Cars

I got inspired to take this photo by WoopsieDaisy, a great Swedish scrapper (and fantastic photographer). She had done a similar setup to photograph her son, who apparently share Lucas' passion for Cars.

Lucas got his first car almost a year ago, when we were down in NZ. Since then, the collection has grown substantially - and he is still just as into Cars, as he ever was.
He watches the movie over and over, several times a week. And he loves his cars. When we go flying, he brings his little Cars-trolleybag, with the whole gang - because you can't leave anyone behind of course!

(I happen to know there is a Mack-truck waiting in a birthday present back in Sweden, that is going to make his day, yes, his whole trip!)

Happy Birthday, to me!

We were invited over to some friends today, for "afternoon tea", little did I know that was just a cover up. When we arrived - Jodie had made a cake and everything, to celebrate my birthday!
It was a lovely surprise - thank you Jodie! Here is the pretty cake, and Lucas helping me to blow out the candles:

Special tea

Brunei is, like I have written about before, a dry country. It doesn't only mean that the locals are not allowed to drink alcohol but there is no alcohol to be bought anywhere either, and in most places you are not allowed to consume any.

So how do you get alcohol?
Well, if you are lucky and have a pilot in the family, he will take care of that on all his trips. He can bring in 2 bottles of spirits and 12 cans of beer every time he goes away (if it was 48 hours since last importation). So we are rarely in any urgent need, we have a good stock at the moment.
If you don't have a profession that allows you to travel and import, you have to go and do the border runs, that I have written about here.
It goes without saying too, that every person that comes to visit HAS to bring in their quota of alcohol, that is an unwritten rule!

When it comes to consuming, having parties and going to peoples houses for "drinks" is a big part of the social life here.
Some restaurants allows you to bring your own beer and wine but prefers then to place you at their remote tables, out of view.

Yesterday, we went for sushi, and there you are not allowed to drink your BYO. Not a big problem though, you just pour it up in your tea cup, and noone will know - special tea! (Photo taken under the table).

Cake nr 1

I brought a small birthday cake to school today, for the kids to have after their lunch. All Lucas' little friends sang "Happy Birthday" for him, and he was very proud that his Mummy had made him a cake (hrm, yeah, kind of)... Dehlis had found a place for Daniel's birthday a couple of weeks ago that made superyummy cake, so we ordered our ones from there too. It was really good, really moist and fluffy, with cream and fruit on top in stead of all that icing they just love to use here.
Pretty too, huh?

Latest news from Party Central

As most of you know, we have another birthday coming up in the family this weekend. Not just any birthday either, but the double one!

It will be celebrated in style at the Yacht Club (why change a winning concept?) with 22 of Lucas' closest friends, a 2.5 kg Batman-cake and a bouncy castle.

Although I was sick most of last week, been without an amah (amah drama, long story) for the last two weeks and home alone most of this week - I got it all under control.
To start with, I will take a 1 kg Cars-cake to school tomorrow, so that Lucas gets celebrated a bit there too. Normally at every Tuesday morning Assembly, everybody who has had birthdays during the week gets especially mentioned and gets special stickers. So since Lucas will miss that (we are leaving for Sweden on Monday) I thought it could be nice to bring a cake to school.

I am all organized for the party on Sunday as well. Have already made the 23 party bags, filled them up with candy and balloons. Booked the lunch for the kids at Yacht Club and organized the bouncy castle. Ordered the huge cake, with the Batman picture (on request) on it, it will get picked up Sunday morning. All I need now is some more wrapping paper to wrap up the last birthday presents.

I wonder what I will get?

Gosh..!

I compiled the lists in the previous posts very late last night, while catching up on my Grey's Anatomy.

It's not until now I actually read through them properly, and they really make me wonder: Do we need another birthday, which means loads of new toys and things?? It would seem like we have enough, no?

Don't think Lucas agrees though, so bring it on! Looking forward to Sunday's party and celebrations!

The Schleich list

Ok, sooner than expected, here is the list of the Schleich animals as well. This too is created, with future updates in mind. If you ever need to consult it, there is a link to it down to the right, under "The Toys".

