This week’s hits and misses:

1. Mama had a truly Singaporean experience. She queued for fish porridge for an hour and a half. This city is fueled by good food and great patience. The folks in line with Mama became fast friends and helped her practice her ordering  as the stall is notorious for having particular, all business types, doling out the goods. It was very Seinfeld-esque. The soup was worth the wait, a deep broth flavored with fried blue ginger and fresh, fresh fish.

2. We traveled outside of the concrete jungle in search of horses. We headed to Bukit Timah – home of the island’s saddle club, polo club and all things horse related. We ate lunch at a cafe that overlooks the paddocks, but all the horses were escaping the heat. In fact, we saw one horse from afar, and were a bit disappointed. The smells, however, reminded us of home!                                     

3. Jack and his buddy, Ryder, enjoyed a morning at the Science Centre where they ran around exploring all the museum has to offer. Jack’s favorites were the robots and the “connecting the tubes and playing cars with Ryder.” We were happy to be with good friends and help ring in Ryder’s third birthday! We’re going to miss this kiddo (and his parents)!

 

4. Maggie Lou woke up sick on Wednesday and hasn’t quite been herself since. Jack soon followed, hence our weekend trip to Penang was cancelled. The children are getting better slowly. Thankfully, Jack didn’t get sick until after his big events in school: dress up like your favorite occupation day and a nursery school performance. Jack opted to dress like a Sea Captain, and he did very well in his performance dazzling mama with his Mandarin songs.

Practicing their captaining skills in a not so sea worthy  vessel!

This week in, “you probably won’t see this in NH”

Need I say more?

To think that little Jack, baby Jack Aldous, is now 4 years old is remarkable. Maybe it’s the fact that he still fits into a 2T or that he still convinces his Mama to carry him all over the Red Dot that makes us all shake our heads and ask, “where has the time gone?” Even big sis finds it hard to believe that he’s one year away from Kindergarten. Gulp!

That being said, we rang his 4th year in with much ado. A day in Universal Studios, a day at Adventure Cove Waterpark, a school party and then a poolside fiesta with new “Singapore friends” marked this occasion with too much pomp and circumstance. He had a busy week, but was smiling ear to ear throughout!

Our trip to Universal was a good introduction to theme parks — smallish, not too crowded but full of the hype and facade that accompany such places. The children had a blast checking out the giant Transformer and dinosaurs. They learned a little about special effects and sampled their fair share of theme park junk food! Our only real complaint (which we were prepared for) was that we had not seen any of the movies in totality. We’re are still not sure who or what Foosa (from Madagascar)is … and what, exactly, is King Farquar’s (from Shrek) problem? Both movies are in the queue for the next rainy day!

The next morning we headed to the water park. The closest our children have ever been to a waterpark is in the parking lot of Shio in Portsmouth, NH, so it’s safe to say their little minds were blown. Complete with a small pool, a climbing/mini slide, a tolerable wave pool and an AMAZING lazy river that goes through aquarium elements full of fish, sting rays and dolphins – even Mama, who would previously thought she’d rather get a root canal than go to a water park, had a good time!

 

 

 

 

The weekend was full of exciting times, but the partying continued through the week. Mama sent Jack to school with cake for his classmates.

 

Our little man is growing up. Thank you for all the packages, emails, and cards.

Jack had a wonderful week!

 

 

Better late than never!

While a little sad to be away from family and friends at Easter, the Aldous Adventurers managed. A show at the Singapore Repertory Theatre, a few glorious family swims and a relaxing Easter brunch on Sentosa Island all helped make our long Easter weekend *eggstra* special.

The children loved the show. A cute rendition of Rapunzel (she’s trapped in a giant cactus, her parents have been turned into an armadillo and road runner, and the evil fake mom uses Rapunzel’s tears to win local cooking competitions, and the prince who comes to rescue her is wearing pajamas), it was hilarious, the songs were catchy and the set was simple.

 

Once dried and refreshed we headed back out to Boat Quay and enjoyed  some MORE, yes more, black pepper crab! Maggie and Jack aren’t huge fans , but they love the mantou rolls that come with it!

