Five Benefits of a Good Imagination

1. You save money

Samara has never had a baby doll and doesn't want one.  Her pink blanket doubles as her pretend baby.  She feeds, plays with, and is extremely protective of her.

 2.  You get to have pets without the responsibility

Sometimes she's a cat and sometimes she's a dog.  We are always a family of snails.  Her first imaginary pet was "Tiny" the dinosaur, but now it's the "nice mosquitos".  The nice mosquitos are a wonderful resource because they not only protect us from the bad kind (that bite you) but they also have a pretend map whenever we get lost.  When we don't know which way to go, we simply ask the nice mosquitos.  I wonder if I should feel bad that my poor sense of direction caused her to invent help for us.

3.  Naptime is always interesting

I always got the biggest kick out of the excuses our nieces and nephews came up with at bedtime.  Mara is no different.  I love when she insists she is not tired and then zonks out.  It's so fun to listen in at the door before she falls asleep and then to go in once she's fallen asleep to see what she's done to entertain herself until she dozes off.  She went through a phase (lower left photo) where she'd only nap on the floor.  I'm thrilled when she naps so anywhere she wants to nap is fine with me.

FYI, that is definitely NOT a bra in the top photo.  That is her BACKPACK!  Even though she has two cute backpacks, she insists this is the only one she has and begs to wear it when we go outside.  

4.  Our travels last longer 

Samara loves visiting new countries and "visits" them for months after we return from a trip.  I am amazed how much she remembers.  Currently, we live at the beach in Indonesia (I wish!!).  One day while she was playing with the little wooden dolls from her dollhouse, I heard her tell them they were going to America and had to take three airplanes to get there.  Then she said, "Ok, time to get off and go through customers (read customs) so you can get a new stamp in your passport."

5.  She keeps on us our toes

Even though we may not always love the creative uses she finds for things around the house, I'm so glad she has such a vivid imagination.  We never know what this little one is going to come up with next, but she keeps us highly entertained.  I wish her pretend money and grocery store (she always goes to when we are missing ingredients for dinner) were real.  But I'm glad her nice mosquitos aren't...

Happy Father's Day!

Just over a month and we'll have another sweet baby girl to adore and to snuggle.  Papa Ben can't wait.  We're so grateful he is our dad and husband!  

There are many things we love and appreciate about him.  Samara summed up well, one of those things that make Ben such a great dad, when she asked me a few weeks ago, "Mimo, why does papa always like to watch all the kid shows with me even though he's really tall (translation:  he's a grown up)?"  

She's also been wondering when "kid-day"is since we had mother's day and now father's day.  Isn't every day kid's day?  So, to all you papas and kids out there, have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Cousin Jeanne comes to visit

I love my cousin Jeanne!  She's a sister and a best friend all in one fabulous package.  She and her husband Trac came for a visit in May.  Trac went home a week before her and her extra week happened to overlap Ben's being in Sweden for a conference.  We had a wonderful time together and managed to pack every day full of sightseeing and activities, which made for some swollen ankles for me!  Samara has amazing endurance from being dragged all over the world and nothing seemed to wear her out. 

Jeanne and I share a common love for photography, so we made sure we did not miss any photo opportunities.  Samara thought it was hilarious that the flower is taking a picture.  Samara's pretend camera was always out too.  At the zoo, Jeanne and Trac were both snapping away so she was too.  Then she asked, "guys, what are we even taking a picture of?"

A visit to the Chinese Gardens

We've only seen these Aldabra or Galapagos giant tortoises once before at the zoo.  We are usually only there in the mornings, but since we were there all day, we got to feed them in the afternoon.  They were huge.  Males can weigh up to 250kg and females up to 160kg.  This guy was 40 years old and they live to be about 80.  The oldest one lived to be 255 years.  They were so interesting but it did make me a little nervous that toes would get stepped on.

I love having visitors because we always end up finding a new place to see.   We'd never been to Mt Faber, the tallest point in Singapore at a whopping 105 meters above sea level.  We hiked down to these awesome tree-top walkways.  We'd been to those when we first moved here because our temporary apartment was right by there.  It was a great little hike...

...with matching toenails, of course.  Is there any other way to hike?

The arts festival was going on and this was a fire garden they had set up to commence the festival.  It was quite a display.

  During Jeanne's last weekend here we headed to Bintan to cheer on some friends in a triatholon and enjoy the beach--the perfect way to end a fabulous trip.  We miss you cousin Jeanne!!

The Waffles Hotel

One morning we were planning on a busy day.  Samara had seen something that made her want  pancakes.  She asked whether we could make some, and I told her we'd try to find some prata or waffles somewhere during the day since we'd be out all day and both those pancake varieties are commonly sold here.  We still hadn't found any when we arrived at our last stop of the day, the Raffles Hotel.  It is a  beautiful, very upscale colonial-style hotel dating from 1887 and named after English Singapore founder, Sir Stamford Raffles.  Rooms start at $600/night.

While we were there, Samara kept asking about eating waffles when she'd see an outdoor restaurant or shop.  I didn't think much of it except that she doesn't forget anything and still wanted that for dinner.

