Visitors

We had families from Adelaide, Malaysia and Singapore visiting us today. Caitlin got along really well with Meredith. They wanted to sit together at church and sit together at lunch. But Caitlin comes from Adelaide. They are visiting because their uncle had come from Malaysia.

After church, we all went to yum cha. But poor Mummy could hardly eat anything because Reegan and Meredith is keeping her real busy. That's ok though, Mummy just had to eat whatever is given. By the time she is ready to eat, everyone has finished eating and had stopped ordering. It was a big group. And it was nice meeting with them.

Olivia

Among the kids at Eastside, Olivia is the only girl. Now that Meredith is here, they now have each other to play with. It's great that they are also the same age, and both are starting school next year.

See how they have started to act silly together.

We went to the city today

We took a train to the city today. We wanted to get a good vacuum machine and Aunty Carol said the stores in the city have more variety. Meredith was excited because it was her first time taking the train here.

This is them at the Auburn station. We were so glad today was nice and cool, just 16 degrees.


When we arrived in the city, we saw Krispy Kreme. When they first opened, they used to have queues and people had to wait for an hour to get their donuts. That's just like the current donut craze in Singapore. But Krispy Kreme was good. Well made and has that nice soft texture.

I think the best part for Meredith must be the rides in the malls. Now that its Christmas, the big stores each set up an area for kids. This one is at David Jones. She had the carousel all to herself. How is that!

Over at Myer, it got better.



They had a mini train that goes round. And the place was nicely set up to look like the real thing.


Even the enthusiastic train driver was looking good!


Of course Reegan would protest. He could only sit in his pram while Big Sister got all the fun.


Luckily, there was a even minier train for him. And he could drive it himself!

It's a torture Malcolm!

One of the things we need to do before Meredith goes to school is to make sure she is fully vaccinated. So we visited the clinic to get a certificate from the GP. Then we realize Meredith is still short of 2 needles. In Singapore, these would be administered when she turns 6. But here, kids need to get it in before they start school.

So there Meredith had it, 2 needles at one go. Of course she went hysterical. The whole clinic could hear her screams.... "We could hear her..."....

But Malcolm was patient and really good with kids. But it was still a torture to Meredith. 2 needles...of course.


Today also I started to give Reegan red meat. I think it went ok. And this is the bag that came with the meat I got from a 'good butcher'.

MGS

We attended an Information Session for parents. And got to take a look at the school. In the morning, we met with the head of the Junior School. She asked Meredith some simple problem solving questions and had Meredith draw a picture of the family. Meredith did very well and the Leonie said she is all ready for school.

This would be the classrooms...



This is like a refurbished chapel. Nice.

Its got a big field. So unlike the school I came from.

We didn't know its the culture that kids should not be present at such meetings. Indeed no kids were there except for one baby. We met with other parents and the teachers. Hope all will go well from here...

A new era

We have been here for a week. Daddy has got a place and a car for us. We have done most of the "7 things you must do when you arrive". Meanwhile, I've been going around getting to know the place and to see what the shops here have. Its always interesting when things are still unfamiliar. There are many wonderful things here for kids and the house. I just love it.

This is us at the Singapore airport checking in. You can see a group of very tall basketball players. They were travelling with us. They are very tall!


The kids did well on the plane. It's Reegan's maiden flight, and he was good.


Here's the frustrated Reegan at Perth. He was finally contented after I passed him the biscuit. Perth was 39 degrees that day!!!


Here's the lift to our rented apartment. It's uncommon to see lift in old apartments. And ours come with one. We live on the 3rd storey.


This is the inside of the apartment. We are still thinking what to put at this big space... piano and dining table? Computers? Printers?


We have not moved in to the new apartment. We are only getting the keys next Saturday.

Meanwhile, summer is well on the way and it is certainly getting warmer.

More teeth

Reegan is getting good with his bicky. Today, we spotted the two top teeth. No wonder he has been making the strange tsk tsk noise...

What's become of an Old School

The place where it used to be my secondary school, has yet again changed hands. At one point, it used to be an international school for Indians.

Today, its called the Old School, and is housing art galleries and restaurants. The place has been refurbished. It looks very neat and clean.


The Clock Tower, where we had our weekly chapel, and where we took the 'O' Level examinations, together with the birds fluttering and having their own game of chase above our heads. And very frequently, they splatter their pooh on us.


This used to be the classrooms, now housing individual galleries and art or design studios.


Look at the evenly-spaced trees, now aged but still standing tall and strong.


This is where we had our dinner. The restaurant is called Recess. They serve simple food like sandwiches, pasta and snacks. The food is simple and good. The restaurant was barely two weeks into operation and we were told the furniture just arrived.

The only thing I do not like, besides not having the very basic chilli flakes... they do not have a non-smoking zone for alfresco dining, ans indoor, there's only 2 tables. What a waste. When the crowd started to come and the smokers started puffing, we had to go.


We hopped over to the next restaurant, where they have indoor dining. It used to be our Science Laboratory. This one is a little more upmarket, and had interesting decor.

They still kept the now ancient iron doors and windows...


And look inside... check out the hanging lights...



Its like going back to time. It was a cool and peaceful evening catching up with friends. The kids had a great time... and some drama. When we were leaving, the Malay waiter could say, "Bye bye Didi!"

Hi! Are you my friend?

As the books say it... babies love mirror... Reegan had so much fun here!

Trick or Treating

Meredith sprung out of bed at 7 this morning. Way before our usual wake-up time. We were quite excited that it's Halloween. There was going to be a party at the Function Room and we've signed up to be part of the Trick or Treat.

Naturally, Meredith was going to be a ....



The venue was spookily decorated. Pretty impressive.




























But the crowd was better...
























This little policeman was rather grumpy throughout.



And this little pumpkin was my favourite.


In the end...the party was nothing much. Just about a handful of stalls of either trick or treat. This was what Meredith made at one of the stall. Ghost Lolli - Lolli wrapped with tissue...



This was our Trick. The worm was supposedly buried under the 'soil'.


This is my first time getting involved in anything Halloween. I enjoyed planning about what to trick or treat and looking at what the store has to sell for the occasion. But we didn't have to buy much. Actually, we only had to buy the worm candy.