 

      

The Easter bunny visited Singapore and to the children’s surprise he hid jellybeans, not chocolate eggs around the house. That clever, silly  bunny must  know how expensive  chocolate eggs are in Singapore! NOTE: The Easter bunny brought Jack a book titled, “I Hate Peas.” Although “hate” is not a word we typically condone, the Easter bunny is into supporting local Singaporean authors who donate their proceeds to children in Cambodia;)

We made our first visit to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is a small island to the south of the mainland and it is FULL of resorts and amusements. Much like entering Orlando, the buzz is immediate. Maggie Lou and Jack’s excitement levels rose visibly as we passed by the monorail, Universal Studios and the huge Sentosa Merlion (yes, there’s more than one). Our destination, however was not nearly as exciting; we were just having brunch. Once inside the hotel the kids were transfixed by the desserts and children’s activities.

 

                                                        

and this

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way over to the Merlion and walked off some of the chocolate!

 

                                                       

 

This Merlion was special because you could take a lift to the top. You can see our house  just over the busiest port in the world!

This week in “you won’t see this in Lee, NH”

Mosquito patches (these examples are Japanese). Don’t spray your children … just stick a patch on. Thankfully we haven’t needed to use them yet. We’ll save them for home as the mosquitos will be biting upon our arrival!

 

Lastly, a few pics from The Canadian International School …. Maggie Lou experimenting with color after learning about Matisse, and Mama and Dad at Maggie Lou’s conference last week!

    

Stay tuned for our next  installment … our appetite for adventurous eating has been resurrected and we’re gearing up to celebrate our little man’s FOURTH birthday!

We’re on a roll for rainy Saturdays … plans of beach going and pool staying go the wayside and we wonder, what will we do? To escape the 1000 square foot house in the sky, we do what all Singaporeans do – head to the mall!  Mama believes that only one quarter of the malls in Singapore will be visited by the time our six months is up. That being said we try to hit a new one each week. Last weekend was VivoCity.  This week was Plaza Singapura. A vertical mall – its stores, rather than sprawling, are stacked. Our favorite part of the day was finding the Japanese $2 store, Daiso full of kitsch and bustle. Mama couldn’t leave without some goodies. And, it takes a mall on a Saturday to make you feel like you’re in a city of 5.3 million people.

 

 

 

There is a definite focus on appearance in Singapore – so the “get slim” tricks and treatments can be found everywhere. Here the kiddos take a turn on the “Aibi” – aimed at stabilizing yourself fit (we think). Mama finds them fun and relaxing, but she doesn’t think it will fit in our suitcase.

 

 

The highlight of the week was attending Maggie Lou’s “student led conference.” An empowering approach to showing us her progress in the classroom, the students are asked to outline (and rehearse) areas in class to  engage their parents in – we spent a half hour immersed in kindergarten! We learned about math, their current inquiry about art, the mixing of different materials and her challenges and successes in Mandarin. Hats off to all the students of Singapore – it seems a tricky language to learn!

 

 Michael and colleague, Suddha (from home office in Boston) enjoyed black pepper crab on Boat Quay one night. It was so good that the family went back to the same restaurant for more black pepper crab … we may have a family favorite!

A few things you probably won’t see in NH:

Lastly, as we get ready for Easter in Singapore, we are grateful for all the cards and goodies that came our way. We are missing our church community and children’s choir this time of year, but have been talking about what Easter means and singing Easter songs. To get us in the mood we sculpted our own Easter decorations from the playdough Maggie Lou and mama made and we shared some of our goodies with neighbor, Brent. He had never seen a Peep before!

 

The Aldous children have contracted “fishitis.”This disorder is characterized by a strong desire to swim ALL day long! Maggie Lou is growing fins and Jack has a layer of scales, and they can’t get enough jumping, diving for rings and playing with new friends.

   Jumping Jack – the water wings really help him fly!

Over the weekend, Michael and I slipped away to enjoy a night on the town – we started at the beautiful Raffles Hotel, birthplace of the Singapore Sling. The Long Bar (yes, it’s a long bar) serves peanuts and tradition dictates sweeping the shells onto the floor. Mama does not like messy traditions.

Both kids were back to school this week and the weather seems to have settled into a daily pattern of wicked hot, afternoon thunderstorm, wicked humid, wicked hot, repeat.  After almost 3 months, routine is being achieved!

To celebrate the end of her holiday, Maggie Lou and mommy got mani/pedis. ML chose a nice sparkly pink!

                                   

Mama has had the pleasure of helping out in Maggie Lou’s classroom with one of their art projects – a multi-week papier mache exploration. Although mama did not get photos of the children’s papier mache, mama did manage to take some of the school for Maggie Lou’s memories.

 

 

Things you probably won’t see in NH!

  Getting the word out about Krispy Kreme’s opening!