Wild life:

African elephant
2 elephant cubs
Black bear
Crocodile
Zebra
Zebra fole
Lion
Lioness
2 lion cubs
Tigress
Tiger cub
Gorilla dad
Gorilla baby
Cheeta Mum
Cheeta baby
Hippopotamus
Rhinoceros
Koala
Kiwibird
Turtle
Giraffe female
Giraffe calf
Kangaroo
Parrot blue
Dromedary mare
Two-humped camel
Orangutang
Orangutang baby
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee baby
American bison
Musk ox
Cheeta baby
Ibex (Capricorn)
Grizzly bear female
Grizzly bear cub
Giant panda
Panda cub
Polar bear dad (standing)
Polar bear mum
Polar bear cub

Farm life:

Sow standing
Piglet standing
Piglet eating
Boar
Holstein cow (black and white)
Holstein calf, sucking (black and white)
Holstein calf, standing (black and white)
Brown cow
Brown calf
Rodeo bull (white)
Brown horse
Brown fole
Falabella pony
Shetland pony
Tinker mare (black and white)
Knabstupper mare (spotty)
Standing sheep
Lamb standing
Lamb lying
Border collie
Golden retriever puppy
Grey cat
Red cat
Black-and-white rabbit
Colourful rooster
Two-coloured rooster
White hen
Brown hen
Boer she-goat (two-coloured)
Billy goat (spotty)
Nanny goat
Dwarf kid (goat baby)
Donkey
Donkey fole
Two-coloured duck
White duck

Forest life:

Fox
Squirrel, eating
Squirrel, standing
Frog
Hedgehog
Moose
Wolf
Wild boar
Wild sow
Young boar, grazing
Young boar, standing
Red deer
White-tailed doe
Fawn
White-tailed fawn

Sea life:

Seal
Killer whale
Tiger shark
Dolphin
King penguin

Lucas' (& Linnea's!) Lego

This post is mostly for our friends and family, for future reference!

I have listed below, all the Lego that Lucas & Linnea has got now. This post will be updated accordingly when they receives anything new.

It looks a lot, it IS a lot - but don't forget, we have friends in the right places! ;)



