THE SUPER SLEUTHS ARE ON THE MOVE!

Welcome home Jeanine

2011-09-13T07:55:00.008+08:00

Our second beautiful daughter was born on September 8, 2011 at 9:52pm. She weighed 5lbs 6oz and measured 18.5 inches. Jeanine Jolin is doing wonderful and Juliana is a happy and proud big sister!!

Missing SG

2011-09-06T07:01:00.003+08:00

People keep asking me what I miss most about SG, so I thought long and hard about it and here goes...

The food –I know, right? And all I did while I was there was complain about missing American food! But I miss the variety and the prices of the local foods. Miss the trips to the Hawker stands and the ridiculously low priced satay, chicken rice, mee goreng, naan, etc.
The pool
The consistency in the weather…it was always hot and either rain or sun, no snow!
MOPS –The meetings and all the wonderful women
Our landlords
Jean
Supper Club
The variety of classes for Juliana to take part in
The adventure of living abroad
Being so close to other parts of Asia

2011 Update

2011-09-03T19:22:00.001+08:00

I realize it's been a long time since I posted and I think it's about time to update the blog! Juliana started preschool in May and has loved it ever since. She gets to dance once a week, take a Spanish class, learn music and during the summer, she had swimming lessons and tennis. These pictures were taken at the end of the year show...

We have been enjoying our time back home, with family and friends, but we're both willing to admit that we miss living abroad. The idea is always at the back of my mind, so who knows what the future holds!

Jacob had been working long hours, long days and I've been home with Juliana on her days off from school. I am now 36 weeks pregnant and due to be induced on September 8th due to some complications. It has been a really difficult pregnancy filled with concerns, but it's coming to an end soon and even though our little baby girl looks healthy, she's very small still. Updates to come on that!

Some pictures from the summer...

Canobie Lake...

Hampton Beach....

Storyland...

Casco, ME at my aunt's family camp...

Prancing around in daddy's shoes...

With her cousin at the Franklin Park Zoo...

I've really missed blogging, but I guess I figured our life here in the U.S. isn't as exciting as it was abroad, but it's still our life, so I am planning to keep up with the blog from here on out. The next time will probably be filled with pictures of our newborn!

Big girl bed!!

2011-01-05T23:37:00.006+08:00

Well, it took a while with the move back to the US and then hopping around from a hotel to temporary housing to our final resting point, but Juliana is finally in a big girl bed! My mom had kept my old brass bed frame, so we went shopping for a mattress and box spring. It finally came last week and Juliana seems to be enjoying all the extra room. We let her bounce on the bed briefly when it first got here and she had so much fun...

I like the bed too because when we read to her at night, we can lie down with her instead of sitting on the floor. Plus, now that she's potty trained, she can get up and go to the bathroom whenever she needs to!

Oh, how fast our little girl is growing! Next up is getting her to stop sucking her fingers!!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-28T04:09:00.005+08:00

There's no better word for Christmas this year for Juliana than SPOILED! She was showered with presents from everyone and we are grateful for such wonderful family and friends in our life. Christmas morning was a lot of fun now that Juliana is interested in Santa. She came downstairs and was excited to see all the presents Santa had brought.
The family at the tree

My mom had stayed over Christmas eve, so she also got to give Juliana all her gifts Christmas morning...

Such a happy girl!

One of her many gifts, a Rapunzel wig that makes me realize I could never be a blond!

It was a wonderful holiday, went by way too fast though. God bless everyone!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T01:32:00.001+08:00

Juliana meets Santa!

2010-12-20T11:34:00.002+08:00

On Saturday, we went to a Christmas party and this was no ordinary party, Santa visited! He was a good looking Santa and played the role so well. Juliana was very interested in everything he had to say and say along with all his songs! The whole group with Santa... Part of Santa's duties was to give out presents to all the children, so Juliana waited patiently until the second to last gift came out of Santa's sack and she got to sit on his lap. When he asked what she wanted for Christmas, she said, "My mommy told me to ask for a castle!" This was news to me, because I had no idea she wanted a castle, so I guess I'll be working on that!
Big hug for Santa...
Opening her gifts with daddy, some new books!

This year has been so much fun teaching Juliana about Jesus' birthday, the Nativity, and all of the other additional parts like Santa, his elves and the North Pole. She's very excited for his visit and all those presents!

Juliana's First Haircut

2010-12-20T11:25:00.002+08:00

I know I've been on hiatus the last few weeks, but I had lost our camera and to me, it seemed silly to post without pictures! But Alas we decided to buy ourselves a new camera for our Christmas gift and I have been loving it! Just in time too, for Juliana's first haircut. She was really scared the last few times we told her that this would be happening, but this morning Jacob had the perfect words to take away her fear. We went to Snip Its, which does haircuts for only kids and Juliana amazed us!

TO get her comfortable in the chair, the hairdresser blew bubbles for Juliana and then handed them off to Jacob to continue while she wet Juliana's hair.
She was so well behaved and didn't move at all so the hairdresser could get her job done!

Smiling at her daddy...

Once again, Juliana impressed us with her good behavior and patience. She did have a minor meltdown on the way out because she wanted to play with all the toys, but we had a party to go to!

Simply beautiful

2010-11-18T00:57:00.003+08:00

New Title, New Path

2010-11-03T08:24:00.005+08:00

Well, we're no longer "On The Move," (for now) but we're still "On The Case!" I feel like life is just as exciting as it was in Singapore, but for different reasons. We are rediscovering ourselves as Americans again and adjusting back to a vastly different society. Singapore is a much more relaxed society, less obsessed with material things (except for technology!) and American is centered around the saying, "The more you have, the more you're worth." It's always a matter of having the newest technology, the prettiest house, the best furniture, the shiniest car, etc. etc. Really, like is not about "stuff" and in many ways, it took our time as expats to learn the truth of this statement. We have been cleaning out all of the stuff from our storage unit and amazed at what we were able to donate, throw away or what was truly worth keeping. Simplicity is the way to live your life so that you can focus on what really matters - family, friends, faith.

On that note, I wanted to share this inspirational list written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio. After living so many years, she figure out what life was really all about.

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. -Regina Brett

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
When in doubt, just take the next small step.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
Pay off your credit cards every month.
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
It's OK to let your children see you cry.
Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
Over prepare, then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
The most important sex organ is the brain.
No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
Always choose life.
Forgive everyone everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Believe in miracles.
God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
Your children get only one childhood.
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
The best is yet to come...
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Yield.
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

My baby's three!

2010-10-27T07:20:00.006+08:00

It's so hard to believe that my little girl turned three today! She's growing up so fast. She had her checkup and she's in the 95 percentile for her height! She's talking a lot which means Jacob and I have to be extremely careful what we say and how we say things because she copies everything we say and do. She's going to school three days a week and making new friends. I can't believe how fast it's all happening and I'm so grateful for a smart, beautiful, healthy little girl who adores us!

For her birthday, my mom had a small party at her house for family and a couple friends. Juliana opened up her clothes from Nana and Nanny first before everyone showed up... Tea party with all the stuffed animals...

Opening her presents... Today, Juliana got to celebrate her birthday twice. First, we had lunch with Nana and Nanny...

Scary smile!

Cuddling up with Nana...

After being shy when the staff sang her Happy Birthday, she blew out her candles and the three of us ate the cake!

Then tonight when Jacob got home, we had a frosted chocolate donut for her after dinner, which she thoroughly enjoyed!

God truly blessed us. We adore this precious little girl... Happy THIRD birthday my beautiful little girl!

Another award!

2010-10-24T20:14:00.001+08:00

Thank you fellow blogger, Jill for this wondrful award!

To all my friends and family

2010-10-24T14:23:00.005+08:00

I got this from a good friend and had fun figuring it out, so I wanted to share with all of my friends and family. I hope you enjoy it too :-)
On a side note: although it's rather simple, I got this as a recent review for my blog, yay!

God's Hug

2010-10-24T14:06:00.001+08:00

Lord, you lift me up,
You raise me to a place
I never knew existed,
Of peace and serenity.
You gather me up
Inside your loving arms
And hold me close
Out of harm’s way.
Your eyes never leave mine,
Your touch never cools
And your strength
Never weakens.
This moment,
Right now,
Makes me feel ashamed
Of all the times I doubted you.
I feel sad that I questioned
Your guidance
And became angry at you
When things didn’t go my way.
I’m guilty of lying,
Of sinning of my own fault
And I ask you now
For forgiveness.
I know from your smile
That you see past the sins
And focus on my loving heart
My kind nature.
Before you go, God,
Will you hug me just once more?

More Fall Fun

2010-10-24T11:55:00.004+08:00

We went to a Halloween party yesterday and Juliana got to dress up again! She's so proud of her Alice in Wonderland costumer...

Busted out the sweater because it was cold! She loved riding on this horse, but no ideas because we have no place to put one!

Decorating pumpkins...

Happy girl :-)

We've been trying to get her to stop sucking her fingers and it's not an easy task. Her solution- cover her face and maybe we won't notice!!!

Parenthood

2010-10-21T08:49:00.004+08:00

Parents

Here’s to the joy of being a parent,
Of watching our children grow,
Learning all about the world
And growing up before we know it.

Here’s to the ups and downs
Of dealing with a toddler,
It’s the best of times
And the worst of times.

Here’s to the little kisses they give,
Their warm hugs,
The conversations that don’t always make sense,
And the endless questions.

Here’s to the tea parties,
The dollhouses and books,
That brings us back to our childhood
And make us feel young again.

Here’s to the blessings they bring us,
The responsibility of raising them
And teaching them what they need to know,
Before they’re too old to need us.

Here’s to being a parent,
The most important job in the world,
The greatest gift God can give us,
To watch our precious angels grow.

Cutie patutie!

2010-10-13T21:16:00.004+08:00

Just some cute pictures to share! Wearing Nanny's glasses...
Wearing ALL of her necklaces, bracelets and rings!

Pumpkin carving

2010-10-11T21:29:00.006+08:00

One of the things we had missed about New England while we living in Singapore was the change of seasons. Fall has always been my favorite season, with the foliage, cooler weather, apple picking, apple cider and pumpkins. I especially missed how the holiday season feels more real - there's something about hot and humid weather that takes away from Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Yesterday, we headed up to my mom's for dinner and she had bought two pumpkins with Juliana. Jacob got the task of carving them and Juliana paid attention for all of ten minutes! She did help a little with digging out the seeds though and loved the pumpkins after they were done. Since I haven't found my camera yet, I took these pictures with my phone and they came our bright and blurry, but it's all I've got!

It's been a while...

2010-10-11T08:45:00.006+08:00

I haven't been getting around to blogging as much as I used to. I guess since we're not living in Singapore, I feel like I don't have as much to say- but really, it's all the same except back in the US!!

We finally moved into "permanent housing" after I spent July at my mom's with Juliana and then the three of us spent August and September in a hotel for a week then a temporary apartment up until our move the third week of September. We're renting for now, to see how we like living in Massachusetts- it's a nice townhouse in Malden, much different than the top two floors of a high rise! For one thing, we don't have people living above and below us, only next to us. It's also nice and quiet at night time since we're in a condo complex off a side road. You wouldn't know we lived in a city, which is great.

Juliana started classes at the Little Gym and it's just the same as it was in Singapore except a different group dynamic. She still impresses me with how adventurous and strong she is, especially on the bars! She has an amazing grip for a little girl and I love going to the classes with her and watching her on the beam and bars. Reminds me of my days as a gymnast :-) We're thinking of enrolling her in dance classes after the holidays since she loves to dance and enjoys copying Angelina Ballerina. She's even taking up prancing around on her toes!

Another new addition to Juliana's life has been preschool three days a week. Day one, I cried, because even though she's been asking to go to school for a while now, she had a rough time being dropped off the first two weeks and although this week was much better, she still got upset when I was on my way out the door. One saving grace is that she has found a favorite teacher, so when we show up, she goes from hugging me to walking over to her with her arms up waiting to be picked up. I hope another week or two will help her adjust to being at school, because it breaks my heart to see her sad when I have to turn around and leave :-(

Other than the move, Jacob's new job and the new additions to Juliana's life, it's been good to be back. I continue to miss a few things about Singapore, but we've been able to spend time with family and friends which is what we missed most about being so far. It's going to be especially nice to see them all for the upcoming holidays, especially for Juliana.

I will try to keep this updated since it's also like a journal for our life and add more pictures as soon as I figure out where the camera disappeared to - Juliana will be three soon, so I better find it before her birthday!

It's that time of year

2010-09-16T21:27:00.003+08:00

Even after over a year and a half in Singapore, I never got used to the humidity. I did, however, enjoy the fact that there was only one wardrobe all year long and that jackets weren't needed. We've only just begun to have some cooler days here in the U.S., but I'm already dreading the cold weather. It means snow will be coming, jackets, hats and gloves will be needed and a whole different wardrobe. I am enjoying the fact that I get to see the seasons change though, because it helps pass the time and fall has always been my favorite with the beautiful foliage and cool, but not cold weather.

