I've seen this on several blogs now and I have to share because Matt and I really do have lives outside of the kids!
Me and My Man
♥ What are your middle names? Marie and Benjamin
♥ How long have you been together? Together since 1999, Married since 2002. Wow...that means we met almost 10 years ago.
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We pretty much met and started dating, although it took several months until we were dating seriously
♥ Who asked who out? Matt called to ask me out after we met at a country dance club (Hurricane Harry's for all you Aggies that know). He didn't have a pen to write down my number so I yelled it to him over all the noise and thought there was no way that crazy guy would ever remember it. Because of that I still remember that old number 680-8259
♥ How old are each of you? I am 30 and Matt is 32. Where did our 20's go??
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? Ummm, neither, since both of our sisters live 10,000 miles away and we miss them dearly.
♥ Do you have any children together? Benjamin and Alexander...I can't remember what our lives were like before they brought us so much joy.
♥ Do you have any pets? Not at the moment. My little Abby was adopted by Grammy when we moved, although I recently bought a fish tank so Ben will get pets as soon as we move.
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Having a baby unexpectedly 3 1/2 months early. Since we survived that first night and those 4 months while Ben was in the hospital I have no doubt we can weather any storms together.
♥ Did you go to the same school? Yes, Texas A&M University. We met just before my senior year so we had an entire year to enjoy College Station together before I graduated and moved.
♥ Are you from the same home town? Pretty close...both from the Houston suburbs.
♥ Who is the smartest? people smarts - Matt, no doubt. book smarts - it's a tight race.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? I cried so much I could barely finish Marley and Me. And I've never had a dog.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Probably Newton Hawker because I drag Matt there a lot. Otherwise we try to go somewhere different every weekend since there are so many good restaurants here.
♥ Where is the farthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Can you fly farther than Singapore? Before that, our longest trip was to Rio de Janeiro while Matt was working down there. I got to spend a month with him so it was like our last honeymoon before kids, since we got pregnant right after he came home.
♥ Who has the craziest exes? I did have a guy profess his undying love for me and threaten to kill himself after one lunch date. He even wrote I ♥ Laura on the sidewalk outside my work. Yeah, I guess he was a real head case.
♥ Who has the worst temper? Probably not me...
♥ Who does the cooking? We both get off the hook in that department since we have a maid, but I do the cooking on Sundays when she's off.
♥ Who is more social? Matt can talk to absolutely anyone and probably find someone they both know in common. I'm more social with my own circle of friends.
♥ Who is the neat-freak? Me!
♥ Who is more stubborn? both of us. And we wonder how Ben can be so stubborn sometimes...go figure.
♥ Who hogs the bed? That would be me. I will migrate toward any warm body and I hate sleeping alone.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Matt usually gets up around 5:30 but I'm not far behind since Alex has been insisting on waking up around 6am lately.
♥ Where was your first date? Honey B Ham in College Station, just to meet for lunch. Our first real date was to T-bone Jones.
♥ Who has the bigger family? We each have one sister.
♥ Do you get flowers often? Occasionally and I love it! The nice thing about Singapore is that orchids are cheap and beautiful and last for weeks. My Valentine's orchid is still blooming on our table.
♥ How do you spend the holidays? Together as a family somewhere, although last year I took the boys back to the US for Thanksgiving. It's hard to work the holidays with our extended families right now because we want to spend so much time with everyone.
♥ Who is more jealous? neither of us, really
♥ How long did it take to get serious? I think about a year for both of us. I was living in LA and Matt came to visit for a week. We were both so sad to say goodbye that I think we both knew that very day we wanted to be together.
♥ Who eats more? Matt, but he somehow finishes in half the time.
♥ Who does the laundry? Our maid :)
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Definitely Matt since he built his own computer. And it's scary how not working for 2 years has made me so much slower using programs like excel.
♥Was it love at first sight? Not exactly, but there was definite interest at first sight! How could you not love Matt's smile? It was months before either of us used the L-word but by then we both meant it.
You now know a little more about us...I tag all of our readers because I want to know a little about you. You know the drill, copy...paste...delete...reanswer... look forward to learning more about you and your MAN.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Fire Station and Other Fun
On Saturday mornings all the fire stations in Singapore are open to the public so we thought it would be a fun place to take Ben. He had a great time playing on all the equipment.
We were the proud parents of the only kid who asked to hear the siren over and over again!
That's a BIG hat! It may fit Alex already but it's will be a while before Ben grows into it.