2063 Hero Factory Stormer 2.0

2111 Ninjago Kai spinner

2144 Hero Factory Nex 3.0

2170 Ninjago Cole DX spinner

2171 Ninjago Zane DX spinner

2173 Ninjago Nuckal spinner

2164 Ninjago Kruncha spinner

2175 Ninjago Whyplash & spinner

2255 Ninjago Sensei Wu & spinner

2259 Ninjago Skull Motorbike

2260 Ninjago Ice Dragon Attack

2263 Ninjago Turbo Shredder

2505 Ninjago Garmadon's Dark Fortress

2521 Ninjago Limited Edition Lightning Dragon Battle

3179 Lego City Repair Truck

3183 Friends Stephanies Cool Convertible

3315 Friends Olivia's house

3763 Lego Creator Dune Hopper

3835 GAME: Robocamp

3836 GAME: Magikus

3843 GAME: Ramses Pyramid

3845 GAME: Shave a sheep

3931 Friends Emma's splash pool

3934 Friends Mia's puppy house

4032 Holiday Jet

4210 Coast Guard Platform

4778 Vintage aircraft

4994 Creator Fierce Creatures

5560 Large pink brick box

5610 Builder

5611 Public Works

5612 Police Officer

5614 The good Wizard

5615 The knight

5761 Lego Creator 3-in-1

5884 Lego Dino Raptor Chase

6166 Large blue brick box

6205 Star Wars V-wing fighter

6206 Star Wars Tie Intercepter

6241 Pirates Loot Island

7117 Bionicle Stars Gresh

7157 HEROFactory Thunder

7235 Police MC

7236 Police Car

7237 Police Station

7238 Fire Helicopter

7239 Fire Truck

7240 Fire Station

7241 Fire Car

7242 Street Sweeper

7245 Prisoner Transport

7246 Mini-Digger

7583 Belville Playful Pup

7587 Belville Horse Jumping

7594 Toy Story Woody's Roundup

7596 Toy Story Trash Compactor Escape

7621 Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb

7624 Indiana Jones Jungle Duel

7625 Indiana Jones River Chase

7635 4WD with horse trailer

7638 Tow Truck

7639 City Camper

7641 City Corner

7655 Star Wars Clone Troopers Battle Pack

7658 Star Wars Y-wing Fighter

7661 Star Wars Jedi Starfighter

7666 Star Wars Hoth Rebel Base

7667 Star Wars Imperial Dropship

7668 Star Wars Rebel Scout Speeder

7669 Star Wars Anakin's Jedi Starfighter

7670 Star Wars Hailfire Droid and Spider Droid

7672 Star Wars Rogue Shadow

7682 Indiana Jones Shanghai Chase

7683 Indiana Jones Fight on the Flying Wing

7695 Mars Mission MX-11 Astro Fighter

7731 Mail Van

7734 Cargo Plane

7737 Coast Guard 4WD & Jet Scooter

7743 Police Command Center

7749 Star Wars Echo Base

7770 Deep Sea Treasure Hunter

7775 AquaBase Invasion

7779 The dragster - Batwoman pursuit

7781 Two-face's escape

7782 The Batwing: The Joker's aerial assault

7783 Batman's Cave

7786 The Batcopter: Chase for the Scarecrow

7787 The battank - The Riddler and Bane hideout

7797 Creator Biplane

7868 Star Wars Mace Windu's Jedi Starfighter

7890 Ambulance

7892 Hospital

7894 City Airport

7897 Passenger Train

7898 Cargo Train Deluxe

7902 Doctor's Car

7903 Rescue Helicopter

7906 Fire Boat

7942 Off Road Fire Rescue

7945 Fire Station (Actually not this particular one, but the older version. Same, same - he doesn't need another one!)

7959 Star Wars Geonosian Starfighter

7990 Concrete Mixer

7991 Garbage Truck

7992 Container Stacker

7993 Service Station

7997 Train Station

7998 Heavy Hauler

8014 Star Wars Clone Wars Clone Walker Battle Pack

8015 Star Wars Clone Wars Assassin Droids

8016 Star Wars Hyena Droid Bomber

8017 Star Wars Darth Vader's TIE Fighter

8018 Star Wars Armored Assault Tank (AAT)

8019 Star Wars Republic Attack Shuttle

8066 Lego Technic Off-Roader

8093 Star Wars Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter

8115 Exo-Force Dark Panther

8147 Racers Bullet Run

8198 Racers Ramp Crash

8214 Lego Racers Lamborghini Policia

8281 Technic Mini tractor

8409 BEN10 Spidermonkey

8410 BEN10 Swampfire

8490 Racers: Desert Hopper

8685 BIONICLE Kopaka Nuva

8686 BIONICLE Lewa Nuva

8671 Ferrari 430 Spider 1:17

8672 Ferrari Finish Line

8673 Ferrari Fuel Stop

8685 Bionicle Phantoka Kopaka

8695 Bionicle Mistika

8962 Power miners: Crystal King

9446 Ninjago Destiny's Bounty

10177 Boeing 787 (Kind of Nathan's...)

21005 Architecture: Fallingwater (Kind of Nathan's...)

Lego Sort & Store head

Kindy schedule 14 - 18 January (Better late than never)

Term 2 week 2
Numbers - Focus activities:
Letter of the week: Nn
Number walk - looking for numbers in our local environment
Songs: 10 green bottles/10 in the bed/5 little monkeys
Matching, spray painting and counting numbers
Number stories, songs and rhymes
Developing our car role play area - car wash, petrol station & garage



Monday
We welcome a new boy, Malthe, to our class
Music with Mr Instone

Tuesday
8 am assembly with Mrs Harris - Things that scare me
ICT – Interactive whiteboard activities
PE with Mrs Carter

Wednesday
Cooking - making number shaped bisquits
Mandarin
Number game playing with parent helpers

Thursday
Mandarin
Library with Mrs Mann

Friday
Swimming
Pirate Play
Fresh Fruit Friday - please bring a piece of fruit, we are making fruit milkshakes

(Next week they are planning to go on an exciting excursion, to the Jerudong Petrol Station (!) - what a shame that Lucas is going to miss that, he would have loved it...)

Bedhair

This is how Linnea looks after her naps:



I had to sneak up from behind and snap this photo, as she wasn't in the mood at all to have her picture taken just after waking up. But I just love her hair when she has been asleep! It's so flimsy, it sticks out in every direction and she looks totally cute.
Yes, she does have hair now, it's growing steadily! But it's so light in colour that on most photos it is difficult to spot, and no, there is still not very much of it...

Weighing in

Today in school, they had made an excursion to visit the school nurse and talked about what she does and why sometimes if you don't feel well, you have go and see her.

All the kids also got weighed and measured and it turns out Lucas is amongst the tallest kids in class.



Today's numbers were:
Weight: 16.6 kg
Height: 105.5 cm

*Sigh* He is growing up so fast, our big boy.

The return of the mojo?

I have been scrapping a bit lately, halleluja!
It had really been a while, mostly because all my stuff was packed up for a long time after we got here but also because I couldn't find any inspiration.
Lately though, I have done a few layouts, and since I don't have a scrap-blog I thought I could show them here.

First one is of Lucas and Morfar. This was in Horsham, when Lucas was about 1 1/2.








Next one is of Linnea. This photo was taken in NZ in March. She came along to pick strawberries, and she was so cute. I love these pics of her stealing the strawberries from the bowl...

Then I did one of Lucas and his good friend "Big-Lukas". This photo is from the Tierpark we visited while visiting them in Berlin in March 2006.

Finally, the one I finished today. It's a CASE (=Copy And Steal Everything) from a LO I saw here. I subscribe to the MoshPosh monthly kits, this is made from the November kit.