Some of the best things about fall besides the foliage are pumpkins and apples. We did get to go apple picking during our visit home in October 2009, but it was different this year knowing we live here. Juliana had a blast of course... She picks them, but she won't eat them!
I can't wait to take her to pick out pumpkins and maybe we'll even get around to carving one this year!!

On a side note, I have been missing some of the things I took for granted in Singapore, such as the pool and playgrounds, the parks, our helper (of course- that extra set of hands was helpful and I loved having another adult around to keep me company- you are missed Jean!), not needing a car and being able to walk to the mall and grocery store within 10 minutes. I also miss being able to throw on shorts and a tank every day, without worrying about whether or not I'll be cold. It's amazing, because I didn't realize just how much these things meant to me while I was there, but now I do. It's time to get ready for more changes though, one of which is being able to experience the holiday season back at home with family and friends.

Happy Fall everyone!

Update and BCM

2010-08-19T21:37:00.006+08:00

In case you wanted to know, here's the update! Things are good, but we are still in temporary housing in Cambridge MA while searching for our newest home. I admit that looking for a home this time around isn't all that exciting after moving 5 times in the last 5 years that we've been married. It's also much more difficult this time around with Juliana, so thankfully my mom has been able to watch her the last 2 times we've gone searching. We've narrowed it down a bit to a townhouse, not an apartment and we're trying to live close to the T or bus so Jacob has a good commute to work.

Other than housing, things are good and it's been nice to be back in the U.S. Just yesterday, my mom and grandmother came down and we took Juliana to the Children's Museum here in Boston!
She had a good time and enjoyed the bubble room... As well as many other adventures there!

Playing music with Nana...

Had to get this picture for her daddy in the hard hat inside the Construction Zone!

She even got to sit in a Bobcat...

I do feel bad for Juliana, because I think all of the recent changes have been hard for her. She's pretty resilient, but she was sick last week and took days to recover. Now that she's healthy again, she's back to challenging all authority and seeing just how far she can push her limits. Needless to say, it hasn't been easy. I feel like I spend most of my day saying "No" and "Don't do that." It's exhausting!

I'll keep you all posted once we find a place to move!!

Adjusting to being back

2010-08-04T21:07:00.002+08:00

I didn't think I would have a lot of adjusting to do with the return to the U.S., but I have a feeling I am because we're in temporary housing. Actually, we've been in a hotel for a week and a half and will be moving into the temporary apartment tomorrow until we find our permanent place to live. Without a "home," it's hard to get used to being here instead of Singapore, where we were all set up. I enjoy being able to see family and friends, I just wish I could fast forward two to three months to be in our place.

Aside from housing, it's been wonderful to be back in the U.S. The weather has been warm, but not hot and humid like SG, making it enjoyable to be outside since we don't sweat the moment we step outside. It's also been nice to be close to everyone we know, but I do miss the people I met in Singapore, especially Jean. I also miss Juliana's classes, but that will be over soon since I set up some trial art, music and gym classes and she'll be starting school as soon as I find a suitable school. I got used to having Jean around for company during the days and help with Juliana. It was always a lot easier to get ready in the morning and do errands with Jean's help!

For the most part, Juliana has been handling all of these changes well. She does talk about Summerdale (where our apartment was) a lot when she asks to go home. She will also say, "I want to see Eden and Bethel" or "I miss my friends" when we look at pictures of our friends from Singapore. I hope I can find a school and classes soon, so she can be around other kids more often to keep her busy.

There are a few things about moving back to the U.S. I'm not looking forward to (snow, unpacking and setting up house again, moving stuff out of storage, etc.) but other than these small things, it's going to be nice being home!

Life in Singapore

2010-07-29T21:53:00.011+08:00

Our time living in Singapore taught us a lot about life in other cultures and we are moving back to the U.S. having learned a lot of lessons about how we want to live our own life. There are many things that Jacob and I will miss about living in Singapore, such as:

Efficient public transportation
Walking distance to the MRT, the mall, grocery store, movie theater, restaurants
Cleanliness of the entire city
Safe to walk around, even at night time
Good sushi, Indian food and other local favorites at Hawker centers
The Lokes
Jean
Having a swimming pool 12 months of the year
Tons of activities, parks and playgrounds for Juliana
Warm weather at all times (but we definitely won't miss the humidity)
People from all different cultures
Being able to travel to parts of Asia in 8 hours or less
One wardrobe for the entire year instead of different wardrobes for each season

Singapore was our home for over a year and a half and as we transition back to life in the U.S., I'm sure we will realize that there are even more things we'll miss about it. Fortunately, there are a lot of things we're already enjoying about being back, such as:

Grocery stores
Shopping malls aren't "the place to be" at all times, 7 days a week
American food
Having a car (although this is sometimes frustrating)
Spending time with family and friends
Being able to enjoy the outdoors without being ridiculously hot

...and the list goes on. One thing I do not like is living in temporary housing again, since it doesn't feel like home just yet, but that will change in the coming months. I do hope we get to visit Singapore again when Juliana is a bit older, so we can revisit and show her where she turned 1 and 2 years old.

A day in Maine

2010-07-29T21:35:00.004+08:00

Being back in the U.S. to stay has been wonderful, because it means we get to see our friends and family as well as our favorite places of New England. Yesterday, we went up to Ogunquit Maine with my mom and grandmother for some time at the beach, Perkins Cove, the Marginal Way and lobster! It was a gorgeous day with a nice breeze and the ocean air was just as wonderful as I remembered. Here we are in York, where we stopped for lunch and ice cream by Nubble Lighthouse...

After walking down Marginal Way, we headed to the beautiful beach on Ogunquit where Juliana had a blast in the water...

Jacob and I already know there will be many beach days in the years to come since she's such a little fish. The water was cold, but that didn't stop her from enjoying it!

The day was a reminder of how nice it is to live in New England, especially during the warmer months. I don't look forward to dealing with the snow, but the change of seasons will be nice. I wish we could just skip over the cold months though...oh well!

Home and here to stay

2010-07-26T22:38:00.003+08:00

As many of you already know, Jacob was offered a job in Cambridge Mass, and he is finally on U.S. soil. We are officially here to stay!! He accepted the job and we are currently in Charlestown until the temporary apartment is set up in another week and a half. It feels surreal to be here to stay, almost like it's not actually happening. I think things will sink in much more once we're in the temporary apartment and Jacob starts his job in a week. I can't wait to be in permanent housing though, unpacked and settling in to truly make this our home for the months and years to come.

When we left for Singapore, both Jacob and I were excited at the opportunity to live abroad and we have learned so much over the last year and a half. One of the hardest things about living in America is remembering that we don't have to "keep up with the Joneses," a huge lesson we learned in Singapore. Material things don't bring happiness, but quality time with family and friends does.

I look forward to keeping everyone updated as the move unravels and we have many new adventures in store.

Being H-O-M-E

2010-07-10T06:00:00.006+08:00

It's been wonderful to be home and see family and friends. There is one major thing missing though and that's Jacob. Juliana's been telling me on a daily basis that she misses her daddy and can't wait to see him and I certainly miss him too. Luckily, the days are going fast since we've been busy and she doesn't have much longer until we see him.

It was a wonderful 4th of July, with family at my aunt's house and my cousin even had a few fireworks to set off in the driveway. This week, we got to go to Canobie with my brother, sister-in-law and niece. Juliana had a blast on the kiddy rides! When I left New Hampshire to move to Singapore for Jacob's job in 2008, I was very nervous as well as excited about the idea of living in another country. I have always been close to my family and very attached to the good friends I have, but I could never have imagined that I would miss them all so much. I just can't wait for Jacob to join us.

I got to meet my niece

2010-07-03T08:49:00.002+08:00

Part of what has been so difficult about being in Singapore has been the missed holidays and events in the family, such as the births of my nieces and nephew. I finally got to meet Riley this afternoon and see my brother and sister-in-law. Riley was precious and Juliana had a blast entertaining her and playing with her.
I look forward to spending more time with her in the coming week and I think Juliana does too!

My cousin is A-MAZING!

2010-06-29T21:07:00.014+08:00

Sorry Jess, you're public! But I just had to share this, it was so good and I was so proud! Click HERE.

So cute together :-)

We're in the USA!

2010-06-29T20:58:00.014+08:00

After a grueling 33 hour travel day (one late flight leading to a missed connecting flight and 5 hours in the D.C. airport) we are here! We got home last week, but have been so busy since. Juliana had a hard time adjusting to the time difference and misses her daddy who's not here yet, but seeing family and friends has been wonderful!

My mom's new place is nice and I love the weather since anything is cooler than Singapore. We go outside a lot and there's a huge playground within a 10 minute walk.
She's getting spoiled...chocolate frosted donuts!

Reading the paper to Nanny...

At the park, on the train. She kept saying "We're going to China!"

Real swings!

Trying on Nana's shoes and heading out the door...

We will actually be in the U.S. for Independence day for the first time since 2007.

More to come!!

What's been going on

2010-06-16T11:34:00.005+08:00

It hasn't been too eventful around here since our return from Beijing. Juliana and I leave for the U.S. on June 22 and Jacob leaves June 30 so we are looking forward to seeing our family and friends. It's a much more relaxing visit than the last since there are no parties or weddings. I am looking forward to the weather too, because it's been insanely got in Singapore lately. Maybe it's just me but I think it's much hotter than this time last year!

Juliana has been attending her art classes and is becoming more talented at tracing and coloring in. When we return from the U.S. we'll sign up for some other classes.

Jacob is busy as usual with work and I've been doing some writing and recovering from a small accident. My left hand is weak, but in time, it should be back to normal.

One of her favorite things to put on is my brown shoes and walk around like she's a big girl! She added this necklace too... I'm astonished at how fast she is growing and the things that come out of her mouth. However, she is very challenging too. "No" and "It's okay" seem to be popular and listening to us? Yeah right. It's exhausting and I am not looking forward to 24+ hours of traveling and two plane switched with her by myself. But in the end, I'll be back home!

So many talents...

2010-06-10T17:52:00.005+08:00

As soon as she could hold those large toddler crayons, Juliana has thoroughly enjoyed art, as well as many other things. We have paints, markers, crayons, stamps, stickers, stencils, etc. etc. We also came across this great Art school when we went along with some friends for Halloween last year to go to a kid's party. Juliana gets lots of attention from Teacher Paul and her art is improving so much!!

She's getting so big... Showing off her school!!!

I'm afraid she likes the idea of "school" way too much right now. Soon I'll be waving her off as she trots away to her friends and teachers...

I guess she was proud of it, huh?

I love the look of determination on her face when she's hard at work!

I didn't get the art gene, so I'm glad she's enjoying it....her Uncle Justin got the musical and artistic talents!! With all the dancing, art, swimming, gymnastics, singing, and everything else, she could be anything! Yup, PROUD MOMMY here! I love the look of satisfaction on her face too when I hang up a new drawing.

Dancing Queen :-)

2010-06-10T17:44:00.004+08:00

So you can't hear it, but she's shaking her cute bum to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance!! She's been dancing her way along lately, through Beijing, here in Singapore and soon in the States.

Yes, we dance along, but we won't be sharing any of that, not to worry!

Take it all in!

2010-06-03T14:44:00.001+08:00

Life is too short

Life passes too quickly,
And before you can take it all in,
It’s all over, so fast.

I wish I could experience it all,
See the entire world
And all the amazing sites to see.

But God has a different pan for me,
To use my past to help others,
To heal them of their grief.

Will I be able to do it?
Can I make a lasting effect on people?
Will I make a difference?

These are the questions that run through my head,
Because I WILL get better
And then I want to help those suffering like I did.

Life is full of opportunities,
Challenges we all have to face
And beauty that is hard to describe in words.

I have learned that judgments are useless,
Appearances are deceiving
And generally, people acre good deep down.

I hope to raise my daughter with these beliefs,
To be open-minded and explore the world,
To absorb all that God has to offer.

In order for that to happen,
I need to be healthy, happy and strong
As well as content with myself for the person I already am.

Looking back and reminiscing

2010-06-01T16:12:00.008+08:00

As I was going through the pictures of our trip this morning with Juliana, I felt so happy to have had this amazing opportunity, not only to see Beijing, but to be living in Singapore and experiencing a completely new culture. Hard to believe Juliana has spent more of her life in Singapore than in the United States!!

She used to be so tiny! We called her "Baby Moses" in this picture!
Rooting for the Pats after their HUGE letdown in the Superbowl. UGH. But Juliana enjoyed the excitement, even as young as she was...

This was one of the first great pictures I took of a huge, straight smile, looking right at the camera. I happened to time it just right ad what better day? It was Valentine's Day!

Look at those big brown eyes and rosy cheeks!

A big tradition for those of us from New England(no, we are not hicks!) is to attend state fairs in the fall and we went to the Hopkinton State Fair in 2008, just a month before leaving for Singapore. I actually look forward to attending these again...