Ben tried a couple of the hoses (and refused to pull his hat up)
He and I got to ride in the tallest basket together and Ben was totally unfazed by the height.
Going up, up up...
I could see over the 5-story building to the side so I know it went pretty high. Ben seemed to think that sort of thing happened every day. We haven't found many things that scare this little boy.
Walking back out with Daddy.
We've had more adventures at home lately than outside. Ben's friend Aiden showed Ben how to jump in and out of Alex's playpen. Alex sat on the outside trying his best to get in with the big boys.
Ben is still a little shorter than his 3-year old friend, so Aiden gave him a hand getting out.
I bought Ben a Sit N Spin from a moving sale and he is totally in love. He even asked to spin with Alex! This is a jazzed up version from what I knew as a kid because it has lights and music...does every kids toy require batteries these days??
Ben enjoyed his new headband...aka Daddy's rubber band for physical therapy.
Happy boys!!
This is what happens when Ben doesn't take a nap - I find interesting creations when I go back in his room. He's still skipping 2-3 naps a week so I'm really hoping it's not the end of naptime for him. I just saw his last two molars coming in and I'm crossing my fingers that that's why he's not sleeping well right now.
And what happens when your 2-year old doesn't nap? He gets really cranky over anything. This apparent bloodbath happened while I was on the phone and I never did figure out why it upset him so much. It gave me a heart attack for a split second because I didn't realize I'd left the paint where he could reach it!
A little more evidence on the floor...thank goodness for washable paint!
I turned around for another minute this morning and the little monkey was already naked. I just never know what he's going to do next.
Later he was naked with a "bib" like Alex. I thought it looked a bit more like a tiny Chippendale dancer!
The favorite pastime lately has been the rollerderby at home. As soon as Alex gets in his walker, Ben hops on his car and the two run all over the house together. It's really cute because they both love it but my feet and knees are black and blue from getting bumped all the time.
Alex knows there are toys hanging from his bouncy chair in our bedroom and loves to go searching for him. I finally figured out today how he's reaching them. It looks like we have our first partner crime!
We were the proud parents of the only kid who asked to hear the siren over and over again!
That's a BIG hat! It may fit Alex already but it's will be a while before Ben grows into it.
Ben tried a couple of the hoses (and refused to pull his hat up)
He and I got to ride in the tallest basket together and Ben was totally unfazed by the height.
Going up, up up...
I could see over the 5-story building to the side so I know it went pretty high. Ben seemed to think that sort of thing happened every day. We haven't found many things that scare this little boy.
Walking back out with Daddy.
We've had more adventures at home lately than outside. Ben's friend Aiden showed Ben how to jump in and out of Alex's playpen. Alex sat on the outside trying his best to get in with the big boys.
Ben is still a little shorter than his 3-year old friend, so Aiden gave him a hand getting out.
I bought Ben a Sit N Spin from a moving sale and he is totally in love. He even asked to spin with Alex! This is a jazzed up version from what I knew as a kid because it has lights and music...does every kids toy require batteries these days??
Ben enjoyed his new headband...aka Daddy's rubber band for physical therapy.
Happy boys!!
This is what happens when Ben doesn't take a nap - I find interesting creations when I go back in his room. He's still skipping 2-3 naps a week so I'm really hoping it's not the end of naptime for him. I just saw his last two molars coming in and I'm crossing my fingers that that's why he's not sleeping well right now.
And what happens when your 2-year old doesn't nap? He gets really cranky over anything. This apparent bloodbath happened while I was on the phone and I never did figure out why it upset him so much. It gave me a heart attack for a split second because I didn't realize I'd left the paint where he could reach it!
A little more evidence on the floor...thank goodness for washable paint!
I turned around for another minute this morning and the little monkey was already naked. I just never know what he's going to do next.
Later he was naked with a "bib" like Alex. I thought it looked a bit more like a tiny Chippendale dancer!
The favorite pastime lately has been the rollerderby at home. As soon as Alex gets in his walker, Ben hops on his car and the two run all over the house together. It's really cute because they both love it but my feet and knees are black and blue from getting bumped all the time.
Alex knows there are toys hanging from his bouncy chair in our bedroom and loves to go searching for him. I finally figured out today how he's reaching them. It looks like we have our first partner crime!