Tuesday Theme 15 January - Tre

Today's Tuesday Theme is tre (=three).
Looking around me and seeing my daughter in the sofa in front of the morning tv with her little friends, made me take this photo:



This is Linnea's posse. These three guys follow her everywhere. From left to right, it's Pooh, Dockan (=Dolly) and Teddy.



Pooh arrived since Linnea kept stealing Lucas' Pooh-bear all the time. He has a slightly bigger one, in light blue (the old-fashion style) and she took a liking to it, so we had to give her her own.
Dockan joined the group shortly after Linneas 1st birthday. She got a lot bigger doll for her birthday, but she simply couldn't carry it around, so I bought this cheap little one for her to play with, until she grew in to the other one. It turned out to be a strong favourite though. Dockan usually wears a yellow pyjamas, but Linnea likes taking her clothes on and off (mostly off) at the moment, so Dockan is mostly without them.
Teddy was a gift from Griffin's Dad Chris in the UK. Griffin's parents were looking after the kids one day (while Nathan and I were car-booting), and Linnea had spent all day playing with one of his old teds. So when it was time to go home, he said she could keep it! That too, has been a favourite ever since, she loves that teddy!

20 minutes

I read somewhere, that 2007 has been one of the darkest years in Sweden for many, many years. Darkest in the meaning - not much sunshine.

The lowest registered amount of sunshine was measured in the month of December, in a town called Växjö. They only had 20 minutes of sunshine during that whole month... Twenty minutes!!
In most places in Sweden December had the bottom record of sunshine, since they started measuring weather!

Makes me feel, like this is the right place for us anyway - we definitely have more than 20 minutes of sunshine a day, a lot more...

Pool party

We went over to the Dehlis this afternoon to have a bit of a play. They had had a BBQ together with their neighbours yesterday, who had rented a bouncy castle - so we made sure to make good use of it, before they had to give it back.
It was really nice and overcast weather, perfect for hanging out outside for a bit, mostly it's too hot to play outside in the afternoons.

But the biggest hit was when they filled up their paddling pool, Daniel and Linnea had a bit of a pool party, with bubbles and everything.





And after all that bathing, you need a snack:

Medical update

A quick medical update from the sick house - I am feeling better, yay! This...



... is what fixed me. In particular the yellow pills to the left, that's the antibiotic. It kicked whatever has been bugging me for over a week, straight away.
I've had no pain in my tummy today and have felt like a normal person again. Being able to be up and about, yay. Let's just hope that now it keeps going the right way.

An unpleasant side effect?

It has been very quiet here in the blog for a few days. Reason being I haven't felt very well.
I have had (and still have) a terrible tummy ache, and have spent all the time I've could on the sofa or in the bed.
I've been twice to the Dr, first time I got some painkillers and some other pills for the tummy, but they didn't work.
Today I got a 5-day antibiotics cure, and hopefully that will finally kick whatever it is.

I've been feeling nausea, I haven't been able to eat, I've been weak and tired and I've had constant pain in my belly. All in all, a very shitty week. Luckily Nathan has taken the kids most of the time, so I've been able to rest.

Maybe it's just an unpleasant side effect of watching too much Grey's Anatomy? Maybe I've become a hypochondriac?
Whatever it is, I hope it stops, soon - so I can get my life back. I don't have time to be sick. And it sucks.

-"Piiiiiiiis!"

Linnea can be very cute when she wants to. For example when she wants to watch this:



"Karlsson på taket" (=Karsson on the roof).
It's her favorite movie at the moment, and she is forever tilting her head, batting her eyelids and asking "Piiiiiis Mammis" in the sweetest voice, for us to put it on for her. And of course we do...

Daniel 2 years

Here is a couple of pictures of the nice day we had today, here is the birthday boy with his really tasty (and pretty!) cake:



And here is Daniel and Linnea, gearing up to eat:



Nathan and Lucas:

Yay - school is back! Week 7-11 January

Term 1 week 14
Focus Activities: Holidays - Where we have been
Letter of the week: Mm, please send items for our M-table.
Big book: To Town
Mess for Monsters - story
Matching games - Comparative language: heavier/lighter
Problem solving activities



Monday
Music with Mr Instone, Leo the loud lion, Mezzo the middle monkey and Morris the quiet mouse.

Tuesday
ICT – Interactive whiteboard activities
PE with Mrs Carter
Welcome back Assembly with Mrs Lewis

Wednesday
Mandarin
Cooking - making Macaroni and Cheese for lunch

Thursday
Public Holiday (to celebrate Islamic New Year, Al Hijrah) - no school

Friday
Swimming
Pirate Play
Fresh Fruit Friday