Birthday 1 that got pushed up due to our very quick departure (3 weeks) to Singapore after Jacob signed the contract. But everyone came, Juliana was center of attention and it also gave us a chance to say goodbye to all of our family and friends.

Juliana's first plane ride and man, it was a long one!

After discovering the water fountains and then eventually the water park at IMM, we knew we had a little fish on our hands. LOVES the water!

During our visit home in October last year, we got to celebrate once again with our family and friends Juliana turning two and she was much more into the food and cake this time around. It was a Dora theme, so that got her excited! It was the night before we left to return here though, so there were a lot of sad farewells and tears.

I can't wait for what the next year brings and I especially am looking forward to our trip to the U.S. at the end of this month. Can't wait to see everyone and share all of our experiences with them...the things you don't hear about on the blog :-)

Now that she's older, it should be interesting to see how this plane ride goes, especially since I'm taking the one back with Juliana by myself, followed by Jacob a week and a half later. I pray for good moods, lots of distractions and tons of sleep!

Checking out

2010-05-30T17:17:00.002+08:00

Our last night was short since we had to leave the hotel by 12:30pm, but we did walk down Wangfujing street again to get a meal and take it all in once again.

I hope to someday visit China again, whether it be Beijing again or another city, because it was such an amazing trip!!

I was amazed with myself, because I have such a hard time with food, but I tried new things and was much more adventurous than normal. The food (for the most part) was good and I had a wonderful hotpot meal as well as a good meal at a hidden local restaurant on a side street. We had to point to dishes since none of them spoke English but it turned out to be very good.

Throughout our trip, people kept referring to the meaning behind specific colors, especially in the clothing for emperors as well as silk. I decided to do a little research to find out more about it and here's what I came out with.

The five basic colours of the Chinese tradition are arranged according to their equivalents:

Red: fire, reaching upwards, corresponds to the south as dictated by the traditional Chinese cardinal points, and coincides with the warm season of summer.
Black: water, delving into the depths, is in the north. Its season, winter, is marked by the absence of water, which at this time gathers in the northern "shallows of the world".
Green: wood, is in the east and relates to spring. Green is also the colour of the world of plants.
White: metal, is in the west, with its season autumn with white as its colour: a white with a blue tint. Incidentally, contrary to Western colour-systems, black and white are part of the same circle in Chinese colour-systems.
Yellow: earth. In the code of the five elements, the earth has a carrying, supporting function, and thus also assumes the function of primary source and nutrition: the plants sprout from the earth, from where fire, too, breaks out; metals are extracted from its mines, and water flows from its wells. The earth is the centre — the colour yellow; its taste is sweet, and its aroma is that of perfume. Mankind as the yellow race, the inhabitants of this world, stems from this equivalent.

The colors yellow (or gold) and blue were the colors of royalty, worn by the emperor and empress. Also, a lot of the buildings are colored in red and yellow. Click here to see a Color Chart of all the different colors and their meanings with differences between Eastern traditions and Western traditions.

Day 6 - Markets & Hutongs

2010-05-30T16:36:00.009+08:00

Our last full day, we were all exhausted, so we had a late start before heading out. We wanted to check out the market street that is antiques and other goods. We didn't end up buying much except for a handmade Chinese musical instrument, but it was an enjoyable visit and Juliana kept sitting on all of the shopkeeper's stools!

The instrument is called a Xun, one of the earliest instruments in China with a history of over 7,000 years. The one below is similar to the one we bought, but a different design, however they were made with different materials over time. The sound it produces is elegant and graceful, harmonious with nature. Jia pingwa, a well-known Chinese author, described the music played by Xun as the "Sound of the Earth."

After this, we wanted to walk through the Hutongs, which are traditional narrow alleys and lanes lining both sides of the streets with courtyard houses. The "hutong" and "siheyuan", with their unique atmosphere and scenery are a major part of the city's tradition, architecture and culture. Of the traditional narrow lanes, which housed communities of close-knit families for many generations, many have disappeared, being flattened and rebuilt with markets, department stores, widened boulevards and commercial streets. Another walk through the park on our way back to the hotel at the end of the dead, ready for food!

This was the one and only day we ended up eating at the hotel since it was getting late and our little girl was so tired. I must admit though, it was pretty good food!

Day 5 - Lama Temple & Beihai Park

2010-05-30T15:57:00.014+08:00

On our way in to the Lama Temple, a very sacred place for the Chinese people...
This temple is also known as "The Temple of Peace and Harmony." It is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. The building and the artworks of the temple combine Han Chinese and Tibetan styles.

Inside each building, where pictures were not aloud, were all different styles and sizes of Buddhas for the Chinese people to pray and pay homage to their Buddha. They would light incense and burn it as well as give money offerings at the foot of many of the statues.

This was funny, because while I posed for this picture, about ten Chinese people took my picture!!

Jacob standing in front of the beautiful buildings. We walked away wishing we understood more about the beliefs of Buddhism and the meanings of their sacrifices. Of course, now that I'm home, I've been reading about it and it's quite fascinating.

Next up was the Beihai Park - 北海公园 - is an imperial garden to the northwest of the Forbidden City which was built in the 10th century. It is one of the city's largest parks, containing numerous historical structures, palaces and temples. More than half of the park is covered with a lake. Beihai literally means "Northern Sea" and the structures and scenes in the Park are described as masterpieces of gardening technique that reflects the style and the superb architectural skill and richness of traditional Chinese garden art.

The stones lining the staircases were amazing... Up at the top...

After a late night, Juliana and I stayed at the hotel for her to sleep while Jacob headed out to see the city at night time and explore the antique market. He picked up a nice chess set as well as a Chinese chess set. For those of you who don't know Jacob, he collects chess sets from all of the trips we've taken. Someday when we have the space, we'll get to display them all!!

All of the city's buildings are lit up at night and I wish I could have seen it...

Day 4 - The Great Wall & Ming Tombs

2010-05-30T10:22:00.017+08:00

Chair life up to the wall, because the idea of walking up with Juliana was way too overwhelming.
Death grip on Juliana, because we were so high!!

This is a small part of the toboggan ride we'd be taking back down the mountain...

Isn't this amazing??

A view with a watchtower behind us...

A view with the wall way behind us...

She kept saying, "I'm on the great great wall!"

Juliana asked if we could bring the Pooh family onto the wall, so of course we did. We can't wait to get this printed, framed and hung in her room!

The second watch tower we got to, we got to climb up top for an even better view!

Jacob and I peaking out :-)

WOO HOO!!! We're on the Great Wall of China! I can't believe we made it to one of the Great World Wonders, walked along it and took in the beautiful scenery.

We nearly did this walk way down and way back up, but it was so hot and Juliana was exhausted! It was nice though, because you could still see the watch towers and wall for miles up there.

Jacob up on the wall...

I had so many more pictures of the Great wall as well as video, but I tried to pick out the best ones to show. More are on our shutterly photo site in case you're interested. After taking the toboggan ("giant slide" to Juliana) down the mountain, we headed to lunch at the city's well-known Jade Museum. I have never seen so much Jade in my life, in all shapes and colors, in decorations, statues, jewellery, ornaments and so on and so forth. I wanted to buy a few pieces, but the prices were very, very expensive.

Next up was the Ming Tombs where 13 of the city's emperors are buried. The amount of land and work put into creating one single tomb for an emperor was so hard for me to wrap my head around. The first two emperors are buried elsewhere before the third emperor chose this site to create the Ming tombs and the seventh emperor was lost and no one ever knew what happened to him.

Here's a great view of the outside of the Ming Tomb...

This is the "Gate of Death," which means those on the inside are deceased and those that come out are still alive.

This massive building houses the entrance, now closed off, into the tomb for the emperor, empress and all of their belongings, (gold, silk, clothing, furniture, etc.) because the Chinese people believe that when someone dies, they take these things to their next life.

Inside here was a massive tower with the emperor's name inscribed on it.

Our driver and tour guide made a quick stop so that we could see the Olympic buildings from 2008. The bird's nest was amazing...

So was the ice cube where Michael Phelps got famous!
Finally, after a 9 hour day, they stopped at the Silk museum and although I did not take pictures, it was fascinating to see how pure silk is made and how incredibly expensive it is. In ancient times, locals were not allowed to have silk or else they would be beheaded. It was reserved solely for royalty.

PHEW! This was byfar the most amazing day of our trip and we got to see so many different things including some I just couldn't get to. We were thankful to have spent the extra money on a private tour, because we could get all of the descriptions and history about each site we stopped at as well as drive through the local villages and fields.

Day 3 - Forbidden City

2010-05-30T10:21:00.014+08:00

Monday was devoted to the Forbidden since it was gigantic as you can see from a bird's eye view below... There were hundreds of buildings of all shapes and sizes that housed the emperor and empress. Different buildings to sleep, eat, pray, dress, bathe, etc.
Showing a small part of the moat that surrounds the entire Forbidden City...

Passing through the first gate...

Even on a weekday, it was crowded! But here's Juliana posing just inside the first gate...

She had a lot of fun, but it was tiring with all the stairs and walking. We were exhausted once we finally got to the garden at the back to rest!

These gigantic vats were to catch rain water in case there was a fire, then they would have plenty of water on hand. There were placed all throughout the Forbidden City.
"I'm the princess!!!"

These stone carvings were placed in the center of each staircase, but this one is a single piece of stone. In order to get it there, they froze the road in winter time and men dragged it along the ice to be placed here. It was gorgeous.

Although the Forbidden City was magnificent, there was a gorgeous park in the back and we really enjoyed the scenery and trees as well as a bride and groom having their photos taken. Juliana liked this "seat."

This was a lover's tree, so we stood inside it with our family for a blessing!

Just to show you how detailed all of the buildings throughout the city, here are a few pictures of the handmaid painting done on every inch of the buildings...
Another amazing day! We finished it up with some local shopping before grabbing a late dinner and heading to the room after a napless day for Juliana.

Day Two - Jingshan Park & Wangfujing St.

2010-05-30T10:15:00.014+08:00

Day two's first stop was the Jingshan Park, which used to be part of the Forbidden City until the early 1900's when the walls were taken down and a road was put in, destroying several gates and buildings between the park and rear entrance of the palace. The hill in Jingshan Park was made with the earth removed to create the palace moat. It is well worth the climb on a clear day for spectacular views of the Forbidden City and Beijing.

On our way in, Juliana was in model mode! "Picture please" and then she would say, "1, 2, smile!" I guess she is so used to them by now.
Just inside the park, there was a lot of music, games and beautiful flowers to see... After the very long and steep climb up to the very top, the views were worth it. You could see all of the Forbidden city as well as the city from there. It was such a clear day too, so the view was for miles!

I found this park breathtaking, because there were groups of people of all ages, playing musical instruments, singing, playing games, cards, etc. This is what the locals do on their days off: go to a park and have a good time with their family and friends. It's just not something you can see in the United States. I got some good video of the singing with Juliana dancing in front of the crowd!

We didn't buy these, but of course we had to try them on her! This park was out first true experience with local entertainment and lots of pictures of our girl. She had a blast dancing, running around and enjoying the entire experience!

After lunch, we went to Wangfujing Street, Beijing's most famous shopping street. It was hard to restrain ourselves from wanting to buy everything we saw, especially on the small side alley streets! The vast majority of shops in China, especially the markets allow for bargaining and indeed they welcome it. We ended up getting all of our souvenirs and gifts a lot cheaper than the original price tag. This street was loaded with high end stores, as well as Chopsticks shops, restaurants, silk shops, tea houses, clothing stores, a Children's store, Beijing's largest book store and so much more. Here are a few pictures of the street...

We ended up making our way down one of the side streets and saw these candied fruits which were messy, but delicious! Jacob got the strawberry one and I wish I had ordered more before leaving.

As expected, Chinese people will never go hungry since they will eat anything! We made our way to Dong Hua Men, which is typically much busier at night. This street was loaded with so many different and in my opinion, disgusting foods. Things like a scorpion cost 50 yuan and Jacob just couldn't bring himself to try anything, as adventurous as he is. Some were cooked, others were still moving and there were all sorts of animals, insects and other things we simply couldn't identify. Here's a picture of some of the lovely choices...

Yup, there was sheep penis, centipedes, beetles...you name it, they had it!

After leaving the street, we made our way back to Wangfujing street for a proper dinner and then headed back to the hotel after another long day!

Final part of Day 1 - Temple of Heaven

2010-05-29T16:12:00.025+08:00

The Temple of Heaven - 天坛 - was another beautiful site! This was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest.Inside the Temple that is now closed off to the public...The Temple grounds is made up of three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:
1. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests - 祈年殿 - a magnificent triple-gabled circular building built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden, with no nails.

2. The Imperial Vault of Heaven - 皇穹宇 - a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall, that can transmit sounds over large distances.

3. The Circular Mound Altar - 圜丘坛 - the altar proper, which is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. It was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740. Juliana had a lot of fun running around outside all of the buildings...
This was the Altar of Heaven, a circular mound looking south. The number nine represents the Emperor and is evident in the design of the Circular Mound Altar: a single round marmor plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outermost having 9×9 plates. Here's Juliana and I on the Circular Mound, which is very symbolic of the Chinese beliefs...
All the buildings within the Temple have special dark blue roof tiles, representing the Heaven. Each color has a different representation as well as animals too (will get to later).