Matt and I went to our first concert in Singapore last night. We saw Coldplay, my favorite band, who put on a terrific show. It was an interesting experience because it cost about twice what I paid to see them in Houston 3 years ago in a stadium half the size of the Toyota Center. What I thought was so interesting is that most venues in the US don't allow pictures or recording, but nearly every person at this concert had their cameras out the entire time. I guess you can't tell Asians not to take pictures!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New Address
The next couple of months have a lot of changes in store for our family. It looks like we struck a deal on a new house to lease for the next two years, which would finish out our tour here in Singapore if we leave when planned. We looked all over half of the island, from the central area where we currently live and I do most of my activities with the kids, to the western side where Matt works. The one we ended up falling in love with is only 1km away, so I can't say we're moving too far! The location of the "new" house (I think it's actually 15 years old or so) should be much better than our current location because I'll be able to walk easily to two malls, the MRT train station, several preschools, and one of my good friend's condos. Just that short move might make my life a lot easier and save a lot of money on taxi fare. Even better, we'll have a small yard and be two doors down from the neighborhood playground so the boys will have plenty of outdoor space to enjoy.
House hunting here was quite different from looking in Houston! When we bought our first house, we used one website to search through all the houses on the market, dropped in to visit open houses and called realtors to see available properties, and used our realtor to show us houses. Here there is no consolidated website to see houses available for sale or rental and even the best site doesn't include house numbers so you have no idea if one house is listed several times or the same street has several properties open. You must be accompanied by your agent and nearly always by the landlord's agent as well because that agent will be checking you out as a potential tenant. Rental prices are negotiable and it's expected that you come with a list of requests, from new hardware or countertops to different curtains or cabinets. Several agents may be showing the same house so sometimes our agent didn't even know the exact house we were seeing until we arrived on the street and called. It's a very cutthroat business here!
It was interesting seeing so many different houses...I think I looked at 23 total. Many older houses have two kitchens - a "dry" kitchen inside with the fridge, small sink, and maybe a hotplate and a "wet" kitchen outside where the heavy cooking is done on the stove. Only one house we viewed had a closet and some don't even have storage in every bedroom. It's common here to only have large cabinets in the bedroom. One of the most interesting had a koi pond in the living room (that would have been fun but I had visions of the kids swimming in it) and another was on the edge of a nature preserve so the agent suggested not leaving bananas out in the kitchen to keep the monkeys away. Interesting, but we didn't need anything quite that exotic!
Moving means we'll be changing Ben's school because I want him to attend something within walking distance. I don't want to change too much on him all at the same time but he's a tough little guy so he'll cope. There is one school right at the end of our new street that I am hoping will work out because it would be a 30-second walk.
We are also getting a new live-in maid at the end of this month. Our acquaintences are moving and we are going to inherit their maid because she speaks better English and will play much more with the kids when I'm out of the house. An added bonus is that the family is Mexican and the new maid Lea will be able to cook us authentic Mexican recipes she has learned from them! That's the food we miss most here so Matt and I are really excited. So, lots of changes going on and lots of paperwork to get everything in order.
What else have we been doing? Matt and I took Ben to Sentosa on Saturday morning while Alex was napping and Ben had a terrific time playing in the sand.
The water is not exactly appealing for swimming and there are no waves to speak of, as you can probably tell from the picture, but it's still fun to be on the beach. Ben helped Daddy build a big bridge and watched the water run under it as the tide came in.
Afterward we let him run in the fountains to clean up before we headed home. I think the first time he came here the water jets were the same height as him!
Still can't resist getting a face full of water!
And Mr. Alex is working on his second tooth. You can finally see the first one when he opens his mouth wide.
House hunting here was quite different from looking in Houston! When we bought our first house, we used one website to search through all the houses on the market, dropped in to visit open houses and called realtors to see available properties, and used our realtor to show us houses. Here there is no consolidated website to see houses available for sale or rental and even the best site doesn't include house numbers so you have no idea if one house is listed several times or the same street has several properties open. You must be accompanied by your agent and nearly always by the landlord's agent as well because that agent will be checking you out as a potential tenant. Rental prices are negotiable and it's expected that you come with a list of requests, from new hardware or countertops to different curtains or cabinets. Several agents may be showing the same house so sometimes our agent didn't even know the exact house we were seeing until we arrived on the street and called. It's a very cutthroat business here!
It was interesting seeing so many different houses...I think I looked at 23 total. Many older houses have two kitchens - a "dry" kitchen inside with the fridge, small sink, and maybe a hotplate and a "wet" kitchen outside where the heavy cooking is done on the stove. Only one house we viewed had a closet and some don't even have storage in every bedroom. It's common here to only have large cabinets in the bedroom. One of the most interesting had a koi pond in the living room (that would have been fun but I had visions of the kids swimming in it) and another was on the edge of a nature preserve so the agent suggested not leaving bananas out in the kitchen to keep the monkeys away. Interesting, but we didn't need anything quite that exotic!
