Chinese New Year 2015

This year I managed get Oliver a new CNY outfit. You'd think they sell all sorts of traditional outfits everywhere in Singapore right? Nope! it was actually quite a mission to find the right colour and right size (maybe because I left it till the very last minute?). Actually Oliver had a special request to find a red outfit with some fluffy things on his pants like in this picture so that he can perform the lion dance at school properly.

Well... I couldn't find them in the end but at least I got him a good size red ones to make him (kinda) smile for this picture. I got Ashley a Chinese dress too :)

On the way to school celebration:

I didn't get to see any of what they were doing but both came home very happy with some angpao and oranges.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !!

Valentine gift

Guess what I got for Valentines Day this year from my lovely husband!?

A proper size dishwasher!!!
Now we can spend more time relaxing after dinner instead of doing the dishes :)
Thank you Matthew, I am still wondering if the present was actually for me or for you??

The first game of the season

The rugby season for 2015 is finally here! The boys (I mean all three) were very happy to get to go out with our friends to watch the game at a sports bar this afternoon.

Oliver got to wear his Crusaders top from Merryn and Dennis for the first time.

They have completed the new complex on East Coast Park, almost behind Parkway Parade with some great restaurants and bars. The cafe/bar we were supposed to go was not open till later so we settled into this Mexican place for the first half. We basically had the whole place to ourselves, with two big screens to enjoy the game -yeah!

Then we continued onto the second bar. The place was very big and having the big grass area for the kids to run around was just perfect!

Me, Nicola and Naz:

Well as usual the big boys might have had slightly too many beers... I am sure we will be watching lots of the games here during the Super 15 and the Rugby World Cup. Very happy to find such a cool place nearby!

A visitor from Abu Dhabi

We had a special visitor from Abu Dhabi this afternoon. Nathan was stopping over in Singapore during his Brisbane trip. The kids were all over him just 5 min after he arrived. I knew Oliver would recognise him straight away, but it took a while for Luca to remember.

Not to worry! After spending the afternoon together Luca and Nathan found the special bond again :)

It was great to have you Nathan, please bring Boel and the kids next time!! Pretty please we miss them so much too!

Waitangi Day 2015

This weekend we celebrated Waitangi Day, which is a significant day in the history of NZ. It is the day the NZ founding document The Treaty of Waitangi between Maori and Pakeha (the Maori word for predominantly European ancestors) was signed in 1840.

There are a few places in Singapore which had some special events and offers. We of course chose the most kiddy-friendly option of taking the kids to Cafe Melba. They now have a brand new great big bouncing castle!!

It was a rather hot afternoon but the kids had an absolute ball!!

Ashley, Aisla and Naima - the Kiwi girls :)

The boys spent most of the time playing soccer and rugby:

The Bayshore Kiwi gang :) :) :)

We had some NZ beer Steinlager, whitebait and of course fish and chips!

I think out of all the kids, these two enjoyed bouncing around the most. Wonderful way to spend a fun afternoon with lovely friends.

LEGO CITY

Yes, it is getting bigger and bigger every day... Oliver and Luca working hard on using their imagination.

The harbour:

This is my favourite, McDonalds. The shop person is very polite and sells healthy fruits.
   

It is almost taking over the entire bedroom but I am certainly happy with my boys' obsessions! 

Places to visit

We travel quite a bit so I don't often get an urge to visit particular places. Well... until I saw this place on TV the other day. It is a Sicilian Island called "Lampedusa" which is in the Mediterranean Sea. People refer this place as "Island you can see boats flying" You know what I mean? The water is so so clear that it looks like the boats are in the air.

Matthew has already checked out how to get there. We just need to plan a holiday!

My girl

Ashley is growing way too fast. She is such a happy girl - even the supermarket cashier lady calls her "Happy Girl"

Setsubun 2015

On the 3rd of February we celebrate "Setsubun" It is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. The name of the festival literally means "seasonal division" and is closely associated with the Lunar calendar . It is said to drive away all the evil spirits by performing "mamemaki" To do this we throw roasted soybeans inside and outside of the house calling out loud "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi" (Evil out, happiness in). And you are to eat the number of beans equal to your age.

Unfortunately we didn't have the special roasted soybean. Instead we ate some pistachio nuts ha ha! I made the Futomaki/Ehomaki - fat sushi rolls, to enjoy the tradition. On this day you don't cut up the sushi roll as you normally do. Instead you eat the whole roll looking towards the good luck direction. This year it was West-South-West, I think we were looking at the right direction according to Kei's cell phone...

Hard Rock Lunch

We often buy good deals on Groupon or exchange our credit card points to dine at places we don't usually go. This time our Hard Rock Cafe lunch voucher was expiring. It was buy one meal and get one free. We had two of these which was enough to feed all of us! Of course the kids dressed in Hard Rock style and off we went.

It was such a long journey to the city center on the bus. I don't think I will do this route on the bus ever again. It took so long once we were into town, stopping everywhere and avoiding all the one way streets. By the time we got there we had been going for over an hour! (prior to getting to the bus we walked 15min...)

Was it worth it? Well... both Matthew and I were quite disappointed by the food :( Nothing was wrong but there was no WOW factor. Maybe our tastebuds have changed?

Anyways it was a nice afternoon out for the kids. They love being on the bus and eating out in different restaurants :) Let's see what great deal we get next.