A neat tree on the way out...

It was a wonderful Temple to visit with a lot of symbolism and helped us learn more about the ancient Chinese culture and their beliefs.

Outside Forbidden City & Tian'amen Square

2010-05-29T15:36:00.014+08:00

After our leisurely stroll through the park, we ended up just outside of the Forbidden City. We decided to wait on visiting this until we had a full day, but we got to see the outside and the views of Tian'amen square from this side of the street. The building are so ancient and massive... This is the view from the Forbidden City to Tian'amen square before we crossed over...

After going through security, we got in! Tian'amen square is separated from the Forbidden City on the North side by the "Gate of Heavenly Peace." It is the largest city square inthe world and the site of numerous historical events for China's history.It was first built during the Ming Dynasty in 1417 and has been restored over the years.

In the middle of the square was the "Monument to the People's Heroes and the Great Hall of the People."

A great view of the Forbidden City entrance in the back...

Yet another picture of Juliana and this one was so cute!

Juliana dancing and gathering an audience...

After Juliana's running around and dancing, we headed out the other gate to do some shopping and then head to the Temple of Heaven. This gate was also gorgeous with so much detail...

Beijing - Day One

2010-05-29T14:48:00.007+08:00

We arrived at the airport after our 6 hour flight and Juliana had rested plenty on the plane. She immediately got excited, knowing we were somewhere new and we explained to her that we would be in Beijing for the week.

After checking in to our hotel around 8:00am, Juliana passed out very quickly for a morning nap. Jacob took some pictures of the hutongs outside our hotel window to show how most of the locals live...
After eating breakfast and resting, we headed out to explore and discovered Chang Puhe Park just down the street from our hotel. Here's the entrance...

It was beautiful with the water, willow trees and flowers. Since it was a Saturday, there were lots of people taking pictures with Juliana too, which she didn't seem to mind at all. The pictures here and for the rest of the trip truly do not do any justice to the city and all of the sites. It was breathtaking!! Here we are in the park... And under the gigantic fans...

In this park and in other parts of the city, we got to see locals practicing Tai Chi and Qugong as well as singing and playing music. There were also a lot of families and couples playing cards, drinking teas and just chatting by the water on stone tables and chairs.

Stay tuned! Next entry is our passing by Forbidden City (which we later visited), Tianamen Square and the Temple of Heaven.

Back from Beijing

2010-05-29T14:33:00.005+08:00

Beijing was a remarkable trip with one breathtaking site after another. Of course, the Great Wall was our greatest adventure, however we crammed our trip with tons of visiting and fit in as much as possible. I can't wait to blog about each day, but for now, just a short hello since we're back! Hard to believe we actually stood on one of the World's Great Wonders!! It was massive and stretched on for miles...

I simply had to get this and fit in with the culture! I didn't get to bring the hat back with me though since it was too bulky. Oh well, got to enjoy it in China!

Juliana was surprisingly well-behaved besides the melt downs around nap times and bed times and a few long days. We truly did push her well beyond her limit, but it ended up being worth it. She did have a blast though at all the sites, was a spectacle among the Chinese people and enjoying dancing her way through the city (videos to come!). If I could have charged for all the pictures taken of her, our hotel would have been paid for! But it was fun to see her smile so much and pose for pictures like a little model. Someday, I would love to visit China again and take in more of the food, culture and sites since there is so much to do, in other cities as well.

Update

2010-05-19T15:14:00.011+08:00

I know it's been several days since I have written. My mom's visit was wonderful and relaxing. Since this was her third trip out to Singapore, we skipped some of the sights she had already seen. We got to spend a lot of quality time together and also do some new things as well. It went by far too fast and we miss her already, I can't wait for the next visit to the U.S. so that we can see family and friends again.

Last week, Juliana took a bad fall on a cement stair and landed on her chin. She didn't get stitches, but they glued the cut and she didn't seem to be in much pain. She was a very good girl for the doctor and remained still the entire time!!

After Juliana's hospital visit, I had a visit of my own to a new doctor and discussed some of my own health concerns. We are trying a new course of medications for two weeks and then I'll return for a follow up to see what to do next. Of course, I got sick over the weekend and I'm having a hard time fighting it off. Always happens with a trip coming!

So the good news? We are going to Beijing on Saturday for a week!!! We're really excited to be able to visit Beijing, see the Forbidden City and Great Wall, among other things. I picked up our visas today, so we can officially enter China! It's our first big trip since coming out to Singapore, so we're excited and nervous. Juliana has been exhausted the last two weeks, but I showed her pictures of where we were going and she got excited. She called the Great Wall a "Big bridge!" It's going to be an adventure we've been looking forward to for a few weeks now.

Other than that, not much has changed and we're just going through the days. I can't bellieve it's already nearing the end of May...this year has flown by!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T10:10:00.001+08:00

Motherhood - "great movie" review

2010-05-08T09:07:00.016+08:00

In this great movie about the ups and downs of motherhood, Eliza (Uma) is a stay-at-home mother of two children who used to be a writer and is now blogging about being a mom. There's so many different part of her life that are easy to relate to. Also helps me some of what I have to look forward and how I can get through all of the different seasons of motherhood a bit easier.

In one scene, Eliza and her husband are talking and she talks about her life as a stay-at-home mother and how it affects her:

It's just that every day until the second I pass out cold, my day, like the day of almost every other mother I know, is made up a series of concrete, specific actions. And they're actions that kind of ware away at passion, if you know what I mean. The actions are petty and small, like refilling coffee cups or folding underwear, but they accumulate and in this really debilitating way that diminishes my ability to focus on anything else.

Throughout the day, Eliza is trying to write an essay for a parenting magazine and it is something that speaks to the hearts of all mothers:

Motherhood is about accepting the limitations of time and energy, which stretch beyond you, even though it feels like they could consume you. Search for and hold on to your own true self, because without that, what mother can you be? Things are always changing, no matter how much we might want things to stay the same. You could take a picture of your kids every single day and every single day, they'd just be getting older. That's a fact, a heartbreaking fact, but still a fact. So seize your days and dwell on them fully. Look to your children because they know how to inhabit brief periods of time with extreme passion and for nothing more really than the sake of those moments, they can help you remember that. If you only slow down and let them. Be fortunate because chances are good you actually might be.

I personally loved the movie and think all moms, especially stay-at-home moms should watch it, but that's just my *review* I love being a mom, it's the most rewarding role/job in the world, but it can be challenging on so many different levels. For me, I struggle to be a toddler along with my daughter some days, to get down to her level, to play, to color for hours on end, to simply try to see and learn through the eyes of a 2.5 year old. Other times, it's the stubbornness I have to deal with, the tantrums or the crying when she doesn't get her way. Or it could simply be the selfishness of wanting more time to myself, to pursue things I'm passionate about, because I too feel as though they are diminished. Sometimes, I truly believe I've forgotten parts of who I am, things I may like or dislike, or what I enjoy about the world I live in. But in the end, it's all worth it to look into Juliana's beautiful eyes and feel my heart beat with love for her. Her passion for life is more than enough for me right now and in the process of being her mom, I will try harder to seize my days, be fortunate and most importantly, to find my true self.

A beautiful surprise

2010-05-07T08:54:00.007+08:00

This will be my third Mother's Day and it feels incredible to celebrate my role as a mom for my beautiful daughter. I found out that Jean is very creative too, because she had an activity with Juliana to make me a Mother's Day picture.

I would never think of something this creative...
I'm amazed it kept Juliana's attention, because this must have taken a lot of work! The final piece! I think they were going to hold on to it until Sunday, but Juliana was so excited, she pulled it out to show me the second I walked in the door!! It's so beautiful and unique. I can tell she was proud with all the praise.

MISunderstood

2010-05-06T13:54:00.004+08:00

MISunderstood

Confusing, distracting,
Emotional, ravenous,
All of which are
MISunderstood.

Happy, compassionate,
Lonely, breathtaking,
All of which are also
MISunderstood.

There’s a cloud over my head,
A blur in my eyes,
A hole in my beating heart and I am
MISunderstood.

People choose to judge me,
Others decide to hate me,
Those that truly know me understand I feel
MISunderstood.

I try to express my emotions,
Explain myself to people,
But not one gets it or me, because I’m
MISunderstood.

If I had it my way,
I’d scream it to the world,
That it’s simply okay to be
MISunderstood.

I would tell them all to listen,
open their eyes and ears,
And then they would know I may not have to be
MISunderstood,
Anymore.

Bike riding at East Coast Park

2010-05-02T10:08:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong picked us up to go bike riding at East Coast Park. It was a great day for it and Juliana was excited to see the girls.

They got the two seated bicycle, so we decided to try it out too. Here's Juliana ready to go...
We may look silly, but it was fun!

She absolutely loved it, especially when we went fast. She'd say, "Faster, faster!"

They looked better at it than we did and the girls were racers practically...

Yeah, I heal the camera behind my back for this one, so it's a bit close up, but she's so cute...

Juliana got to try Bethel's bike, with daddy's help of course...

How cute is this? Juliana kept chasing Eden around trying to grab her hand and then she would run along side her while she rode her wave board!

After bike riding, we headed for some gelato and Juliana found this hat clip in the door...

Yum yum! This stuff is so good!

Another wonderful day. We seem to do all the fun things with them :-) and look forward to many more opportunities!

Some more cute photos

2010-04-27T08:37:00.003+08:00

So, now that we are starting to potty train (again), part of it is a reward system and this little truck has a bunch of smaller trains, trucks, etc. that fit inside. Each time Juliana does really well with her potty training, she gets another vehicle to put inside her box. We'll see how this goes for now! Brushing her hair, kind of...

Randomly tired? No, she's just being silly!

My mom got her a Hello Kitty flashlight because she's been talking about flashlight for some reason for days now. It's cute and not too bright, so I don't have to worry too much that she likes to put it in her face!

My mom

2010-04-27T07:40:00.004+08:00

My mother truly is my hero. She is strong, authentic, compassionate, loving, supportive, and inspirational. She's also smart in ways I don't think she even knows and I aspire to be the kind of mom for Juliana that she was for me. She has never stopped supporting my every move and decision, no matter how difficult or challenging or wrong it may be. I can't even count the number of times she's been there for me when I fell or stumbled in my walk of life. I have really enjoyed these last several weeks with her and I hate to see her go, but hopefully God will bring us together again soon. There is nothing like the power of family's love and Juliana has adored her Nana from day one. Their relationship is remarkable and yesterday, she kept saying, "I love you Nana" over and over again, sensing something was up with the suitcases out.I love you mom, wholeheartedly. I am truly blessed with such a wonderful, close and loving family and I can't wait to see them all again soon.

Day 2 at Sentosa

2010-04-25T16:28:00.008+08:00

We woke up to another beautiful day this morning and headed down for our buffet breakfast. Then it was some more time by the pool before checking out of the resort. Juliana picked these flowers for our hair...
My gorgeous girl! She was very well behaved all weekend and enjoyed Sentosa with Nana this time.

Cutie :-)

On the top floor of the hotel are some beautiful views of the water and beach...

Here's a pictures of the pool, which is hard to take a good picture of since it's so long...

Juliana and her Nana with the waterfall behind them.

Last time my mom had visited, we never got around to doing the Merlion walk with her, so we brought her this time. It was so hot though, I wanted to walk through all of the fountains and pools!
This is such a precious picture...

We asked her to pose and I wasn't the only one taking pictures. She had a small audience with some other cameras going off. I know I'm biased, but she is rather adorable!

My mom finally got to see the large Merlion up close...

We walked through Resort World to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch.

It was a wonderful family weekend, but I wish we could go back and stay longer. It feels so tropical and relaxed. My mom's visit has been a blast and I am dreading her leaving in a few days. Thankfully, we've had a lot of good weather and made some amazing memories.

Mini vaca at Sentosa

2010-04-25T16:22:00.007+08:00

This weekend was a lovely break!! We stayed at...Checking into our room. Juliana went nuts as usual!!

Making some calls...
Trying on the slippers... Then it was off to the beach and it was a gorgeous day! She had fun in the water and playing in the sand with her toys.

Digging with her Nana...

After the beach, we headed for lunch since Juliana apparently worked up a nice big appetite. Okay, had to share these...

The resort's pool was nice and there was a kiddy section, a waterfall and a slide for children. We spent most of the afternoon at the pool and got all "wrinkly" as Juliana always says!

No nap and she was so good!

After all the swimming and playing, we had a wonderful dinner at a place called, Wave House. It was a delicious meal.

I admit that I tired out even earlier than Juliana and then she slept like a log the entire night. Exhausted from all that fun and sun!

It's been SO hot!

2010-04-23T17:57:00.009+08:00

It's certainly been very hot here lately, which means we have been spending a lot of time in the pool. Check out Juliana's new bathing suit...She brought her princesses in the pool this time and had fun swimming with them...