(Top Right) She loved decorating the fountains with leaves and rocks.  I am sure they appreciated it and I fully intend to send a bill for the use of my little creative genius' talent. :)

As we left Samara said, "But we can't leave because we didn't get waffles and this is the waffles hotel!"  Too funny!  All this time, when I was saying "Raffles" and she thought I was saying "waffles".  

Thankfully, serendipity graced us and we found a little place that sold crepes right across the street.  These two signs were outside the shop, so I paid my respects.  yummmmmm...Cadbury!!

The Good Camera

The most enjoyable outing with Jeanne was going to the Arab Quarter one evening.  I love this quaint pocket of the city.  

The first stop was a free photography exhibit at the Malay Heritage Center.  This is a fake studio replicating what the studios were like in the 1800s.  Only royalty could afford portraits back then.  I am doing my best to replicate the poses we saw in the old photographs.  Afterwards, we admired the old shophouses and Sultan Mosque and then went to the Bussorah Pedestrian Street that is lined with cool shops and restaurants.

There is a vintage toy store that I've looked through several times before.  It has some really neat old toys.  This guy is our new BFF.  This photo (above) was tricky for Jeanne to get, as this guy didn't want his photo taken with us.  However.....

"Mr. Uncle" (we'll call him) wanted us to go out back to the little courtyard to get our photo in his cool motor car.  I insisted on the motor bike part and not the side car, seeing as it was a little tricky to get in and out of the side car with a belly and a skirt on.  But he found a solution and practically lifted me into it.  Like all the people in Vietnam, he was fascinated by the fact that I was pregnant.  I'm not totally sure why because Singaporeans and Vietnamese people have babies too.  Then he was really frustrated because the fixed 50mm was on the camera and he couldn't get past it not being able to zoom.  So, out came Jeanne's iphone.  He set down the DSLR and said, "This bad camera.  This good camera. (referring to the iphone)" Hence the not-as-high-quality photos.  Can you tell how funny I thought it was?!  I really couldn't stop laughing.  Is this how I make people feel when I photograph them?

He was hilarious and kept finding places for us to pose and then insisted on taking our photo.  These are only a few of the many.  It was a super fun night.  I haven't giggled that much in a while...maybe you had to be there!

There is a little museum upstairs with even more cool vintage stuff, which is not for sale.  It was totally worth the $2 ticket price.  And I'm glad he got so many fun photos of us since we have so few of us together from her visit.  Check it out next time you are on Bussorah Street...just don't forget your GOOD camera.

To Nest or to Rest

I have a confession to make.  That nesting instinct women always talk about, you know where they accomplish incredible cleaning and organization feats before their offspring arrive, I don't have it.  My instincts are telling me SLEEP WHILE YOU CAN!!!!  Be honest--do you really choose cleaning over taking a nap?

I also have a STRONG instinct leading me towards this:

 I lived off Chubby Hubby when I was pregnant with Samara.  I'd wait until it went it went on sale (2 for $6.00) at the Food Lion and then stock up.  Now, I'd buy out the whole store at the regular price of $3.49/pint.  It's $13.90 here for one pint.  Every June there is an island-wide sale called the Great Singapore Sale.  Today,  I noticed Ben and Jerry's pints are on sale 2 for $20.10.  What a steal.  I may just have to buy myself a couple of pints.  At that price, I am practically taking away stock shares from Jerry.  My plan is to eat one bite a day until the baby arrives.  Though in the end, the "consume it all-in-one-sitting" scenario will likely win out.

Stop.  I just remembered that I cleaned off my computer desk last week...that definitely counts as nesting, right?

Eight weeks to go!

I can't believe little Elizabeth will be here in two months, but at the same time I am not sure whether I'll survive the heat and humidity for that much longer.  I've been trying to convince Ben to let me take up residence in his 4-degree cold room at work.  I wake up most nights hot and sweating only to realize poor Ben left the room to sleep on the couch because he was freezing.  We are anxious and excited to become a family of four.  We are making our way down the check list preparing for her arrival.

Name.  Check.
(Ben is thinking of calling her "Betty" as his special nickname--I don't know what I think about that...)

Cloasma. Check.  They really mean it when they say to be vigilant about sunscreen when you are pregnant!

Heartburn. Check.  Check.

Baby clothes.  Check.  Jeanne brought the 0-6 month clothes with her and it's so great to have them!

A growing belly.  Check.

A baby shower hosted by three of the most wonderful friends a girl could ask for.  Check.
Isn't the announcement so cute?!  Deborah has a wonderful talent for making the cutest cards and announcements.

Two of the lovely hostesses, Sarah and Deborah.

This is sweet Kristen, who made the darling sign, which I absolutely adore.  The one on the right is Jessie, the other lovely hostess.  She is the one who watched Samara while we went to Vietnam.

Yummy!!  Even the darling diaper cake looks delicious, doesn't it?!

The shower was perfect!  I loved every detail, including the place mats.  The artwork on them was done by Sharon Furner whose work I love.  I met her last fall and we became instant friends.  Check out her website and beautiful paintings!

Thank you everyone for your love and support!  

I am grateful to each of you for your presence, generosity, and thoughtfulness.