 

 

Lost Thailand Photos:

Maggie Lou has been on school holiday the past two weeks and that, in addition to Jack starting school this week, has Mama a bit confused about days and weeks! This post will hopefully serve as a “catch up,” as week 8 was neglected and overshadowed by our Thailand episode. Having Maggie Lou home has been a treat and all the adventures that Jack and Mama were saving  until we were all together have been executed: The ArtScience Museum – Dawn to Extinction exhibit, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, The Singapore Art Museum, The Peranakan Museum, and  the flower domes at Gardens by the Bay. The kids have been MAJOR troopers and know the city very well. Mama cringes (and prays the taxi driver has limited English) when Jack points out the taxi driver  is going the wrong way. Jack is often spot on, even though a little cheeky. This past weekend we spent quality time by the pool, visited the Botanical Gardens and had dinner with an old high school friend of Mama’s.  We are still enjoying our time and trying to make the most of every moment!

The Botanical Gardens were planted in the English Landscape Movement’s style (natural and flowing, as opposed to trimmed and ornate) and cover 74 hectacres (1 hectacre=2.47 acres). This beautiful sanctuary in the middle of the city continues to play an important role as a hub of tropical botany. We planned to spend a few hours in the gardens, but the weather was a bit sticky. When we “alighted” the MRT we were surprised to find everything soaked; we had missed a quick rainstorm. Despite the gardens feeling more like a sauna, we persevered and headed to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden.                                                                      Singapore Grass

We also made a visit to Daddy’s office after hours. Yes, it’s an awesome office. Maggie Lou and Mama explored the Singapore Art Museum. The exhibit is titled “Unearthed” and all pieces were by local artists exploring Singapore’s relationship to nature in such an urban area. Maggie Lou was an excellent visitor — very curious, creative and thoughtful.

The dinosaur exhibit at the ArtScience was great – interactive, educational and complete with a nice craft and excellent gift shop.  

To round out our museum visits we also hit up the Peranakan Museum. If you remember from Week 6, Peranakan is the word to describe descendants of Chinese traders who came to Singapore during the 15-17th centuries and married locals. They’ve created and maintained a unique culture, showcased at this museum.

The last part of the museum had a mini exhibit on local Peranakan couples and their love stories … We finally made it INTO the flower dome and cloud forest over in the Gardens by the Bay. Amazing how cooling and refreshing walking around these domes can be. We were just about melting prior to visiting these lush attractions.

    Lastly, here’s this week’s installment of “you probably won’t see this in NH!”

 

Phuket is off our list! A quick plane ride (1.5 hours) and we were in Thailand’s Island paradise.

We stayed high on a hill above the infamous Patong Beach. We took advantage of the pool and were constantly in awe of our surroundings.

We took part in a day long, island hopping speedboat tour. We hit Phi Phi Don, Phi Phi Lei and Kai. Our favorite .. Phi Phi Lei with the beautiful Maya Beach.

That night we had Thai food overlooking Patong Beach. We took in the fireworks, savored the lemongrass and chilies, and kept looking at each other in disbelief that we were in Thailand.

 

Our third day we hired a driver to take us on a sightseeing tour of the island.  First stop Old Phuket town for shopping and to check out the architecture.

Second stop, Wat Chalong – Buddhist Temple and Monastery.

Third stop:  Big Buddha. Still under construction. Enormous. Awe inspiring.

 

After our excursion we headed to the airport to fly home to Singapore, but not before the kids got their “fish spa” and we had a chance to ride a tuk tuk (open taxi). Photo of tuk tuk coming soon to a blog near you …

 

Week 6 Highlights:

Michael’s colleagues at Liberty International Underwriters have been giving him a wonderful introduction to the food of Singapore. Each day he tells stories of where and what he has eaten. This past week he was formally introduced to Peranakan food (Peranakan= descendents of Chinese immigrants in the 15-17th centuries to areas such as Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore that have created and subsequently maintained a distinct and rich culture). Thank you, everyone, for the leftovers!

We enjoyed Peranakan food on Tuesday night at The Blue Ginger, where we dined with a wonderful family (Colin & Aileen)  who will be joining the Liberty Corporate Development Program and rotating through Boston starting in February. Colin and his wife are both from Singapore and they have a two year old son, Andrew.  Our plans are to teach each other about Singapore and Boston, respectively.  Jack and Andrew were fast friends – and the food was not only interesting, but scrumptious.