Practicing blowing bubbles, which she's really already mastered!

This was "her slide," but I guess it was okay for Nana to stand next to it and watch her come down...

Lounging pool side...

I was trying to teach her to swim, but eventually I just had her climb on my back while I kicked around and swam. She couldn't get enough of it!

My mom got her the boat for the pool and this weekend to use at Sentosa in the ocean. Should be fun!

With each day that passes, I get even more sad knowing that my mom is going to be leaving. I'm not looking forward to it, because it's been wonderful to have her around these past several weeks, for all of us. Juliana and I have been happier too. Sigh, I guess all good things must come to an end.

Next up is Sentosa this weekend, so I'll have lots to share afterwards!

REAL beauty

2010-04-23T12:05:00.009+08:00

There's an amazing book called, "This Is Who I Am," in which photographer Rosanne Olson portrays the many different forms of beauty, from young to old as well as those with scars and deeper stories about their unhealthy bodies. The woman that volunteered to be part of this project are courageous, beautiful and heroic. They bring the world "beauty" a whole new meaning and show that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. As women, we all have concerns about our body, but we can learn to love our flaws, embrace our uniqueness and be proud of our beauty, both inside and out. I strongly suggest that ALL women read this book, but I wanted to share a poem written by the remarkable Maya Angelou that is included at the end of the book...

PHENOMINAL WOMAN

Pretty woman wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman.

Phenominally.

Phenominal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room,

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stands or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash in my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman.
Phenominally.
Phenominal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much,

But they can't touch

My inner mystery,

When I try to show them,

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman.

Phenominally.
Phenominal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

The palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenominally.
PHENOMINAL WOMAN,

THAT'S ME.

This is what we should be believing about ourselves as woman as well as teaching our daughters. One of the greatest campaigns has been the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, because it supports that woman do not need to be stick thin, blond, white, with large breasts and perfect skin, amongst other things. Woman are different shapes and sizes, with unique personalities and talents. Those are the things we should be celebrating, both men and woman. All of the woman in this picture are simply gorgeous...
What Stacy says about her body (below) and her beauty is what I am striving for, for both myself and my daughter. Take a close look at this woman...she is natural, wholesome and beautiful Yet, some people's standards would mark her differently and it's sad. Our world is far too focused on the outer appearance of a person that we often never give ourselves the opportunity to get to know them. If there is one major thing I have learned from living in Singapore is that people are never what they appear to be. I am often pleasantly surprised and truly blessed to have had this chance to see beyond the outer and into the internal parts of human beings.

I may be her mom, but Juliana is special and beautiful. I will always encourage her to reach for the stars, never to give up on her dreams and to truly believe that appearances are meaningless compares to a strong core of morality, confidence and courage.

Side note: Yes, I know my blog has taken a turn into thoughts about self-image and all that goes along with it, but it's something close to my heart and something I am dealing with a lot lately. I believe it's important not only to be honest, but also to put it out there in the hopes that one person, one reader is affected. Love to you all.

Destiny

2010-04-20T19:09:00.002+08:00

Destiny?

Time stalls…
I reminisce about all those moments,
The ones I want to relive,
To change.
But, would it really make a difference?
No, it wouldn’t.

People have their opinions,
Their beliefs about life,
And there is no possible way
Of changing any of it.
I must choose ME,
To be who I have been created to be,
By my creator.
Because He had a purpose.

Could you ever believe
That God had a purpose for your life?
And that no matter what you did,
That purpose would never change,
And you were destined for a specific destiny.

I believe.
I know that God has a plan for me,
And I believe that it’s still unfolding.
In time, the events will be clear
And I will see through new eyes.

Until then, I will patiently wait.

A yoga buddy?

2010-04-20T09:26:00.003+08:00

What do you think? In my quest to improve my health, I've been using my yoga mat a lot more. Someone else seems interested... I think she'd make a good workout buddy!!

A Carnival at the Polo Club

2010-04-18T19:14:00.009+08:00

Today's adventure was a carnival at the Singapore Polo Club that Jacob found out about in the paper. It wasn't huge, but we stayed for a couple hours and Juliana had fun. Started off with some "cotton floss" otherwise known as cotton candy to us Americans...
Then we got to see lots and lots of horses. I adore them, so it was nice to see Juliana enjoy feeding, patting and looking at them...

I was surprised she wasn't at all skittish around them and some of them were absolutely gorgeous! I promised her some riding lessons when she gets older (with me too!)... This was balloon number two! She was running around and dancing with it on the grass... Oh and a bouncy castle of course! At first, she kept saying no to going in, but then she saw how much fun the other kids were having and she got in...

Not so bad after all! Another great day and we got to see something new with my mom too!

I'm sick of the lie...

2010-04-17T20:58:00.005+08:00

As most of you already know, I have been struggling with an eating disorder for the past 10+ years of my life and I'm sick and tired of not just putting it out there. It's part of who I am and will always be part of who I become. Recovery provides an opportunity for a lot of growth, self-reflection and soul searching. It helps clarify what is important in life and who is worth my time, attention and love. A lot of people (sadly) have their beliefs and stereotypes about eating disorders and for the most part, they're completely judgemental and wrong. Each person's experiences are unique to their lives and personalities. There is no label for anyone struggling with an eating disorder and no one person fits into any specific criteria. It is my hope that in time, I will be able to change those stigmas and open people's eyes to the reality of eating disorders, the severity of them and how each and every person can play a role in someone's recovery, growth and renewal.
One thing I want my daughter to always know is that she is perfect just the way she. It takes a lot of work, growth and strength on my part to keep forging on in order to provide her with a strong example of a woman with a positive body-image and strong self-esteem. That means a lot of hard choices on my part, such as what she's exposed to, the toys she plays with and the words and conversations she hears. It has taken me years to get to this point and I have so much further to go. I know that I cannot protect her from everything, but I can certainly to my best to prepare her for the world that she is going to grow up in.

Fortunately, I know that I have a lot of friends and family that have always supported and loved me unconditionally. Now, it's time to lean on myself and be a strong woman, wife and mother. Juliana is prone to all the same body image problems that every young girl is nowadays as she grows up, so I can only hope and pray that what I can do will help and that everyone else in her life will be a positive role model for being proud of who you are, no matter what you look like.

So, this is the real me, that many of you have already known. However, the truth of the matter is that no many how many words I speak, no one will ever understand my battle and I accept that. All I ask is for support, no questions asked. For those of you that cannot or have chosen not to accept me, as I am, it's your loss, not mine.

God bless everyone. May you all take a look at your inner selves today and reflect upon your own self-esteem and how it affects those around you, especially your children.

Fun at Universal Studios

2010-04-15T11:04:00.027+08:00

Yesterday was a day of fun at the Universal Studios of Singapore. We brought along Juliana, of course and stepped in to the streets of Hollywood...
We immediately spotted Kung Fu Panda and got a nice pose, except for the balloon in Juliana's face!

J&J with Frankenstein...

The Madagascar show, which Juliana loved and danced along to!

Next up was the Merry-Go-Round. At first, she was a little scared, but daddy stood with her and mommy and Nana got on seats in front of her to show her it was okay and safe!

Outside Shrek's castle in Far Far Away Land. The 4D Shrek show was quite a surprise! Juliana did not like the blasts of water, but the rest of it was a blast!

Hanging out with Donkey...

After Madagascar and Shrek, we went to Jurassic Park. My mom, Jacob and Juliana went on the Dino ride... Chilling out with the dino bones...

Compared to Juliana, that's one big dino!!!

Next up was Ancient Egpyt, which was definitely the most beautiful parts of Universal. The statues and buidlings were beautiful... Jacob and I rode the mummy roller coaster. Short and sweet, but it was good...

My mom and Juliana enjoyed the other ride...

Phew, time was flying and the sun was very strong! We stopped for lunch at Oasis and the food was delicious. Juliana was acting like a goofball as usual...

Most of Sci-Fi City was still not up and running, but we enjoyed what we could. Juliana was fascinated by these women...

We rode the "Accelerator," which surprisingly, Juliana enjoyed. She kept saying, "I like the circles!!"

The streets of New York as portrayed from a Singaporean point of view. Very interesting...

Beetlejuice crept up on my mom and caught her by surprise!

I used to love this movie when I was younger and the "actor" played the role very well!

Juliana dancing in the streets of "New York City"

Jacob and my mom went to a sci-fi show, so Juliana and I headed to the costume shop. She tried on a ton of sunglasses and hats and we had a blast!! My favorite was the green alien eyes!

Downtown in New York, with a great view of Madagascar in the background...

Outside Mel's Diner with a nice classic Chevy!

Hanging out with Woody Woodpecker...Juliana even gave him a huge hug!

All of us with the Madagascar crew...

Then the precious little girl had to pose all on her own...

This was the set for the "Waterworld" show, which was great! Lots of special effects, splashing and acting. Juliana was a bit scared of the loud noises (gunshots, blasts, etc.), but it was enjoyable...

Juliana was amazing after a long day, nearly 8 hours of fun in the park. She was still so well behaved and happy right before we left and headed for some dinner...

On our way out, we got a good shot of the globe since this is probably the only time we'll be visiting the park...

All in all, it was a great day and Juliana was so well-behaved. She surprised me, especially after 8 hours in the sun and a lot of activity! I'm so glad we got to share the experience with my mom while she was here too!

Go fly a kite!

2010-04-11T16:48:00.005+08:00

This morning, we headed to Marina Barrage with Sue Lynn and the girls for some kite flying. First, it was important to fill our tummies. Juliana got her first oreo from the girls. I think she'd make a good campaign!
It was really, really hot, but we managed to spend a bit of time up top. Here are the girls with their kite, before it got tangled...

This was Juliana's first experience with kite flying, so she had no idea what to do. She was more fascinated with tangling herself in the rope!! My mom, Jacob and Juliana in the background after getting some height!

Haha, my mom setting the kite free...

Lots of colors to fascinate her...

After many failed attempts at keeping the kite in the sky, it was time for Juliana to enjoy the water fountains... Awesome picture!! She kept putting her face really close to the holes when the water was off and then the water would coming flying out.

We had a great afternoon and stopped to eat some gelato on the way home. Juliana's exhausted, having skipped her nap, but it was well worth it!

Model time

2010-04-10T08:23:00.011+08:00

Juliana's modeling session!!

She really is a little diva! This morning, she got some reading in with Nana before breakfast...

Peace, tranquility, acceptance

2010-04-07T09:55:00.006+08:00

I love Thom Rutledge's work and he has so much wisdom and knowledge. He's an inspiration and these are just a few of the "nutshells" I looked at today. Very fitting for my life at the moment. For this first one, it's about taking chances in life, despite what the consequences may be. Don't sit on the sidelines, but play the game of life and feel all of the emotions.

Loving yourself can be one of the most challenging things to do in a society that encourages change, dieting, perfectionism, staying young, plastic surgery, etc. Part of self-love is learning to put yourself first, even if it means that other people won't accept it. I'm learning this more and more, because the person that I am may not be the person other people want me to be and that's just too bad for them. They can take me AS I AM or leave me out of their lives. I have to accept it and find peace in knowing that I am being true to myself and to the person God reated. The biggest part of this is being able to no only love and respect yourself, but to know that it's OKAY!
I've always loved the saying, "The Calm Before The Storm," but this is a twist on that. How many times have you gotten "stuck" in a storm? Especially in Singapore!! Maybe the storms should be embraced, both physically and figuratively. It's natures way of expressing itself, possibly nature's anger, frustration or pain. Next time there's a storm on the horizon, I will embrace it, sit back and allow myself to learn from the rain, thunder and lightning. Storms are always going on inside of us, so why not use nature to help us learn from them?

Below is a handmade piece of jewelery made by Karin Collin, owner of Spoonfed Art. She uses spoons to create art pendants by filling them with all things glittery, shiny and bright. The spoon pendants evolved out of her collage work, which she started as a means of artistic therapy. They are all unique and colorful and echo the "power to heal." One review stated: They are staggeringly beautiful pendants with a soul.

They are rather expensive though, so I guess I'll have to save up. Hope you enjoyed my little inspirational entry. Blessings!

Lots of fun and music too!

2010-04-06T14:24:00.007+08:00

She looks adorable in this picture, so I had to share and she's still so proud of her basket of eggs from Easter. Look at that big smile...
Loving her tent from Nana...

Playing peek-a-boo with the flap and enjoying some quiet time for her and her Mr. and Mrs. Pooh!

More art time with Nana. We have all kinds of projects now around the place: photo frames, pictures, a plate, etc..

Tuesday is Juliana's music class and she was the only student to show up for the day, so my mom got to enjoy class with her!

Playing the big drum...Fun with the gigantic elastic band...

And a beautiful view with Sentosa in the background from Vivo. The weather was beautiful this morning!

I admit, sometimes I just wish my mom could live with us or close by us, because she makes Juliana so happy (and me too of course)! Juliana is loving all of the extra attention and definitely getting all of us wrapped around her little finger!

