I took Kian to Jakarta, alone!

UK with Emi & Daichan!

In September, Matt, Kian, Emi, Daichan and I went to England together for 2 weeks. First Emi and Daichan came to Singapore for 2 days then we flew to UK.

We stayed in Matt's parents house in Horsham, Essex during the weekend and also his dad's place in London, Limehouse during the weekdays.
Weather was already cold but nice enough to go for a walk. Being with a chef and food lovers, the trip really was a lot about food, going to food festivals and wine tasting festival.

In the name of 'research', we went to eat at many Japanese restaurants and went to the market for fresh ingredients for the party which Daichan cooked for us.

We also went to Oxford to meet George and Safia.
Oxford is a lovely town with so much history and academic scholars.
After that we went to see Hedgestone. So mystic.











Kian enjoyed being with his grandparents. We ate lots of Oysters, British food and Japanese food.

We went to the British museum where there were so much of history from as old as 2500BC, Egyptian, Greek, African, Asian artifacts. What a historical journey all in one place, for free!






My sincere gratitude for Jenny and Terry who accommodated us while we were there and Matt for initiating this trip. Also to Daichan who inspired us with his passion for food and his culinary skills, and to my dear sister who is always nice to be with.

To Crete, Greece!

Crete is the biggest island of Greece but not where the capital Athens is.
It is more a sunny resort destination, as along the coastline has some coves and bays and some sandy beach facing the wide beautiful blue Mediterranean sea.

















We stayed at a resort called St. Nicolas Bay at Agois Nikolaos.

To UK in June 2010

So off we went to UK with British Airways for Matt's parents' 60th birthday celebration holiday.

Here I'm having Pimms with loads of diced cucumbers and strawberries. And Matt's having Fish & Chips at the local pub. Hmm....

The first 5 days,Matt and I were trying to recover from a jet lag at Matt's parents' house in Horsham, sleeping whenever Kian was sleeping.

Matt's mom's side of the relatives and friends came to visit Kian. The last time they saw him was in January, 5 months ago.

It was still chilly outside (15degree?) but in Conservatory it was warm and cozy.

Kian-chan turned 7 months

We went for a walk to the East Coast Park on a hot Saturday afternoon.
As soon as we arrived, we looked for an aircon restaurant and had our lunch.
Because we already had a big breakfast, we shared 1 Fish & Chips at Scruffy Murphy.
Kian had his first 'dine out' and ate the mushy pea which came as the side of the Fish & Chips (with Japanese rice crackers for baby).

Kiwi Ball

Went to a Kiwi Ball organized by the New Zealand chamber of commerce.













All of the people we went with are Prindi and Dave's friends who are all good fun. Reywyn and Julie couple came all the way from Jakarta just for this event, and they come every year!
And we now know why...
We had so much fun as a group and the whole atmosphere was very nice.
We gathered at Prindi and Dave's house first and took 2 big taxis, 1 for the girls and 1 for the boys.

I wore the same dress as I did at the Brit Cam Ball (organized by the British chamber of commerce 2 years ago) but this event was far better.

We are all already looking forward to the next year's Ball.

こどもの日 ５月５日

At work I just realized it was May 5, Children's Day in Japan.
So after work Matt and I went to Meijiya to look for the Koi Nobori's Koi... and yes, they had it!
Went home to catch Kian just about to go to bed and congratulated his first Kodomo no hi!
おめでとう，キアンちゃん．

Jakarta trip

We went back to Jakarta on Friday after work, and arrived at 11pm at home.
It was so nice to see Rikki grown up but still a toddler.
When Rikki saw Kian, Rikki hugged him and kissed him and called out "Kian-chan, Kian-chan". It was such a sweet moment.
Ai-chan is only 3 weeks younger than Kian, so even though her body is much smaller than Kian, she can pretty much do the same thing Kian does, or even earlier than Kian. Guess it's a girls thing...
Dad wasn't feeling well (since a big drinking session on Easter party) and was bed ridden the 2 days that we were there, but according to mom, he is better now.




Prindi & Dave was in Jakarta too, so we met up with them at night and had a good time too.
But 2 days is just not enough to do the friends and family. So we planned to go back to Jakarta mid May, just for the family.

I always have a list of things I want to do if I'm in Jakarta, but there is just not enough time...
I need about a month!

After we left, mom said Rikki woke up from his nap and wept when he found out we have left. Rikki actually missed Kian! ahhhh....

Amelie's 4th Birthday Party

Mark & Jacque's Amelie turned 4 and they had the birthday party at a function room in Mandarin Gardens condominium.


Inez, Ben and Peggy was there too.

Jacque has 4 or 5 sisters (lost count as they all look the same!) and they are all very warm and friendly.

I always look forward to eldest sister Regina's curry which she always cooks for parties :)

Getting Kian used to swimming.




He loves the bath and shower but in the pool, he's not very happy.

Maybe it is too big and scary?

Relaxing Friday night

I'm not even exaggerating, to say Matt and I see Prindi & Dave at least 3 times a week?
That's a lot.
And yes, they live just 5min away by car and like to have cheeky gatherings like us, but it must be more than that.

Dave had 2 Shisha thing so he gave 1 to us~!

Good friends with benefit and convenience is so hard to come by!


Keith came all the way from the West side to our East side to join us for a relaxing Friday... but he fell asleep at 9pm! Oyaji!

"Stay Calm....And Move On"

We were invited to George & Safia's newly bought home in Pasir Panjang road.
They've done some good renovations and it was very much an East meets West decor. Big project!

I was inspired by the mantra which George hung up on top of the front gate:
"Stay Calm...and Move On"

I wish I could practice that everyday...