Lately…

I haven’t been my usuall productive self. My head has been full of thoughts regarding my upcoming Singapore trip. With two toddlers and all of my extended family, there are lots of thing to remember and an equal amount of questions. Four weeks in wonderful Singapore…

This past weekend I started packing for the girls…I’m very happy with our decision to rent an apartment that has an in-house washer-dryer machine. This way I don’t have to pack four weeks worth of clothes. I look forward to spending four weeks @8 on Claymore…

- a few sets of summer clothes, from top to bottom
- swimming clothes (well UV suits)
- toiletries
- diapers for BabyL (lesson from my last Singapore trip – diapers are very expensive compared to the prices in Norway)
- shoes for hot weather (there is still about half a meter of snow outside our house)
problably a whole lot more..but still have a few more days to mull it over.

Travelling with two toddlers, it was time to buy a suitcase for the girls. We have been very happy with our old, trusty Samsonite hard case suitcases. So we looked into getting a similar one for the girls. A visit to a local store that sells Samsonite, we landed on a Samsonite S’cure. SweetieS chose the color, a very girly dark blue (not what I had expected when we gave her the options). So far SweetieS enjoyed pushing the empty suitcase from the store to the parking lot, not sure she will enjoy it quite as much when it is fully loaded. I’ll try to post our experience with this model when we get back.

In between preparing for our trip, we have had time to enjoy all the snow

hard at work building a snow castle in our back yard

Our previous attempt at building a snow man got buried in all the snow that has fallen lately…so we also had to make a new one…

No new knitting projects lately..but I have finished the knitted gift for a baby that’s right around the corner. Not to reveal too much…

a little teaser

I’ll post a picture of the finished project when it has been delivered to its intended recipient.

- how do you prepare for an overseas trip?
- how are you enjoying the Winter?

R.I.P Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

I woke up this morning to the sad news of Mr. Lees passing. Although he passed peacefully in his sleep at the age of 91 years old the news kind of puts an end to an era. To all Singaporeans Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is THE father of modern Singapore, being the founding Prime Minister of Singapore…

For those of you who know me personally you know my family migrated from Singapore before I was born. But I still have strong family ties to Singapore and I visit as often as I can. Thank you Mr. Lee for building the Singapore as I have always known it.

For those of you who don’t know of Singapore and it’s history, you can read here.
Or even watch a 3 part documentary on youtube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Singapores current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held a beautiful speech when announcing his passing.

Transcription and translation is available on the PMO site, here.

Rest in peace Mr. Lee, you will never be forgotten.

Babyfriendly Singapore?

As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent our Christmas and New Years in Singapore. Being BabyS’ first trip abroad and travelling so far I was expecting the worst. Everything from a screaming baby from Oslo to Singapore to BabyS not handling the heat. As they say, “Hope for the best, expect the worst”. The long flight went beyond expectation and BabyS slept most of the flight, wohoo!

Arriving safely at our destination we went to a department store to stock up and get an idea of what was available. Especially stuff we have never bought in Singapore before, like diapers and babyfriendly food. Along came our first shock….diapers in Singapore are expensive! I know that the “war” between department stores here in Norway has left us spoiled with diapers costing next to nothing. But wasn’t prepared for such a big leap. I had been warned that BabyS size might be hard to find, especially in countries where potty training starts early. Size not a problem….especially since BabyS is quite small for her age.

An issue we had to find a solution for, was a stroller. Do we bring our own? Rent? Borrow – from whom? With a well-stocked cousin I got to borrow a stroller for BabyS. Thank you Janet! After a few days use I did notice a few things when it comes to use of strollers in Singapore.

- There are elevatores everywhere, just expect to wait for your turn. The elevator is always full up! Escalators are a good option.

- Public buses require you to fold up your stroller before boarding. (So not used to that from Norway! In Norway you can just roll onto the bus, provided there is room – which is up to the driver) Having money for a taxi is an option as taxis are cheap and always available.

- Most eating places we went to had high chairs for toddlers. (You know, the cheapest one from IKEA –  called “Antilop”) If they didn’t have a high chair they could stack chairs to provide the hight needed – but not a very safe option if you have kids that don’t sit still while eating . We have a Sack’n Seat – but we didn’t always remember to bring it with us.

This is turning out to be a longer post than I initially thought….so I think I will bring to a halt here – or I’ll never get this post out. Let me know if there is anything you want to know about my experience with bringing a 19 month old to Singapore. After fire weeks I think we covered the basics.

- How do you prepare for a long haul vacation?
- Have any experiences you wish to share?

Happy new year!

Time sure flies…another year has begun.

Sorry for my absence lately, someone left casaR a Christmas gift consisting of the Flu! And I was struck the worst. I’m still recovering…starting with some energy to sit a little in front of the computer. Just dropping by to wish everybody a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wasn’t much of a celebration @casaR this year…with BabyS needing her sleep and DaddyO and me sick…So this year I reminisce about the new year we celebrated in Singapore two years ago…

 
the sky @MarinaBay, SG…ahhh New Year in the tropics

- How did you welcome the new year?

Majulah Singapura!

Just taking a minute to wish all Singaporeans around the world a Happy National Day (August 9^th).

Majulah Singapura!