There's nothing quite like family, so hold on for dear life and don't let little arguments, hard feelings or pride get in the way. Life is too short to waste it away on being bitter, mad and frustrated. Fortunately, my family has always been close and never let those "little things" get in the way, or the big ones for that matter. But it happens and it's so sad when it does. Things can always be different, better, when people learn to humble themselves, swallow their pride and just put their arms out for that embrace. Sadly, I speak from some experience, so just let me tell you, it's not worth it!!! Jump in to life with both feet, no net and have faith. God will catch you and he will guide you.

Lots of love to my amazing family back home. You are inspirational, loving and you support me unconditionally which means the world to me, considering the last several years. God bless you all.

Some Thai food for Easter

2010-04-04T19:01:00.004+08:00

On our way out for some Thai food for Easter dinner...

I've only been to this restaurant one other time, but the serice and the food is phenomenal. I know my mom likes Thai, so I wanted to her to have some authentic Thai food...
Cheer! Yes their Thai beers are delicious too!!
Okay, rare occasion - I dressed up! Thanks Camille for the dress, I love it!
Stuffed and on our way out. It was a unique Easter dinner, but delicious and I think given more time, I could have eater more!

A very Happy Easter

2010-04-04T11:19:00.010+08:00

My mom brought along an Easter basket, plastic eggs and candy for Juliana's Easter morning! She got to wake up to a basket outside her door and then go on an egg hunt. She had a lot of fun...and I think she wished there were more! Showing off her basket full of eggs. Oh and yes, it's official, she loves chocolate!

Doesn't she look absolutely precious! The dress and hat are precious on her...

God love her! This was the first Easter season that Juliana could really take part in...Feeding daddy some chocolates...

One of the other Easter gifts was a Mr. Potato head that was originally dressed up as an Easter bunny, but she wanted to see the fireman's outfit...

Yes, still sooooooo proud! She's been showing them off all morning.Hugging the Bunny stuffed animal that was also party of the Easter gifts...
After the excitement of Easter eggs passed, my mom had brought along some arts and crafts, so they got started on some coloring and painting. The final products were quite a site to see!
Happy Easter to everyone, especially our loved ones back home in the U.S.

A wonderful surprise

2010-04-03T13:28:00.012+08:00

Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong had mentioned this place to us a long time ago, but we never got around to visiting. They were kind enough to pick us up this morning and bring us to the Pottery Jungle which was founded in 1965 and houses the only working Dragon kiln in Singapore. It was remarkable and huge!
As you can see, it's practically a tunnel and Juliana went inside with Jacob to explore...

My mom and I sat down on one of the many handmade benches, each one very unique and beautiful!

This is definitely not a place for kids, but she still had fun looking (we had to hold her) at all of the sculptures, especially the ones of animals...

There was a small dock out on a pond that was very nice and quiet... Ah, the queen!

It's so nice to have family here :-)

Sue Lynn spotted this perfect photo moment and I love it! Such a great picture of my mom and I...

I love these trees and they make for great pictures... After leaving, we drove through NTU, which was an enormous campus, much bigger than I could have imagined. We stopped for lunch and tried a little of everything. We got my mom to try some more local dishes like Mee Goreng, Chicken Rice and Carrot Cake (not that kind of carrot cake that we Americans would think of). It was a delicious meal and Jacob finally got his coconut drink too!

We still always leave after spending time with Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong feeling blessed to have them in our lives. They have helped us explore so many different parts of the city, different foods and been wonderful friends. I'm glad my mom got to visit again to see them as well. It was a lovely morning and we hope to go back to look at the pottery again kid-free so we don't have to worry about anything breaking!

Nana's here!

2010-04-02T15:09:00.006+08:00

Yay! My mom finally arrived early this morning from the U.S. for her visit. She'll be here until the 28th, so about 4 weeks all together. We're excited to have the company and Juliana is already on cloud 9.

My mom brought Juliana some gifts, of course, and one of them was this tent with a tunnel... She wanted Nana to climb in with her, but there is definitely not enough room in that tent for an adult!

She also got some binoculars from Nana...

Coloring together...

One other present was the Table Manners set for her Mrs. Goodbee dollhouse, which she played with a lot this morning!

Like Juliana, I am thrilled to have my mom here for the next few weeks. We took my mom to eat some local food for lunch...

Looking forward to the next few weeks, for some fun with my mom!

Jacob Ballas garden with friends

2010-03-31T13:49:00.006+08:00

This morning, we had a play date with Chris and her two girls, Sophie and Miriam at the Jacob Ballas garden, the kids section of the Botanical gardens. Then, we got lucky and ran into Jenn, Elyse and her in laws. The girls had plenty to keep themselves occupied and the weather wasn't too bad since the blazing sun wasn't out.
Time to play in the sand...

I love the wooden tables and chairs carved out for the kids to sit at. Juliana would sit down, put her snack in front of her and then say a prayer before eating. How precious!

Elyse and Juliana were picking flowers to put in their pail. It came to a point that we had to stop them though or else there wouldn't be any more flowers!

All the girls sitting around the table eating some "dinner" of leaves!

Juliana and Elyse took turns singing, "Do you know the muffin man?" and then peeking through the bamboo to see if I was looking!

After lots of playing in the sand and trees, we spent a little bit of time in the water park area for them to cool off. Juliana had a blast, Anything to do with water, she loves! I can't wait to return there with my mom during her visit since we never made it here last time.After being stuck inside way more than I ever want to be again over the last few weeks, t was good to get out, walk around and enjoy being with my girl.

My mom gets in Friday morning, so we are looking forward to spending the next several weeks playing with her, going to the parks, swimming and sight seeing. I can't believe she's here in less than two days and will be staying for nearly the entire month of April. We can't wait!! Juliana seems to be getting excited too, because whenever I mention Nana coming, she says, "Yes, so much fun!" It will be nice to have a family member here for Easter too, since we didn't have that last year. Yay!

Blessings to all of our family and friends back in the U.S. We miss you all so much!

Dr. Juliana is here to save the day!

2010-03-31T13:38:00.007+08:00

My precious little girl has been exhausted for days now, so there's been a lot of play time at home when she doesn't have classes. Yesterday, it was dress up which began with necklaces, a crown and two magic wands! She was casting spells on me, so I had to guess what they were...
Then she pulled out her doctor's kit and decided to put on the scrubs that her Aunt Niki and Uncle Jason sent to her. She was Dr. Juliana Stephen, checking my temperature and giving me shots. She looked adorable.

I'm not sure I'd want a shot from a doctor in this position!

Using her stethoscope... I asked Juliana if mommy was healthy and she said, "No!" Uh oh, better work on that some more. But she certainly makes an adorable doctor!

And so it goes

2010-03-24T15:26:00.003+08:00

I admit, it's been a bit dull around here lately. Most of last week, I spent inside with my leg up, trying to heal the damage from the accident with the glass door. It's still sore and sometimes painful, but there is an improvement in all of the other cuts up and down my leg. I had a good family weekend, but was exhausted and sore, so I took it easy the beginning of this week. Just enjoyed time with Juliana and got some writing done.

She's full of fun lately, although she is pushing all of her limits too, seeing just how far she can get. We've been better with handling this though and much more patience, I think, and she's responsive for the most part. I can't expect more, considering she's nearly two and a half and it's all typical for her age. She still makes me so happy though.

Yesterday, to impress her Nana and Nanny on skype, she got all her bracelets on and her sunglasses. She was styling!
Then, after our chat with them, we played and she lounged on the couch...

I'm amazed at the things that come out of her mouth, mainly because I don't know where she learns half of it. It's remarkable how much she retains. Her newest thing is her love for dolphins and we're not quite sure what started this, but it's always, "I like dolphins" our of the blue! Hmmmm, guess we'll see what we can do with that!

Out the other day, posing like a model again... Even though it's been a bit dull, I finally get my stitches out in two days, but I'm a bit concerned about how it's going to look and the swelling in my knee. Guess I'll find out on Friday. Then, with only one week to go from there, my mom will be here!! I am so looking forward to her company, conversation and just being with us for nearly four weeks. Juliana is going to have a blast and I may be a grown up, but I fully admit that I miss my mom!! I can't wait to have her here. I'll be able to go in the pool in a couple weeks hopefully and we can take Juliana out to the parks and just have lots of time to bond. It's definitely not coming fast enough and we'll have company for Easter this year, which is nice. Restaurant has already been chosen.

Not much else to report. The blog is still a passion for me, so I like to keep everyone updated, but no BIG news on our front. Who knows though! For now, it's just day by day and seeing what God has in store for us :-)

So life has downs too, right?

2010-03-17T09:30:00.011+08:00

Interesting day on Tuesday. I was having a pretty good one, spent the morning chatting with my cousins and Uncle, then mom and grandmother on skype with Juliana, then having a picnic/tea party with her before she left for music class. I was then keeping busy at home before yet another accident (am I somehow cursed? just kidding!) happened.

There were (and I say were, because Jacob removed all the rest of them that afternoon when we got back) glass doors on the entertainment center, tempered. One had come loose, but we did a "quick fix" for now and looking back, are just annoyed that we didn't just take it down in the first place. I opened the left side of the cabinet to get a book and the right side came flying off the top and then snapped at the bottom hinge. ARG! My reaction time is a bit bad lately, so no time to just snatch it up.

I didn't even know what to do. Yes, I panicked. I slipped and landed knee first in a pile of glass, and cut open my right knee pretty bad. I am actually thankful I was home alone, because I can't imagine something like this happening with Juliana here. So, first call: Jacob, which pretty much consisted of "Can you just get home now!" and then I called my landlords since I know they live close. I was waiting on that, hoping I could make it, but then I saw the damage to my knee and slowly crawled my way to the fridge (NOW I memorize that number for the ambulance) and then back to where I left my phone. So, ambulance showed up, Sue Lynn, Mun Cheong and then Jacob. I even called my neighbor because I was feeling out of it and did not want to loose consciousness before someone showed up. First of all, THANK YOU to all of you for helping. One ruined blanket in the trash (sigh, it was a nice one), 13 stitches in my knee, one in my right palm and a criss cross of scratches up and down my right leg later and I'm okay!

I must admit, the service at the NUH was pretty good. It took them quick a while to clean off my legs and take all the pieces of glass off. A few were embedded, but gone now. It was just my right knee that required the most attention and it's going to be a nasty scar. As if I don't have enough! I asked a million questions, poor doctor, but he was kind enough to answer every single one! Well, it definitely could have been worse. Fortunately, I got hold of Jean and she went to my friend Chris' downstairs with Juliana until we all got home, the place was completely cleaned up and she didn't have to see all the glass and blood.

Who knew such a great day could turn so badly, so quickly? Oh well, that's life. I'm just fortunate no major nerves were hit and that besides my knee, the rest of the damage is minor, although just a lot more scars to add to my collage of "body art."

One thing Tuesday's experience taught me, besides BE MORE CAREFUL AT ALL TIMES is that there's always a silver lining. It took that experience to wake us up to any other household dangers (for about the millionth time since we had Juliana) that there may be. Now, we can be even more aware, for her sake and ours.

Last night, Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong came by with these beautiful flowers...
Had to put them in a trash bin since they were so big! Juliana got her own one (she had just stubbed her toe and was milking it, still is) and loved the extra attention from Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong before bed!Stitches come out in a week from tomorrow and the bandage up my entire leg comes off tomorrow. Then I think I'll just have to cover up the major cuts. Ah, but my leg will be able to breathe!

Off to the theater

2010-03-14T13:04:00.003+08:00

Yesterday was theater day! Juliana got to see "Ollie and the Slurge" which she thoroughly enjoyed as usual...

Such a big girl in her theater seat...

Just to make you smile :-)

2010-03-14T12:09:00.004+08:00

Our little swimmer!

Aw, her fist big boo boo

2010-03-11T11:10:00.005+08:00

As a toddler, Juliana has definitely had her fair share of bumps and bruises, but this was the first that required a band aid! She picked Minnie Mouse and made a big deal about getting lots of kisses for her boo boo and then continuing on with this routine throughout the rest of the evening...Cuddle time with her Poohs, yes that's plural. She has a Mommy Pooh and a Daddy Pooh as well as a Baby Pooh!

Then, as they sat down to watch Veggie Tales, she asked daddy, "Lie down?" and "Where's the pillow?" It was so adorable...

Our little cuddle bug :-) She loves hugs and kisses. Whenever Jacob and I hug or kiss, she comes running over to hug our legs and let us know she wants to be part of it!!

Is it time to leap?

2010-03-09T19:32:00.008+08:00

I'm amazed at how life can throw us a curve ball now and then and make us realize we need a change. Through my work over the years on myself and with social work, I've learned that it's all in the individuals hands to choose when to really change. It's often related to the metaphor of climbing a mountain. Two steps up, one down. It may take while to get to the top and you may fall along the way, you may even get hurt. But eventuality, you reach the top and once you're there, the choice is, "Do I leap or don't I?" That leap could be forgiveness, freedom, recovery, a new job, and so on and so forth. I'm at the top of my enormous mountain and every now and then, I fall back a little, but I made it this far and there is so much more to come. I know I"m not truly ready to leap just yet, but I have high hopes for my future!
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. ~Ellen Glasgow
If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit
It's the most unhappy people who most fear change. ~Mignon McLaughlin

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me.

