January 2006

Well another year has been and gone and what a dismal effort on keeping the frosty website up to date last year! If i was getting a school report it would definately say must try harder! I am racking my sieve brain to even try and remember what has happened over the last six months! If i am at my computer i often jot memorable events down so that i don't forget. I found a note here for the 17th July that Frosty made a salad! This is a remarkable event in our house bearing in mind that Frosty doesn't even like salad and two he barely knows where the kitchen is. He does like to watch Nigella lawson though. She must have really inspired him as i can't get him to even open a tin of beans.

I can remember quite a few visitors! Elaine and Gray came first which was the same time as Sean's christening. Got round to christening Sean this time before he was 18 months old like Joe! Don't know whether it was a wise move though as he was still in screaming mode all the time then, so having made it through half the service he bawled for the latter. Sean was christened at the new church that we now go to. We had lots of people to celebrate with, Joe and Rachel, who became the offical photographer after Frosty forgot our camera and Elaine left hers in the back of a taxi on her last night here! Penny, Gary and the kids, Ginny, James, Lynn and Ryan and Shiang. The usual champagne bevvies were consumed once we got home.

Joe and Sean had a great time when their Aunty Elaine and Uncle Gray came to visit. Seany took an instant liking to his godmother and i hope she comes back soon to take him out! We all had a few days in Sentosa and i think that may have been one of the first nights when i didn't take him along. Unfortunately we don't have many photos of this visit due to the camera incident.

Both Nana and Nan came during the year to see the kids. This meant trips to Ginny's playground to play in the sand pit, walks in the botanical gardens, Joe went on the duck bus tour, usual trips to the zoo, Sean had plenty of walks in his pram and someone else to entertain him.

I was surprised and excited to recieve an email during the year from an old school friend who i hadn't seen for about 20 years. Claire, who i went to high school with was coming over to Singapore to stay with her brother-in-law. It was lovely reminicising about school whilst all our kids played together. I try not to think that it was 20 years ago though!

Umple Morpy made loads of trips during the latter half of the year and came to see Joe and Seany all the time. Joe looks forward to seeing his uncle Mawf and even knows that he lives in Thailand. He loves the extra attention. Ron made a visit with Mawf to our new place. Ron hasn't changed much since we left Bangkok though he was in need of a haircut.

Frosty had his birthday, i think Joe probably opened all his presents as that seems the trend these days. Frosty had a giant cookie for his birthday cake with candles that Joe helped to blow out. Joey loves a birthday cake!

We have spent a couple of Sundays taking Joe on the bus and boats on the river. Joe loves anything that moves and is very easy to entertain. He is also very good at walking, having had lots of practice being trailed round the shops when we lived on Orchard road!

At the begining of Novemeber we moved into our new apartment. Like all moves it was not stress free! We bought a place here in Singapore back in July and spent three months renovating. It was liveable but very old-fashioned with tasteless pink bathrooms and a horrible kitchen. We gutted it apart from the floors, ripped off all the tiles, doors, aircon, you name it. At one point we had the old bath on the balcony! Now i have a brand new kitchen for the first time ever and lovely new bathrooms throughout the place. It still has a few minor teething problems but on the whole the workmanship seems quite good. Joe is loving having space to run around in outside, plus the big pool, huge children's playground and neighbours who have kids to play with! Now need to kit out the inside and slowly getting rid of all those 10 year old duvet covers that are falling apart at the seams!

I can't even remember what month, but i did go out with the girls, Penny, Tina and Penny's mum to see Robin Gibb! Penny being a big Bee Gees fan was deseperately wanting volunteers to go and being desperate to just even get out of the house and leave all the boys to it i leapt at the chance! It was actually very good and i enjoyed the concert more than i thought. We even got really good free tickets from Tina's Bee Gee connections.

I ran out of time to add news about Christmas and New Year, but will get round to that asap. I promise not to leave it six months again. Frosty's cooking inspiration didn't last long, he's never cooked again since his salad creation.

Birdie x x x