2010!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope you all had a safe and pleasant New Year celebration. Ours was spent playing soccer in the balmy 90 degree Singapore sun. Mom (meaning I) was excused from said playing, but was still sweating as much as (if not more than) the players. I never cease to be amazed at how hot it actually gets here. The evening included the Barlow family making an appearance at the Stake Youth dance. Jacob had been invited to do his Michael Jackson impersonation for all the teenagers. (Slightly scary for Mom seeing as sometimes his dancing looks a bit like convulsions). I have to say, I was impressed that Jacob did it. We even permitted a little extra pelvic thrusting in order to make the performance more entertaining (Jacob was thrilled....the key is now how to turn it off!) Luckily the teenagers were good sports and enthusiastically cheered Jacob on during his dance. He got so into it that we eventually had to cut the music to get him off stage.

When we came home we broke out the disposable champagne classes and poured ourselves a little LDS bubbly (i.e. sparkling cider). Andrew immediately passed out, while Jacob went into a Wii coma until 2am, when we finally forced him to go to sleep.

The boys and I spent the next week and a half after the New Year spending quality time together since they were still on school holiday. Meaning: trips to the super market, trips to the doctors, and trips to other exotic and exciting places. Luckily, we were able to slip in a couple of movies and lunch dates with dad. The most exciting outing was our search for Singapore's very first . . . . . WENDY'S!!!!! That's right, folks! We finally have a Wendy's here in Singapore.

Our first attempt to find said paradise ended in disappointment when we spent an hour driving around downtown unable to locate our desired destination. A friend then told Scott the exact spot where we could find our search for happiness. The next attempt we spent an hour trying to find parking, only to return to Scott's office building to deposit the car. We then hoofed it for fifteen minutes to get to Wendy's. By the time we walked inside I was ready to gnaw off my arm.

However, when the doors opened we were greeted with the heavenly aroma of grease and buns that only Wendy's has to offer. We lustily placed our order for burgers and frosties and chicken tenders (that last one was Jacob's). I ravenously dug into my frosty and almost passed out when the delicious cold, choclately taste drizzled down my throat. I then tore open my burger wrapping to find ....white cheese!? Bad sign. Okay, so the burger wasn't quite right, but the frosty was definitely worth the two and a quarter hour oddessy to get to Wendy's. (However, note to all you in the U.S. - I will still be wanting to make my thrice weekly stop at Dave's place when I come to visit).

On the home front, the boys have had some great one-liners the past few days.

Jacob: We were at church this past Sunday and Jacob started to give me what I thought was a massage. However, I realized it was not a massage when he leaned over and whispered, "Is all this extra from the baby?" I said, "Yes." To which he replied, "Oh.....so you gain weight ALL over!?" He then went on to prod the extra fat in my back and arm. Though I was slightly offended and annoyed, the pho-massage felt too good for me to tell him to cut it out.

Andrew: Tonight Andrew was playing some spelling game on the computer. The game gave you a letter and you had to come up with a word that begins with that letter. We had a guest over and we were all sitting at the table when Andrew interrupted us. "Mom? What is that round chewing thing?" I had not idea what he was talking about, so he went on, "You know. The round, chewing things....that come out of a machine." Then it hit all of us - GUM!!! Seeing as gum is semi-forbidden here we all thought it was pretty funny he couldn't remember what it was called. The man who was visiting laughed that Singapore has definitely had its toll on our children.

Jacob: (This was actually quite a while ago, but it was too funny for me not too add). The two of us were sitting on the couch quietly watching a program when Jacob suddenly says, "Mom? Next time you have a baby can you warn me?" I turned to him and said, "What do you think these past eight months have been?" Jacob then responded, "No. Will you warn me next time you are going to do 'the sex thing'." (If I had been eating...which shockingly I wasn't....I think I would have choked).

Today Scott came with me to my doctor's appointment. I thought this was my last visit before giving birth, so I have been completely living it up the past two weeks. How I gained 4 pounds in two weeks is still a mystery however! The baby also tacked on a solid pound (in two weeks) as well. (So I guess that means I only gained three). Anyway, when the doctor noticed the gain she asked, "How is your sugar intake." There was a moment when I was actually considering admitting the fact that I have had both chocolate and ice-cream (at a minimum) every day for the past two weeks. But, I chickened out and told her that I had had a lot of salt the past two days. Don't think she bought my lie - but it was the best I could do on the spot.

One last announcement..... I should have mentioned that this past New Year's marked the end of a ten year bet I have had with Scott. On New Year's Eve, 1999, Scott and I were at dinner when my sister's dog, Pongo, was brought up in conversation. My sister's family acquired Pongo from the pound about 18 years ago. No one knows Pongo's exact age and Pongo (in 1999) was an extremely hyper dog who liked to run away whenever the front door was opened. Anyway.....at this 1999 dinner, Scott made a statement alluding to the fact that Pongo only had about five years left. I contradicted him and said that dog would live at least another ten years. We then made a bet: if Pongo was alive to ring in the year 2010, I would get Scott's bonus for the year. When this bet was made we were both college students and Scott did not have a job. Anyway, by some miracle, Pongo was able to see us reach 2010 (though "see" is the wrong word since he is now blind). Anyway, I want to thank my loving husband for agreeing to still make good on the bet. Tummy tuck.....here I come!!!!!

On a sad note, we lost one of our turtles this past Monday. Well, maybe it was Sunday - but we didn't realize it until Monday. As the boys were getting ready for their first day back at school, Andrew pointed out that one of the turtles, "was sleeping for a long time at the bottom of the tank." After putting the boys on the bus, I decided to check out the "sleeping" turtle. I got out the little blue net and gave him a little jab. Nothing. I then extracted him from the tank. Still, nothing. It was then that I realized our little pet had passed. I don't know which was more sad, the fact that he had died, or that he looked so happy he was dead....