Moving means we'll be changing Ben's school because I want him to attend something within walking distance. I don't want to change too much on him all at the same time but he's a tough little guy so he'll cope. There is one school right at the end of our new street that I am hoping will work out because it would be a 30-second walk.
We are also getting a new live-in maid at the end of this month. Our acquaintences are moving and we are going to inherit their maid because she speaks better English and will play much more with the kids when I'm out of the house. An added bonus is that the family is Mexican and the new maid Lea will be able to cook us authentic Mexican recipes she has learned from them! That's the food we miss most here so Matt and I are really excited. So, lots of changes going on and lots of paperwork to get everything in order.
What else have we been doing? Matt and I took Ben to Sentosa on Saturday morning while Alex was napping and Ben had a terrific time playing in the sand.
The water is not exactly appealing for swimming and there are no waves to speak of, as you can probably tell from the picture, but it's still fun to be on the beach. Ben helped Daddy build a big bridge and watched the water run under it as the tide came in.
Afterward we let him run in the fountains to clean up before we headed home. I think the first time he came here the water jets were the same height as him!
Still can't resist getting a face full of water!
And Mr. Alex is working on his second tooth. You can finally see the first one when he opens his mouth wide.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
On The Move
Alex has figured out the walker! He loves being able to move himself around the house and grab whatever catches his eye. But occasionally someone else "helps" him get around, too.
I forgot that this independence would also mean it's time to childproof the house again! Suddenly, everything is within his reach. And it's a lot different with an older kid's toys around to entice him.
And Ben is too busy paining to notice Alex rolling around the house. This was the first time he painted something and I could recognize what it was! He said "I made a C" and he was right! (at least for one of them...I didn't have the heart to tell him that some were backwards)
And I got a beautiful, free manicure. After he did my toes I thought I'd never have to get a pedicure again!
Sunday, March 08, 2009
All About Alex
It seems like all I did was take pictures of Alex over the weekend, but the little guy is just so cute! I can't believe he's already 8 months old.
If you look closely by the left finger, you can see the first tooth. I expect the second to make its debut today since Alex was awake screaming at 4:30 this morning in obvious pain.
He loves to stand at every opportunity right now. We're working on the balance, as you can probably tell by that little tongue sticking out.
Alex is still trying to be friends with Ben and is slowly winning him over. I put new batteries in this dancing turtle yesterday (one of Ben's old favorites) and played it for Alex. Ben wandered in and would press the button over and over but still chose to sit a few feet away.
I've introduced Alex to a sippy cup which he seems to like, but more as a teether. He did have a great time at the pool yesterday afternoon and relaxed in his float for half an hour. He is definitely my son!
Had to get a few nudie shots after the pool because that belly and those thighs are just so adorable.
This morning Alex was going crazy sitting behind Ben's chair because he couldn't see Elmo. I do it intentionally because I don't think Alex needs to be watching TV just yet but he loves Elmo as much as Ben, so I fixed the problem. Both boys were happy!
And I can't have a post without some Ben pictures as well. He keeps getting out of bed and going to his door, sometimes even sleeping on the floor there. I can't imagine why he'd leave a bed so full of friends! Good thing he has a full size and not a twin or else there may not be room for him.
Ben spent nearly 2 hours in the pool yesterday and we still had to drag him out for dinner. His favorite new activity was dumping water on Daddy's head.
If we do move to a house without access to a pool we're really going to miss it! We keep going back and forth on the merits of a yard versus a pool. With two growing boys I think I would enjoy having a yard where they can run straight out of the house and play and I don't have to worry about chasing after them. And we'll just visit friends in condos on the weekends!
If you look closely by the left finger, you can see the first tooth. I expect the second to make its debut today since Alex was awake screaming at 4:30 this morning in obvious pain.
He loves to stand at every opportunity right now. We're working on the balance, as you can probably tell by that little tongue sticking out.
Alex is still trying to be friends with Ben and is slowly winning him over. I put new batteries in this dancing turtle yesterday (one of Ben's old favorites) and played it for Alex. Ben wandered in and would press the button over and over but still chose to sit a few feet away.
I've introduced Alex to a sippy cup which he seems to like, but more as a teether. He did have a great time at the pool yesterday afternoon and relaxed in his float for half an hour. He is definitely my son!
Had to get a few nudie shots after the pool because that belly and those thighs are just so adorable.