Everyone was looking forward to our Friday night ” beer and scoot” only to be turned off by the dreaded “haze.” Just as work was letting out for the weekend, the PSI was climbing to “moderate” status, meaning it was okay to stay outside, but that the smoke (from open burning for agricultural purposes/ slash and burn farming) coming from surrounding regions was covering parts of the city, leaving our throats scratchy. One beer later (approximately 175 scoots back and forth in front of our favorite watering hole) we headed indoors, take-out food in hand. Thankfully, the haze cleared out on Saturday. Only to come back later . . .

Over the weekend we visited the National Museum of Singapore. We enjoyed the exhibits on the Botanic Gardens (which we’ve yet to visit), local food (surprise), photography in Singapore and fashion. The kids were especially taken with an exhibit on local pop-rock music from the 60s … we had to drag Jack away from music by The Straydogs, The Thunderbirds and Naomi & the Boys.

 

 

Check out Jack’s new favorite band the Straydogs. 

After the museum we ventured through Fort Canning Park. We had fun exploring the “secret passage ways” and playing in the massive trees. 

 We headed to the East Coast for a family date night dinner at Zaffron Kitchen. It had come highly recommended and boasts many accolades, but when we arrived we were the only ones there … forgetting that Singaporeans “sup” later than we’re used to, it didn’t take long for the restaurant to FILL up with families. In addition to having mouth watering, perfectly textured Indian food, they have a children’s indoor play space. Nothing like the smell of garam masala and the joyful screams of children who’ve consumed freshly made naan! 

Sunday we concluded (hallelujah) our “park hopper” pass by visiting the Jurong Bird Park. This beautifully laid out jungle walk housed beautiful, bright birds. Maggie Lou and I each expressed a little regret about not being home to welcome our  backyard feathered friends return from down south, but we travelled on, in awe of flamingos, birds of paradise, macaws, raptors and mama’s favorites, the kingfishers. We took in a bird show, sweated through our clothes and enjoyed our last park!

Lastly, the family has decided that Jack would greatly benefit from nursery school.  It seems all the kids his age are in school. He’ll start on March 25th, 3 days a week. He is very excited to make friends and play with new toys. Mama is nervous (what is she going to do all by herself?!?), but she’s sure she’ll manage

Random pics throughout the week.

Shark sighting at Marina Bay … ahhhh!!!!!

As we get even more settled into our life here in Singapore – the weather, that we happily embraced as novelty, is now wearing on us. Last week we may have opted to walk outside, now we’re now happy to take the underground mall route. Mama has elected to keep the aircon on at night just to start the morning shine-free. The long runs (Michael keeps getting lost on his morning jogs) and hot yoga classes (which are WAY hotter than at home) are not helping our cause, but we need to do something to offset the extra calories that accompany living in such a foodcentric city!

This past weekend we made our first trip to the movies in Singapore – plush, cozy seats, affordable snacks and WICKED cold aircon (we brought sweaters, next time we’ll wear pants). The Lego Movie seemed to be more of a hit with mom and dad. Jack was freaked out at the end and Maggie Lou is still asking questions about “the Kragle.” Still, everything is awesome!

Saturday was Daddy’s birthday. We spent the day shopping and scooting. Mom and Dad got some new duds … our pockets felt a little lighter after … this article explains why. Oh Marshalls, Goodwill,  and Zulily how we miss thee.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/04/travel/most-expensive-cities/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

The kids had their first adventure in babysitting in Singapore. Mama and Daddy hit the town to celebrate #36 and experience a little nightlife sans kiddos. We went to the world’s highest rooftop bar, 1-Altitude, (63 stories up) for overpriced beverages and a killer view of the city and surrounding islands. We finished the night by visiting the “touristy” hawker centre – Makansutra. It was a scene — tons of people, tons of food, lots of fun.

The next morning we headed to the Zoo – the second to last installment of the Singapore Parks (Night Safari, River Safari, Zoo and Bird Park). Despite it being our third weekend in a row checking out exotic animals, everyone had a nice day. The majesty that surrounds some of these creatures makes it worth the hassle of navigating through overzealous tourists desperate to take selfies in front of polar bears, and lions, and monkeys, and hippos, and giraffes, and tigers, and zebras and . . . you get my point.

Rant aside, Jack enjoyed the pygmy hippos. Maggie Lou’s favorite were the penguins from South Africa — she exclaimed, “too bad cousin Hannah can’t see this!” Daddy liked the leopard  and Mommy enjoyed seeing the snakes of Singapore. We are VERY glad to live on the 34th floor instead of a “landed home” where we very well may run into slithery friends. Here are some highlights: