It's that time of year

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

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

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

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:

1. Efficient public transportation
2. Walking distance to the MRT, the mall, grocery store, movie theater, restaurants
3. Cleanliness of the entire city
4. Safe to walk around, even at night time
5. Good sushi, Indian food and other local favorites at Hawker centers
6. The Lokes
7. Jean
8. Having a swimming pool 12 months of the year
9. Tons of activities, parks and playgrounds for Juliana
10. Warm weather at all times (but we definitely won't miss the humidity)
11. People from all different cultures
12. Being able to travel to parts of Asia in 8 hours or less
13. 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:

1. Grocery stores
2. Shopping malls aren't "the place to be" at all times, 7 days a week
3. American food
4. Having a car (although this is sometimes frustrating)
5. Spending time with family and friends
6. 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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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...

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 :-)

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!

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

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!