This morning Alex was going crazy sitting behind Ben's chair because he couldn't see Elmo. I do it intentionally because I don't think Alex needs to be watching TV just yet but he loves Elmo as much as Ben, so I fixed the problem. Both boys were happy!
And I can't have a post without some Ben pictures as well. He keeps getting out of bed and going to his door, sometimes even sleeping on the floor there. I can't imagine why he'd leave a bed so full of friends! Good thing he has a full size and not a twin or else there may not be room for him.
Ben spent nearly 2 hours in the pool yesterday and we still had to drag him out for dinner. His favorite new activity was dumping water on Daddy's head.
If we do move to a house without access to a pool we're really going to miss it! We keep going back and forth on the merits of a yard versus a pool. With two growing boys I think I would enjoy having a yard where they can run straight out of the house and play and I don't have to worry about chasing after them. And we'll just visit friends in condos on the weekends!
Thursday, March 05, 2009
All My Boys
What good looking guys! I'm very fortunate to get to live with such fun, handsome men.
Ben's latest obsession is one of the best toys he could have gotten - a combination Caterpillar digger AND flashlight! Two of his favorite things in one cool toy. Thanks, Scott and Lou Anne!
Even better, it has a nice night-light on the bottom that makes the toilet glow a brilliant green. Who knew that could be so fascinating??
The kids took their first bath together over the weekend. I finally started bathing Alex in the tub and Ben had to get in as well. The tubs here are really a pain for bathing kids because they're small, have very high sides, and have about 6 inches of tile to lean over. I either end up balanced on my stomach or perched uncomfortably on the side of the tub so I waited as long as possible to let Alex get in but he loves it. Ben enjoyed it enough that he asked to take a bath with Alex again last night, only Alex pooped about 10 seconds after he got in so tonight Ben wanted his own bath!
We went to a birthday party yesterday for Ben's friend Jackson at East Coast Park. Sadly, this is what a natural beach looks like here - big, rocky sand, no waves, and huge ships docked offshore (Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world). That didn't bother Ben one bit because he had a shovel and a water gun. What more could a little boy want?
I love watching Ben interact with other kids. He occasionally talks and plays with the ones who catch his attention, but for the most part he still loves to play right next to another kid without saying a word.
He absolutely loved the cake, almost more than he enjoyed singing "happy birthday" at the top of his lungs. They must have a lot of birthday parties at school because Ben has his own little dance (no surprise there) and can sing the song much better than I realized.
We've started looking for a new residence here in Singapore. Exactly two years ago this week Matt and I were over here on a whirlwind trip taking in everything and finding a condo in 2 days. This time we're a bit more prepared, having been here long enough to know the areas, and have much more time to view properties so we're hoping to find a nice house to spend our next 2 years. I can't believe we're almost at the halfway point for our assignment already!
Ben's latest obsession is one of the best toys he could have gotten - a combination Caterpillar digger AND flashlight! Two of his favorite things in one cool toy. Thanks, Scott and Lou Anne!
Even better, it has a nice night-light on the bottom that makes the toilet glow a brilliant green. Who knew that could be so fascinating??
The kids took their first bath together over the weekend. I finally started bathing Alex in the tub and Ben had to get in as well. The tubs here are really a pain for bathing kids because they're small, have very high sides, and have about 6 inches of tile to lean over. I either end up balanced on my stomach or perched uncomfortably on the side of the tub so I waited as long as possible to let Alex get in but he loves it. Ben enjoyed it enough that he asked to take a bath with Alex again last night, only Alex pooped about 10 seconds after he got in so tonight Ben wanted his own bath!
We went to a birthday party yesterday for Ben's friend Jackson at East Coast Park. Sadly, this is what a natural beach looks like here - big, rocky sand, no waves, and huge ships docked offshore (Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world). That didn't bother Ben one bit because he had a shovel and a water gun. What more could a little boy want?
I love watching Ben interact with other kids. He occasionally talks and plays with the ones who catch his attention, but for the most part he still loves to play right next to another kid without saying a word.
He absolutely loved the cake, almost more than he enjoyed singing "happy birthday" at the top of his lungs. They must have a lot of birthday parties at school because Ben has his own little dance (no surprise there) and can sing the song much better than I realized.
We've started looking for a new residence here in Singapore. Exactly two years ago this week Matt and I were over here on a whirlwind trip taking in everything and finding a condo in 2 days. This time we're a bit more prepared, having been here long enough to know the areas, and have much more time to view properties so we're hoping to find a nice house to spend our next 2 years. I can't believe we're almost at the halfway point for our assignment already!
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