Are you ready to leap?

Alexandra Arch and the Henderson Wave Bridge

2010-03-06T17:05:00.016+08:00

Yesterday was my dad's 10th anniversary from when he passed from a heart attack and I wanted to do something in his memory. He always loved nature, so that's what we opted for. The original plan was the tree top walk, but my health hasn't been too good, so we chose the lesser of the two evils, the Southern Ridges.

Juliana hailing us a taxi...
We stopped at Vivo first for some lunch and couldn't pass up this photo opportunity...
Lunch was yummy!

We started out at the Alexandra Arch. It features a 80 meter long bridge, quite the walk! But Juliana enjoyed running around.
A short drink and rest, many it was hot! She was trying to snuggle up to me, so cute!

This is where the break is from the Alexandra Arch to the Henderson Wave Bridge and yet another uphill trek to get there!
The Henderson Waves area a 274-metre (900 ft) long pedestrian bridge. At 36 metres (120 ft) above Henderson Road, it is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. I put together a collage of some of the pictures I took...

Jacob and his girl posing right at the beginning of our walk!

The "waves" were really cool and provided shade from the insanely hot sun.

It was a great experience and a hot one too! It's a great outing for kids, because they can run around there are rail guard everywhere. Next up is the tree top walk and many others we haven't even begun to explore yet!

Rest in peace daddy, AKA, David George Luciano. You are always in my heart.

Just like her mommy!

2010-03-06T17:00:00.003+08:00

As we were getting ready this morning, Juliana invaded my shoe collection and began trying them on. She was a bit wobbly, but it was adorable!

Oh, so proud of herself!

I guess she's "Mommy's Little Girl" Today :-)

Yay, gift box from home!!

2010-03-05T20:20:00.004+08:00

Today was a good day: care packages!! They were delivered while Juliana was napping, so I went through, pulled out the stuff for me and left a full box for Juliana to dig into with daddy when he got home.

She was very excited to have lots of gifts from Nana and Nanny...
Checking out her arts & crafts and books. She's also wearing bunny ears, but I'll have to get a better picture of it!

A new bunny for the Easter season...

As you can see she's constantly spoiled by those two. We had a few new books to read tonight and a lot of new crafts to do next week!

That's the smile of happiness! Thank you Nana and Nanny for all the wonderful gifts.

Where did my family go?

2010-03-05T15:06:00.001+08:00

Now that I read the blog with Juliana, she asks me for "comments" and ahem....you've all been lacking there. So I try to make something up, but believe me, she is way too smart for that. So, I beg of you leaeve comments! If for o other reason than to make an adorable little 2 year old smile and giggle :-)

Gymboree's School Skills trial

2010-03-05T12:48:00.008+08:00

So, Juliana was attending Gymboree classes at Tanglin, but we decided to try out the location at harbourfront and so far, we have been pleased. She's in the drop off program for music and yesterday, they had an open house for members for their School Skills II program. As Gymboree states, it's set up to, "Build the key social, emotional, and intellectual skills needed for school and life." It was a two hour drop off program.

Here she is, being a monkey. We have monkey bars here at Summerdale the play park, so she has had a lot of practice with them and it shows!
A collage of play pictures, with balls, scarves, climbing structures and a slide. Apparently, there was also some basketball among other things to get them active and moving.

This is the art collage, because the theme of the day was the letter "A." Juliana has enjoyed art since the first class she took last year and of course, she dug right in to color in that A!

The final product that all of the children got to contribute to...

Snack time, yum!

Next, the children got to practice writing the letter A on this "high-tech" learning device that they use headphone with as you will see in the next collage. Such a great idea and the work she brought home was very good!

I'm left to assume it's similar to the vtech book we have at home that helps you out loud learn about tracing and making letters. Word is, Juliana did very well!! Now I want one of these for home.

What would Gymboree be without play dough? Here's Juliana, thoroughly studying what the teacher is doing in order to copy here...

She was successful and made an A with her play dough!

The feedback was good, that Juliana pays attention, enjoys all of the tasks and is learning at a fast pace for her age. All good things for parents to hear. So, we'll be continuing with her current classes and see how the "School Skill" could come into play int he future. Thanks Gymboree!

Just a few lovely pics

2010-03-05T12:43:00.009+08:00

The little artist wearing a homemade hat and obviously very happy about it!
Off to the pool and that's a PATS hat, ah, I love my girl!

Pool toys in a bag, ready to go...

OK, this is one of the best pictures of a genuine smile from her! I love it and I love her hair. It's been growing so fast lately, giving me lots of possibilities with pigtails, braids, etc. A mom's dream :-)

Just another snapshot of that gorgeous face... Each and every moment that I'm a mom, I am gracious and blessed for God to have given Jacob and I this remarkable gift. With everything she does (okay, maybe not so much the tantrums!), she lights up our lives and enriches our values in so many ways.

March, 2010 already? Wow! What's in store?

2010-03-03T20:26:00.004+08:00

Whew! After all that reminiscing, I'm amazed at just how much has happened in such a short period of time. We've now been in Singapore for 16 months and who knows what's in store for 2010? We have so much more learning to do, about ourselves and the world around us.

I find myself having a new appreciation for something I (being blunt) may have laughed at back in Windham, NH.

I'm beginning to be okay with the fact that some people just may not like me for who I am and that's okay. I'm not going to change for them anymore, like I used to.

I'm learning about the time I spend with my daughter...yes, quantity is important, but quality beats that anytime.

I've learned that it's okay to voice my opinion, but it's not okay to force it onto other people. Just put it out there and maybe it will touch someone. If not, oh well. Made me a better, stronger person for sharing a part of myself.

Life is amazing. God has so much in store for us. So many possibilities and those that choose to be a part of our life are lucky and we are lucky that they care so much about us as well. It's become more and more clear who "those people" are after our move out here. You know what I mean, the people who love you no matter how many miles or hours separate you. No matter what happens, bad or good, they still stand by you, lovingly and supportively. It's rare, but when you find it, you hold on tight.

I could go on and on about all the life lessons I'm facing, have faced and hope to face, but I'll just go with it as time goes by. My blog began as a simple "yearbook" of our ife, but it's become a form of self-expression too about how life can change at any moment.

Wrapping up my memories of 2008

2010-03-03T20:00:00.010+08:00

These are some pictures from the rest of my mom's visit, which flew by of course. I wish I could have just kept her here! But hey, we got to ring in 2009 at Clark Quay after a visit to Marina Bay. We sat by the water, watched the fireworks and rang in the New Year before 3/4 of the world!

Collage below: The top left is Clark Quay where we thoroughly enjoyed many meals with both my mom and then her, my cousin and Nana when they visited in July last year. Brewertz: good food, good beer, good prices! And Juliana loves the fountains there.

Anyway, back to my mom's visits...we went all out for Christmas Eve last year, knowing my mom was here and we booked a Christmas Eve Buffet at Orchard Hotel (a big to-do around here). Her visit was so enjoyable, to show her where our new "home" was, the place we live in, she got to meet Jean and see lots of sights in the city. These are some of my favorite pictures from the the end of 2008, prior to my mom getting in. We visited the Bird Park (Juliana LOVES this place) and other local sites. I look forward to showing her all these amazing photos when she's older! So, this post was poorly planned, but oh well. Out of order! Back to my mom's visit. We took her to Sentosa and had a blast! My mom fell in the water, but didn't care since it was with Juliana and with the heat out here, you dry in no time! I love this picture of the three of us...Well, Singapore has certainly been a learning experience for us and our first few weeks here were a HUGE wake up call as to how Americans live their lives. Yes, culture shock, but also a new awareness as to how very lucky we are as Americans, for the freedoms we have. It also helped us learn about a new way of life that is accepting of all cultures, all religions, all beliefs, etc. A tiny city that just accepts people for who they already are. There isn't such a pressure to "keep up with the Jonses," because for the most part (expats aside), locals are focused on just getting food on their plates, having fun without spending tons of money, enjoying the local entertainment, the kopitiams, etc.

Reflecting on 2008, prior to moving to SG

2010-03-03T17:36:00.011+08:00

2008 was a chaotic year, in good ways and some bad. But all of it led us to where we are today and God always works in mysterious ways.

This collage has so of my favorite pictures. Top right is my first Mother's Day and top left is Jacob's first Father's Day. The middle was from when we attended my cousin's Bar-mitzvah and the other two were taken at (left with me) our first home with Juliana and (right with Jacob) our second home with her. She basically took over the living room, half the kitchen, half of our bedroom and the guest bathroom. I think the only true space of ours was the office, for obvious reasons! But it's all worth it and not much has changed! Got worse actually! This is a completely mixed collage, ranging from 2 months old to 8 months old. In the bottom right, my mom buried her in her toy box and she kept getting out to do it all over again! And doesn't she look mischievous in that top left one, like, "What am I about to do?"

One thing I miss a ton are the fairs in New England. It's always been a tradition to attend the Hopkinton State Fair, which usually falls on labor day week at the beginning of September. This year, we got to take Juliana to enjoy the animals, some of the food she could eat and just the atmosphere. I grew up going to this fair every year, so it felt amazing to bring my daughter. We miss it a lot and hope to attend one day again...

My mom and grandmother were a huge help during the last several weeks before our move to Singapore, even before we found out and told them. I used to pick my Nana up on Wednesday's, my day off and bring her to the house to be with Juliana and I. Then, my mom would come after work and we'd have dinner all together. Juliana also spent many overnights at Nana and Nanny's so we could have some quality couple time. Other times, they just dropped over to babysit so we could do errands or work in the yard or sleep!! They were amazing. This picture was when it was getting very cold, so the only way to keep her warm was with layers, blankets and body warmth.

Anyway, I love how she cuddles into her Nanny in the above picture and the face my mom is making. Such a deep affection for Juliana. God, I miss them!

We had planned a big first birthday celebration for the weekend of her birthday, but when we found out about moving to Singapore, we had to push it up two weeks. We're lucky, because nearly all of our friends and family cleared their scheduled to make it. In a way, it was also a farewell party for all of us since this party took place the night before we flew to Singapore. Juliana had a blast, playing the the girls and getting TONS of attention. I could barely get my own hands on her for a cuddle! And as you can see, the Elmo cake did it's job, covering her in icing!!

It was a bittersweet farewell, as we had no idea what to expect here in Singapore and no idea when we would see everyone again. Fortunately, we did know that my mom had already booked her tickets for Christmas and New Year's, so it made those first couple of months easier to get through.

More to come. Hey, I gotta finish up 2008 :-)

Flashback to 2007

2010-03-03T17:08:00.004+08:00

I've been looking at old pictures a lot lately, going through old poems and decided to do some flashbacks.

This was me at 7.5 months old at the shower that my mom and Nana threw for me... My mom went all out, making the laundry line of clothes, a diaper cake and a bassinet filled with lots of goodies for our unborn little girl. I have an amazing family and my mother is my best friend. She has been by my side each and every step of the way, good times and bad, never judging, just loving and supporting me. I miss them so much every day. And I can't leave out the rest of my amazing family, who helped us out so much when Juliana came along, through meals, gifts and just simply providing advise and support. But yes, my to person (aside from hubby) is my mom. She's a remarkable and strong person who has provided me with the image of the kind of mother I want to be.

Next is a collage of the first few days with our new bundle of joy. The top left was in the hospital. Bottom right was bath #3 I think? We jokingly sent it to Jacob's brother and his wife who were on an expat assignment in Den Haag with the caption, "Moses says to come home!" Bottom middle, she was about a month old for her first Thanksgiving!

This is one of my favorite pictures. I had to zoom in on the cute little girl, sorry Jacob! I miss those days of her falling asleep on our chests while we lied down. She looks so peaceful...

This collage features her Christmas picture, her baptism pictures to the right and then in the middle, Super bowl pride, even though it was a HUGE upset that year after a perfect season and then the PATS go and throw it all away. Anyway, she's a doll!

I must have several thousand pictures from the day she was born and it's hard to pick my favorites, so 2008 may take a little longer. Stay tuned!

Life with our princess

2010-03-03T11:23:00.007+08:00

I love being a mom. I love seeing Juliana's beautiful face every morning and enjoying her giggles, dances and music. The big hugs and kisses melt my heart and the best is when all three of us are together. She's been so much more cuddly lately and likes to give a lot of random hugs and kisses as well raspberries now too!

Chilling out on daddy...
She loves her Dora memory game my mom gave her a while ago and she's getting a lot better at it. Lately, she likes to kick her foot up like she's a ballerina when choosing a card. It's adorable!

So serious about finding the match...

Hey, anything can be a hat, right? This is one of her toy bins turned into a makeshift hat. She was playing peek-a-boo with it and I caught her peeking out...

