she got to eat some chocolate ice cream for dessert and got a nice mustache from that too... "Yes, I know you're watching mommy..." Apparently, it was so good, she had to lick all the extra off!!

Just the goofball playing around

Well, good morning cutie!! She looks like she was caught doing something wrong, doesn't she?
Her newest toy...a Dora mega blocks set. VERY exciting!
I asked, "Where's Dora?" and she picked her up, kissed her and held her up in the air saying, "Hooray!" then proceeded to kiss her again and again :-)This was the answer to, "Where is Swiper?" (he's hiding in the cactus).Such a little princess! She actually walked (or tried to) in the shoes this time! Usually, she just puts them on, stands up and then kicks them off, because she can't keep her balance. I said "Are you going to cast a spell on me?" and she said "Hooray" and pointed the wand at me, so I hope it was a good spell!!

She is just the most amazing little girl and so smart. After Jacob and I sing our songs to her (which she now knows most of the words to all of them) before bed, she says, "Okay, it's time for sleep," except it sounds like "seep," so it's even cuter!

Just had to, hit home...

I think most people that know me are clear on the fact that I am not a fan of Obama. Aimee Liu, author of Gaining: The Truth about Life After Eating Disorders expresses her concerns about how health care reforms will affect those in recovery from eating disorders (and this is close to my heart) as well as other "pre-existing" conditions. If you didn't already know that I have struggled with an eating disorder for numerous years (and not ashamed to admit it, share my struggles and hopefully make a difference in at least one person's life as a result of my experiences), now you do. I have personally felt the effects by being turned down for coverage due to me E.D. or having to put off imperative health care procedures due to high costs not covered by insurance. I just wanted to bring this issue up as it is very important to me, especially considering the amount of people struggling with all different types of mental illness, never mind terminal diseases, major back pain, etc.. etc. As an expat, there isn't a lot I can do about it from here in SG, but as Americans, you can contact your elected representative and urge them to demand access to health care FOR ALL, no matter what the circumstances may be. Click here to get in contact with the representatives and here if you want to read more about Aimme Liu's stance on the issue.

This post wouldn't be as fitting without a cartoon. Please, if you are an Obama supporter, TAKE NO OFFENSE. My beliefs are just that, mine and we are all entitled to our own opinions about political matters affecting the U.S.

My first award!

The selection committee at the Daily Reviewer compiled an exclusive list of "The Top 100 Expat Blogs" and I made it to the list!! I was very excited and I included their award badge to the right!

MOPS retreat #2

Camille, the wonderful Coordinator this year for MOPS did a great post on the retreat this past weekend with lots of great pictures and info. Check it out here at her blog.

Just wanted to share these two pictures (since I'm in them, hehe). This was at the meeting I showed up late for!! Right after the quiz Camille had on slogans for pregnancy, baby and toddler products and places...quite creative!
Chilling out at the hotel after dinner. Yay for self-timers on cameras, it got all eight of us!

One of my new motto's

One of the new shows I have unfortunately gotten sucked into is The United States of Tara...love it! I wanted to share the lyrics from the opening credits and I'll get to the "why" later.

Open up the sky

This mess is getting high

It's windy and the family needs a ride.

I know we'll be just fine

When we learn to love the ride!

~by Tim DeLaughter of the Polyphonic Spree's

The words in red is one of my new motto's for life. I'm guilty of living in the past and future and not living for the moment, meaning sometimes I miss out on a lot. Life is a series of ups and downs, a roller coaster and each and every moment, both good and bad are important. There are lessons to be learned, relationships to have, and memories to be made. I am learning to believe that as long as I just sit back in my roller coaster seat, enjoy the wind in my hair and go along with all of the twists and turns, I will be okay.

Praise the Lord! He will guide me and take care of me throughout my ride, no matter how low it dips or how high it goes, I will be fine :-)

Boom Bah!!

So, today was Juliana's first experience with a play...nice and short at 40 minutes and she really seemed to like it. She was very fidgety (big surprise) while we were waiting for it to start, but as soon as it did, she quieted right down and was in awe. She didn't look away from the performance the entire time. The characters were interacting with the children, but Juliana was shy up until the last fifteen minutes or so. Then she started to clap along with the audience and cheer for the performers.

A little background on the play: the brochure states, BOOM BAH! revels in the joy of music and performance, starting with a tinkle to their uproarious clamour and hoots of a farmyard turned into a makeshift band. Spend the day with a cat, goat, pig and friends as they create music from the simplest instruments found in the home. The extra friend for this particular performance was a rooster. They played lots of music with things like a bowl, cereal box, milk carton, spoon, chopsticks, and a tin can. Then later on, they played with real instruments, including a violin, guitar, accordion, whistle, drum, trumpet, and trombone. It was cute and I'm glad Juliana enjoyed her first play so much.

So here's daddy and Juliana waiting for the show to begin...

No pictures allowed during the performance, but after it was over, the characters came back out for meet and greet and lots of pictures!!

This was the goat and Juliana is giving her hand puppet a kiss!

The pig...Juliana was too mesmerized by the shiny instrument and hand puppet to look at the camera. This puppet got a kiss too!

The rooster with his accordion. Once again, couldn't get her to look at the camera, because he was playing and she wanted to watch.

Finally, the main character, the cat. The lighting is so bad in this picture, but it's the best we got. He was quite the entertainer...good at what he does for sure!! He tried to get Juliana to play the mini violin, but she was too shy.

Overall, good experience! It was an adorable performance for little kids and they do a good job of keeping the audience's attention with lots of dancing, music and laughter!

Just so all of you can share in some of the fun from the show, this is from the brochure:

Do the BOOM BAH! dance

1. Teach the refrain: 1, 2, 3 and 4, nod your head, tap your toe, BOOM BAH! Here we go!
2. Find a variety of household objects to use as simple instruments (tins, cups, spoons, boxes).
3. Create a simple dance routine.
4. Ready, get set, go!! Dance the BOOM BAH! dance all around the house!!