Active Sundays

While we’ve moved on from our themed weekends (sorta- more on that soon!) I’ve been focused on my fitness. And rather than work out separately I looked for ways to make this a family affair. We started tennis lessons as a family on Saturdays, so I was looking for something to try on Sundays.

We decided to try hiking every other weekend (as it’s quite tiring, for all of us) and try something different in the weeks in between. My husband is finding all kinds of fun hikes that help us to explore different parts of Singapore while getting some exercise.

We did our first hike from Mount Faber to Hort Park, down one of the few hills on this island. It was about an hour, and we were able to motivate the kids by saying there were playgrounds at the end. We did make it to the playgrounds, although it started to rain so we didn’t get to stay long.

We were all pretty tired from this, so the next weekend we stayed in and did a Les Mills Born to Move dance video. It wasn’t the most inspired, but maybe it pushed us to be more creative.

The next Sunday we tried another hike, from the Tampines Eco Green to the park connector to the Pasir Ris Park (ended at another playground). It was SO HOT. We all really struggled, walking and wearing a mask, and Papa had to carry the kids some of it. Even as tired as they were, they were still happy to play on the playground when we got there!

Hubby and I can’t agree who’s idea this was, but we somehow came up with the notion to get a video game system to play some active games. We got a used Xbox that came with 2 games– Just Dance and Kinect Sports Rivals. I thought the kids would really be into the dance one, and they were for about half an hour. Then they watched Papa and I dance for another half an hour. Then we tried bowling, which East liked. Hubby and I really like the dance game– we’ve competed a few times without the kids!

This weekend we tried another walk on Coney Island. It rained in the morning and it looked like it cleared up, but it didn’t, as we got rained on. It made it less hot, and we actually had a lot of fun. There was a wooden playground at the end, but it was too wet to play on, sadly.

Sure, we don’t go very fast, and there is some whining and a lot of snack breaks, but we spend time together and spend some energy. And we are enjoying seeing different parts of Singapore.

We have a plan for next weekend (not a hike!) – check back and see what it could be!

Quarantine Weekend Theme- Singapore

Our themed weekends are keeping us busy, both planning wise and enacting, so we are keeping them up. I hope you find them entertaining! We decided on a Singapore theme to enjoy in some local delights, just as Singapore announced stricter lock down measures. It made procuring treats more difficult, but we still had fun with it.

We started with fruit drinks on Saturday, which was one of the first things we did when we arrived in Singapore. I remember heading to the hawker center and ordering big cups of juice for each of us. We made them at home this time, with watermelon and strawberry.

Shortly after we started making the dumplings. My kids love dumplings, so making them is a fun treat. They started with the dough, then helped to roll it out and put the filling in the little pockets.

Singapore is more than 75% Chinese, and we ended up with quite a feast, with all kinds of dumplings, a scallion pancake, veggies, and salad for mommy. The kids ate a ton and were hardly hungry for the rest of the day.

After a good nap, and a failed delivery of Singaporean snacks, we started on our first craft of making Peranakan tiles. Peranakan is the mixing of the Chinese settlers with the local Malays in what is now Singapore, and they created beautiful tiles that can be seen throughout old shop houses. I wanted to create the tile designs out of paper, but really struggled to find anyone who had done this. We ended up cutting out shapes with the silhouette and letting the kids glue them to a piece of cardstock.

This one is mine.

After this my husband make some local mochi, called muah chee which is a little softer than Japanese mochi. Meanwhile the kids and I worked on a centrepiece for the table with red tissue paper flowers.

For dinner we did a mix of order in and making at home for the local favorite, Nasi Goreng. It’s a Malay, Indonesian, and Singapore dish that is simply delicious. And we had the muah chee, sesame and peanut for dessert.

For breakfast we had a typical Singaporean breakfast of kaya toast and egg. Usually the egg is soft boiled, but we opted for hard boiled.

Then we opened up our tiny balcony for some water play. One of our favorite things about Singapore is the plethora of fun water areas for kids around the city. Most of them are free and they offer a great way for the kids to cool off in this hot city. So the kids played in our water table, while enjoying Singapore views.

After drying off, we shared some boba tea and peanut butter pancakes (min jiang kueh). One of the things that closed just that Friday was boba tea shops, so we did make our own boba. But in the end we were able to find a shop that was able to deliver, so we had some commercial and some homemade boba.

homemade boba

After water play, we did another craft. We made chili crabs and merlions, both national symbols of Singapore! Both print outs are from here. I added a few more flourishes to make it fun.

Just before lunch we watched a short video on Singapore wildlife, which may have been one of the best parts of the weekend. I liked learning about the otters and birds and lizards. For lunch we had delicious Indian food. Singapore is about 7% Indian and the food here is delicious. We are so spoiled.

And per our usual Sunday afternoon activity, we watch a movie. This week it was Jungle Book. It was a good weekend, filled with yummy food. I think we would have made any Singaporean proud!

Insta Friday

I apologize I’ve been sporadic in my posts lately. The last month sped by, and the next is nearly as fun, with a trip back to the US. Here’s a bit of my life from Instagram over the past 6 weeks or so.

collage insta May

 

1. Bali’s outdoor shower.

2. Popsicles at the beach. Does it get better?

3. Wellness Day.

4. Mexican corn in Singapore.

5. Art Basel

6. Tokyo at the Miro Museum

Travel Lust

In the last 2 weeks I’ve been to Singapore and Manila. In the next 2 weeks I’m going to Bali and Tokyo. Half for work, half for fun, my travel schedule (and passport!) is full.

While I’ll be the first to admit that traveling is tiring, and can wear me out (particularly for work, what’s that about?), I gotta admit I’m pretty lucky. I’m a bit of a wanderlust to begin with, and I love going new places and meeting new people. Often roles in Asia are regional, so traveling is a part of life. Then you add on public holidays with amazing nearby destinations, and you end up with a life full of beautiful memories and a battered suitcase. Just another reason that this place is my home.

collage globe

 

Thinking I might need this cork globe to keep track of it all.

Singapore, Manila, Bali and Tokyo images.

A wonderful quote.