One of her favorite breakfast foods has become waffles. It's always a special treat when Jacob makes homemade waffles for us!

Isn't that the most beautiful smile ever? Okay, I'm biased, but it lights up the room and it's hard not to smile when you see her like this!

This is her at music class, which is now a "drop-off" program, so she goes in without an adult. Ah, she's growing up so fast!

A good friend of mine just had her baby girl, Marleigh Grace, so CONGRATULATIONS to Kathy and Jeff on entering the whirlwind world of parenthood. It's babies galore lately and I also have a nephew on the way too...Jacob's brother and his wife are expecting in a couple months. More too, but I won't "out" anyone since I don't want to be THAT person!!

Kids are amazing and every day, Juliana teaches me something new about myself or life. She's amazing and we are blessed that she is growing, healthy and learning so much, so fast!

Date night at the Handle Bar

2010-02-27T00:02:00.005+08:00

This was their menu! Not real female friendly, but it was amusing.
This restaurant was recommended by a friend since they are known for their western food.

Yes, this is their bathroom sink! All decked out with motorcycle mirrors, pictures, posters and much more. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but I snuck this one in. I so wanted to get a picture of this amazing skateboard for my brother as well as all of the other Harley Davidson memorabilia.

Cheers to us...I love my man!

No, I am not double-fisting, just holding Jacob's too! Check out those beautiful bikes in the background. Believe me, they are so much more gorgeous up close.

So, the food was actually very good. I had an "American" burger and it was the best one I've had since moving to Singapore. The chili Jacob got was tasty too, but my stomach wouldn't allow more than a few bites.

After dinner, we enjoyed the rest of our dinner and relaxed. I LOVED this chair and so wish I could have one of my own!

Fun at IMM, in the water and in the park too!

2010-02-26T14:40:00.007+08:00

This morning, it was off to the park to enjoy the sunshine in her new Minnie Mouse hat, I believe was a gift from Nana and she loves it! Jean often wears a hat and I do too at times, so I think she feels more gown up, more like us! So this is a local park we often go to with Juliana that has tire swings, see-saw, trampolines, slides, a maze, climbing ropes and a lot more.

We can't get over how much she has changed, grown and her face looks older. And (I'll get better pictures), all of her hair can now go back in a ponytail, okay, a few ponytails!Getting very excited to have her sand toys, out and ready to play!

By far, the best pictured of the day. She was so happy!

After all that, she also got to go to the water park at IMM for some more fun there and she is getting so much stronger sand bigger. She can use some of the gadgets she couldn't reach just a few months ago. Go Juliana!
Inside IMM mall, what a poser she is!! The middle one I had to add, because on some days, these frighten her and next time, they're the best thing in the world. It's confusing, but hey, who knows what's going on in that little head of hers head!

Mistakes

2010-02-23T22:16:00.007+08:00

I loved this quote from one of my favorite tv shows and wanted to share. It's perfect, because a lot of people, including me, keep focusing on mistakes and life is too short for this.“The issue of control keeps coming up over and over and over again for you. You can’t control life. You can only live your life. And you live it in any way you want in that you can choose your feelings about the people around you and what’s going on around you. So live your life. Give up trying to control it and live it. Live it to the fullest. Life is good whether you’re happy or not. Personally, I think the pursuit of happiness is just a waste of time. So forget about being happy. What is happiness anyway, other than being surrounded by people who love you and you can’t choose how they love you. You can only choose to feel the love. Feel the love. This is a wonderful time in your life, if you choose you choose to see it that way. As far as all the mistakes go, is anything really a mistake, or are mistakes just lessons? Everyone makes mistakes. Life is school, a learning process and some lessons are more painful than others, but that’s just how it is. The sum total of our experiences is what makes us who we are.” -Unknown

Isn't this what we usually do? Make a list of our mistakes, going over and over them again in our head? Well, we cannot fix them and yes, they are lessons. The people we become and continue to grow into are all based upon the choices we make and the experiences we have.
Those "mistakes" that we make lead to a whole lot of life lessons. I know I've had my fair share!Go on, make your mistakes today and then move on and live your life!

Life is about choices, right?

2010-02-22T17:25:00.002+08:00

I saw this picture and it made me realize that it doesn't have to be this or that, my way or your way, etc. We can walk backwards, forwards, to the left, to the right or just diagonally. Life presents us with choices and surprises every single day and we can choose to allow them to enlighten us or we can choose to let them break us down.

Today's lesson for me: I will choose to be enlightened and work with the "surprise" I had handed to me today. Maybe God is trying to tell me something or maybe not, I don't know. But for now, I'm going to walk forward and see where it takes me and then the next time I hit this roadblock, maybe I'll be ready to make a choice.

Ah, date night!

2010-02-21T13:30:00.003+08:00

It as been way too long since we've had an official date night...since Jacob's been back, it's usually consisted of a movie while lounging on the couch. Yes, it counts, but nothing beats getting out as a couple and having some good quality time together.

Tonight's restaurant was Jacob's choice and he picked Thai Fusion (112 Faber Drive). If you like Thai food, you have got to try this place! It was amazing and the prices (especially beer, try the Singha, yum!) were very reasonable. Jacob had gone here with work for a send off dinner for a coworker and the owner recognized him and was very pleasant and nice enough to take our picture...
Yup, I ordered Chili mussels. If you know me, this was a huge stretch for me and I know it may not sound very appealing to many, but I took a chance anyway. Glad I did, because it was GOOD!

Yeah, I love this man with all my heart. He hates it when I take so many pictures (hence the smirk on his face) but I don't care!! Someday, we'll look back and have them to all look at and show our girl. And he can be reassured that I love him more and more every day.

I have no idea what we were laughing at, but I guess it doesn't matter. We still make each other happy, laugh and enjoy life after 9 years together!

Next date night is my choice. Suggestions anyone?? We still have not been to a lot of restaurants here in the city, so let me know what you think I should choose!

Pictures from the week

2010-02-20T11:36:00.007+08:00

While mommy and daddy works, Juliana gets to play!! Here she is with her friends, reading some books...
Chilling out on the terrace with her beautiful Chinese umbrella from Sue Lynn, Mun Cheong, Eden and Bethel. She loves this so much and there's always plenty of sunshine for it!

Apparently, Jean and Juliana made what I am guessing is a sailor hat! She was wearing it around all night to show off to me when I got home from work...

Swim time is always fun... Friday afternoon did not go so well, but I won't get into that here. Thank God for the weekend, a weekend of rest from a bad day yesterday and lots of family time! Blessing to all!

Life, Juliana, etc.

2010-02-18T22:02:00.010+08:00

This morning was a good one, because Juliana woke up in a good mood, yay!!! Check out that happy girl...
After her bath, we came downstairs and she wanted to wear my slippers. A bit hard considering how BIG my feet are, but I'm pretty sure that huge smile on her face indicates that she was having a blast!

These Chipmunks and Chipetts came in a box last week for Juliana and she has been playing with them ever since. Yes, they even sing too (lucky us)...

In one of her Monkeydoo DVDs, they use a "spy glass" so we saved two toilet paper rolls to let Julian make one of her own. We played "I spy" this evening!!

She has been using these spy glasses all the time now. We'll ask, "What do you spy?" and she'll answer something like Pooh, Mommy, Doll, etc. Then we do the same...."I spy, a Juliana!" She loves it!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-15T17:09:00.011+08:00

After watching Monkeydoos yesterday, Juliana wanted to do one of the crafts, the tiger mask! So we pulled out some scissors, paper plates and markers. Daddy did the cutting while Juliana colored another plate and then she helped finish up the tiger. She was so proud of it and looked absolutely adorable!

This weekend was a long four day weekend for Chinese New Year and our good friends, Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong invited us over for a delicious lunch and fellowship. Before eating, there were lots of traditional Chinese munchies for the girls (and Jacob)...

Juliana enjoyed playing soccer with Bethel...

Then it was time to eat! This isn't even all the food and it was only lunch! The yusheng salad, two dishes from the left in this picture is the same salad we got introduced to last year. It's a huge part of the Chinese New Year celebration and promotes good luck, abundance and fortune in the new lunar year. So here is the full spread of delicious food...

Then it was time to mix the yusheng salad as a "family' to promote good luck among all of us in the New Year. It's always fun and actually, I have come to appreciate the Chinese traditions a lot more over the last year since our first experience with Chinese New Year. We felt very special to be included in their family's meal and celebrations. We have been truly blessed with such amazing landlords that have turned into wonderful friends. So here we are, sharing the love and luck of the New Year with them...

Juliana wanted to take part in the mixing as well and thoroughly enjoy it! This was at the conclusion of mixing and the beginning of loading our plates to eat...

We are hoping that this Chinese New Year will be prosperous, successful and full of new and exciting experiences as a family...

After everyone was full, the girls wanted to show Juliana how Wii Fit Plus was done! Juliana actually enjoyed being able to stand by them, watch and then copy their movements as they did the snow ball fight, the kung fu fighting and many other activities. Jacob even got a chance at snowballing with Juliana's help!

It took Juliana a few minutes to warm up to Auntie Banjie (Eden and Bethel's Auntie), probably because it's been some time since we've seen her, but by the end, she had nothing but hugs for her!! It doesn't take much, since Banjie has such a warm and loving personality. Julian agave her some big hugs when we were getting ready leave...

We love spending time with Sue Lynn, Mun Cheong, Eden and Bethel and feel blessed in so many ways that "landlords" turned into such wonderful friends. We always have so much fun with them and I know Juliana enjoys all the extra attention. I hope they realize just how much we have grown to care about them and look forward to making many more memories with them in the coming year!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

The day of L-O-V-E!

2010-02-14T15:33:00.005+08:00

We've never been big celebrators of Valentine's Day, but it was nice to have Jacob home today after nearly three weeks. For the past (almost) two days, Juliana has been very demanding of his attention, obviously fearing he's going to leave again, so we've just enjoyed hanging out as a family. Yesterday afternoon, we had our date at the movies, but then decided on take out and brought it home to eat dinner with our girl.

This morning, I got some delicious waffles and a "Happy V Day" on my plate in maple syrup! Juliana was adorable too, because she seems to get jealous whenever daddy gives mommy attention. Ha! Who would have thought I'd have to battle with a 2 year old for my husband's attention?? :-)

For months now, we've been playing this game with Juliana, which I believe began with singing "Ring around the Rosie" and ending with us falling down and "sleeping." So whenever we "sleep," Juliana now knows that she has to give her Princess Kiss to wake us up! I know it might sound strange, but it's rather adorable. Here's Juliana and Jacob pretending to sleep...
And the magical kiss to wake daddy up!

After playing a bit and talking to my mom and brother, we headed downstairs to play outside. Juliana was so happy to have both mommy AND daddy with her!

I warned Jacob when he got home Friday night that he would need his energy pills to keep up with her. As I said, she's been demanding 100% of his attention and she worries whenever he leaves the room. She also woke up nice and early this morning crying and ended up in bed with us, but it will just take her a few days to realize that daddy is home now and he's not going to just pick up and go away again. Well, hopefully not anytime in the near future!

At the playground running around the pole...

Then climbing it...

So, Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I am truly grateful to have such a loving, supportive husband, which led to a beautiful little girl! I love and miss my family and friends back in the U.S. too and they should all know that they are always on our minds and in our hearts and prayers.

Jacob's business trip to Sydney

2010-02-13T13:05:00.023+08:00

Jacob just returned on Friday night from his business trip to Sydney. As most of you know, business trips typically consist of seeing the airport, hotel and office. Although he didn't have a chance to do much sightseeing, he did get to see a few sites and take some pictures. The rest are posted on the shutterfly site.

This is Sydney's Observatory. He didn't actually go in, but took a picture since his hotel was right next to it...Walking on the boardwalk towards the famous Sydney Opera House...
The Sydney Harbor Bridge...
And the night view...

A night view of the Opera House, which I really hope I get to see someday too!!

An old coworker of Jacob's from BLL in Boston now works in southern Australia, so flew up to visit Jacob over the weekend with his wife. They had dinner, drinks and did a tiny bit of sightseeing. He also gave us a very nice gift of red wine, maybe to entice us to fly down and visit? We hope to be able to do so!
A better picture of the Opera Theater...

So, this is a close up of the building, which I now know from Jacob is made of tiles. Wikipedia states: The roofs of the House are covered in a subtle chevron pattern with 1,056,006 glossy white- and matte-cream-colored Swedish-made tiles.

Gorgeous! I'm impressed with this picture...

The other afternoon adventure he actually got to take was to Bondi Beach, which he has told me that the pictures don't do it justice. It's one of Australia's most popular beaches, where some television shows are often filmed and locals go to sunbathe, surf and swim...

My good looking man...

Apparently, this is a popular view of the beach. Jacob was saying that he as walked through some of the shops, he saw lots of art with this view of the beach...
I'm glad Jacob had this opportunity to work with BLL in Sydney, but I'm even happier that he's home! Juliana too, seeing as it's all about daddy now :-)