Dodgeball competition 2016 Autumn

Another great sports event organised by Japanese Association in Singapore took place on the weekend. Primary kids dodgeball competition. Oliver's class Primary 1-6 "Team One Rock" entered the competition once again.

Here is the orientation session before the games start:

The kids were all more relaxed and excited compared to the games they had in Spring. 

Between the games Oliver enjoyed having lunch with his friends :)

It was just so much fun!!

Oliver's team played very well but still couldn't make it to the finals. I am sure he would like to join a team next year again. I am so happy that he loves team sports so much! Well done Oliver. 

Cheering for Stefan

I got a text message from our Australian friend Stefan that he will be racing on the ECP in the weekend. Matthew was away but the kids and I made cheerleading posters for him and went to the ECP.

Unfortunately we missed him running in front of us, as he was way too early compared to his previous records (I had to time it right so the kids didn't get too scratchy waiting and standing by the fence... but missed him in the end boo!) Well done Stefan! You are amazing!!

Pokemon wii

A new game for the boys arrived from Japan. Pokemon Wii. They started to play Pokemon Go while we were in Japan during the summer and are very much into it. But we don't want them to always walk around with a cell phone... So we decided to give them a TV game instead. Oliver and Luca were so happy to see their favourite characters on the big screen :)

Patrick's birthday dinner

We were invited to Patrick's birthday dinner in town. The dinner was at Kazbah and everything was superb! Perfect meal to share with lots of friends.

Here is Patrick the birthday boy with his wife Meisha:

A group shot:

On the way home we took a party bus again! It is getting very addictive for all of us to have extra fun on the return journey. Lots of smoke, loud music and disco lights - a perfect way to finish up the birthday dinner!!

Meanwhile in Singapore

While I was having amazing ME time in Osaka daddy entertained the kids everyday.
He took them to the movies one afternoon. While the little ones were at kindy, he took Oliver to this new play station where he can operate a real digger.

He dressed Luca and Ashley well for their end of year party at their kindy...

And everyday he made sure the little ones welcomed Oliver back home in a special way when he arrived back from school on the bus. 

Trip away in Japan

I have such a wonderful husband who told me to hop on a plane and have a break in Osaka, ALONE! 
I got on a flight in the middle of the night which was perfect. I got a whole row to myself up to Manila where I transited so I had a good amount of sleep. Once in Manila I was too excited to plan my Day1 without the kids.

A bit cold but it was a beautiful day arriving in Osaka. 

When we go back to Osaka, mum or my older sister normally come to the airport but they were both busy so my little sister Shinobu and my niece Rua picked me up. Luckily Shinobu was free for the rest of the day so she offered to drive me around - I didn't waste any time. We went to a nearby shopping mall and did some shopping and had a lovely lunch together. 

Once I got home to drop my suitcase and the shopping bags and said two minute hi to my father, I biked to my hairdresser. It was so nice to relax and get pampered at the end of such a busy day. And I didn't have to worry about the kids at all!! 

On the second day I took a train and went to Rinku Town which is a station between the airport and our house. It is very convenient to have such a great shopping complex so close. I must have gone into 80% of the shops there but being a weekday and not many people around plus having no kids with me I managed to finish shopping just after lunch time. 

Nice to be able to wear long pants and boots again:

We never come back in Autumn to visit Japan because of the kids holidays, it was very nice to see some of the changing leaves.

I had lunch at my favourite sushi restaurant. Again being by myself eating 5 plates of sushi (I cannot eat any more) it took me less than 15min!

A couple more exciting things while I was there. One was seeing my nephew Rui. He came to our house especially to have dinner with me. He is now 17 but still very cute like he used to be.

Mum finally got a day off from work on the 3rd day I was there. I really wanted to eat at this okonomiyaki (Japanese vegetable pancake) restaurant. So I was very happy mum took me there for lunch. 

And one more big task I had to complete before I left Osaka was to get my eyes checked. It was the primary reason for my visit. Because of my specific eye condition my retinas are very weak. I had trouble when Oliver was born and again this May. So I have been extra cautious and sort of paranoid. I do have a very good ophthalmologist here in Singapore but it is very expensive and I really wanted to get some extra tests done. The Japanese ophthalmologist did some extra laser work on my left eye in August to make sure my retinas are stable (for now). It was nice to get examined by the same doctor. He told me everything is ok at the moment. Even though I had to wait for 5 hours (it is such a busy clinic) it was nice to get the examination done. 

It was such a productive visit. Thank you very much for letting me go Matthew. You are an amazing husband & father!

Japanese school Sports Day 2016

Phew! it was such a hot day. We were all at the school field to see some great performances by Oliver and his friends.

There are over 900 kids at his school. They put them into 2 teams - team Red and team White. Oliver's class was team White (in the end team Red won...).

It started off with traditional Japanese calisthenics - a warm up exercise.

Ashley and Luca were both very excited. 

Oliver was in "tug of war" and "rolling ball" played by all the students and two different dance performances and a running race with Primary 1 students. 

The field is quite big and I couldn't spot him in his dance performances but I made sure I was right in front of the crowd during the running race. He is standing second from the right with a white hat. 

He looked so happy with all his friends. He told me he had such a great day. I am so happy he is loving his school :) :) :)

Balcony dinner

Since Oliver started primary school I haven't had friends around as much as I used to. Checking on his homework is kind of stressful and sometimes takes a long time. Also I have to make sure Oliver and I both get enough sleep before we have to get up at 6am everyday.

Last night I couldn't help myself. It was such a beautiful evening. No haze, perfect amount of breeze and temperature. While I was enjoying my coffee I texted Kei and Hiroko, they are just so good, showed up in no time! I so love condo life!!

The kids were very happy having each other :)

We had to make sure it wan't a late one as the kids had a sports day in the morning. Still we managed to open two bottles of bubbly in 3 hours! I wish I can do this more often...

New look for our little balcony

This little balcony is attached to our bedroom. Can you see the little white tiles in the corners in this picture? I didn't like looking at them. It is in front of our bed and right next to my computer desk. I look at them every day. So finally we got the wooden tiles (of course from IKEA!). With some extra pots of greenery it now looks much cosier. While I am on the computer Ashley can read books or do colouring in - very nice ha!?

New look for Bayshore minimart

The minimart in Bayshore Park has been taken over by a new owner - one of the big chains in Singapore. We now have a fantastic range of products. And their opening hours are 8am to 10pm. Yeah!