A very early start

Despite our fears that we were going to be woken up by jet-lagged children on our first morning in Ireland, a 4:30 start was not too bad. As its Europe and kids tv does not start till 6 (!) we bundled them on into the car for a very early tour of Cork. The kids wanted to look for a shop but obviously nothing was open!

And the tour also included Donncha's old school.

Singapore half-day

With our London flight not till 11:30 on Sunday night we had a good half day in Singapore to kill. We really wanted to avoid crowded areas so shopping was out of the question so we headed to Clarke Quay for a short boat ride before heading out to the Night Safari.

We got to the night zoo at least an hour and a half before opening time so we had PLENTY of tine to wander around, play and eat. I actually tried the fish spa for only 5 mins but that's for a separate post! The zoo actually opened at 7:00 - we forgot that it get's darker later! Once inside we caught a show and wanted to do the tram ride but being sunday it was very busy and we were very tired and sweaty so we decided to head back to the airport. We did catch the tribal show on our way out and saw some very impressive fire eating - I happy to think that had I taken photographs they would have turned out brilliantly - but it was even too tiring and complicated to take the camera out! Think we will need to do this again when the kids are a bit older.

These snakes come on at the entrance just before opening and we all had photographs taken with them - NOT!

Balik Kampong (back to the village)

The McCarthy family are heading back to Cork tomorrow - a brief stop in Singapore to visit the Night Safari and tire the kids out, a rather long trip on the A380 (Ayden's dream) and then a short hop to Cork. Looking forward to long evenings hanging out in the garden - two years since we were all in Cork and some of us have grown quite bit. 

Only painting...

Following on from the messy play day Iman wanted to do something at home with the cousins but I only managed to get the painting stuff and they were happy with that ....

because with Ayden's help it soon got pretty messy anyway!

The messier the better...

We were invited to a messy play date at a friend's house last week and the kids had a blast. The hostess has a special way with the little ones and it was all about the kids having fun!

Ayden's looking very clean at the start of the morning. If anyone's wondering why the kids are wearing white for a messy play session is because they are old school tshirts that are no longer good for school.

Jack here is making a paint from earth and using the mortar and pestle to grind it into a paste.

 

Iman working on a sculpture made from natural clay 

Jack just wants to be blue

Iman with her volcano painting using the earth paints

The potions table!

Jack's first Friday Prayers

Jack reached a big boy milestone today ~ he went to Friday prayers with his grandad. As it's the holidays grandad planned to take the older cousins who in turn invited Jack. Grandad was a little hesitant but Jack was excited with the offer. Apparently he was in awe of the mosque and all the people there and kept quiet and sat still at least until the prayers started!

When they got home I tried to take a picture of the big boy to mark the day but he didn't want to cooperate....

....at all!

But I got him at last!!!

Monday morning walk with Iman

This monday the walk was at Morley Movers which I have posted pictures before. As it's the holidays Iman came with me and despite the walk being just under two hours she did remarkably well. We came across some obstacles like this fallen tree top below and maybe because of recent rain the stream was not as clear as it was before.

Our normal crossing place was too deep so we actually walked across the waterfall. A bit slippery but not as bad as it sounds.

And the star of the morning

No run!

I am annoyed ~ I was supposed to lay a run with Smurf and Trailblazer today but I have come down with a tummy bug so will have to give my usual Tuesday evening a miss!!!

Here are some photos from the weekend that I never got round to post. Iman and Jack spent most of the day with Alexandria who lives in our neighbourhood and Luke who came for a play. Our plan was only to stay for 15 minutes but Iman and Jack ended staying the whole day. And it became Jack's first playdate out of home!

School's Out!

The holidays have started!!!! We've been looking forward to this for a while.... lie-ins, pool days and also our trip to Ireland!!!

Yesterday Iman's and Jack's years had their class parties and instead of sending in a plate of food as usual I sent in cupcakes for each child to take home. Kitchen Of Jasmine did a fantastic job as usual and was hassle-free for me. No leftovers to take home and it went down a treat with everyone!

Iman's class

And today Iman and Jack went into school with presents for their teachers and class assistants. Instead of trying to fidde with wrapping paper I bought material and got little bags made at our local tailor!

Going off track

I'm one of three laying the run for the hash next week. Went for a recce this morning and we did some walking off trail - wasn't too comfortable walking through the long grass especially as I couldn't see what I was treading on but Yann did a good job with her parang unlike the blunt blade I was carrying around. 

Step by step sushi

A Japanese friend kindly invited a group of ladies to her home for a demonstration this morning and bearing in mind the McCarthy children and Japanese food I jumped at the chance. We learned to mix the sushi rice with special sushi vinegar and to roll using seaweed paper with various fillings. Tricky but not too difficult and I was proud of my first ever roll.  But saying that I will now have to try it by myself at home - no pressure! Thank you to our lovely hostess Ikuyo and Virginie for helping her. 

Hashing Heaven

Its the week that all mad hashers dream of - a hash every evening for a week. Most hashers only belong to one hash group or chapter and hash once a week though some belong to two or three. This week for the 7 in 7, hashers pay a fee to hash on all 7 runs. We started with the kids hash last sunday (and I forgot my camera). Monday was Tutong which was a gruelling 1 hr 35 run up and down plenty of hills. Last night was our Ladies run and we had a great run and a good laugh afterwards. There's a good handful of people who will do all seven runs but I have only signed up for 4 so one more run to do before I get that tshirt!