1 month and 4 days

WOW!! We have been here one month and 4 days. It seems like we just arrived yesterday. We have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. We have a car, a house, an ahma (live in nanny/maid) scheduled to start at the end of the month, and we both have our driver's liscenses. We have been busy since we got here.

We are all settled into our house and are now awaiting our things to arrive. Our initial shipment (1000 lbs) should be here any day. Our other things (furniture and hosuehold goods) should be here by early August. We purchased a new 55" Sony 3D TV and it arrived yesterday. We are really excited about it. Right now, we are living with loaner furniture. We have a sofa, chair, side table, tv stand, queen bed, twin bed and a table and chairs for dining. It's not much, but it lets us live in our house.

We celebrated the 4th here by going to a celebrtaion in the field right at the bottom of the hill we live on. It was nice being able to walk to the festivities. There were food booths, activities for children and live music. Bella had a blast and when we came home, we were able to see the fireworks out our living room window. That was nice.

Also right down from our house is a pool and restaurant (like a country club). It is very nice and we are thankful to have it so close to our house. We are making more friends and getting out and seeing things. Jonathan and I signed up to go on an Antique tour in July and a cultural tour in August. These should be interesting.

For those of you who are not avid facebook users, we had to have our dog, Jack, put to sleep last week. We left him with Jonathan's parents and he absolutely loved their place. He could run and play outside and they took great care of him. He started not eating and not wanting to play. They took him to the vet and x-rays showed that it was almost postively cancer in his intestines. We had to make the tough decision to put him down, but we know that he did not suffer. He would have been 11 next month and he was our first baby. My heart is still sad :( I am so thankful to have such wonderful in-laws who took such great care of him.

Here are some pictures of what's been happening around here. Hope you enjoy :)

Durian Fruit: It has been banned on all transportation here because it is so smelly.

It is supposed to be delisious if you can get past the smell. Our apartment smelled for 2 days and it was only in there for about 2 minutes.

Can't you tell by Jonathan's face that it was really good. Ha ha!!

Celebrating the 4th!

There's a monkey in our tree :)

Jonathan's new task is to get a cocunut for Bella out of the cocunut tree. He is trying to learn how to climb it.
Kitchen

Another view of the kitchen

Looking down the stairs (this is the entrance to the house)

Top of stairs looking into living room

Standing in kitchen looking through dining to living room

Living room

More living room (we think it used to be an open porch)

Hallway to bedrooms

Bella's bathroom

Bella's room

Our room

View from hallway window

another view

View of house across the street

3 Weeks!!

WOW!!! I can't believe we have been here for 3 weeks already!!! We have experienced so much in these short 3 weeks. We have one more week left in our apartment and we move into our house on July 5.

We can't wait to get moved in and get settled, even if we are going to have to use loaner furniture until our shipment arrives. It will be nice to finally begin to make a place feel like home. We shipped 500 pounds of stuff early and it should be here soon. (Things from Sam's, clothes, toys for Bella, my sewing machine and all my sewing things, our good camera, and some pictures in frames) I am ready for that shipment to arrive. The other shipment should be here around the end of July.

We haven't done too much this week. We have found lots of good eating places and had several play dates. Bella and I spent some time at the pool. She had learned to kick her feet and blow bubbles with her face in the water. She LOVES the water. I have made several trips to the store for pool toys and a monkey float.

Bella is cutting her two top molars and she seems to be very cranky because of this. We think she has also developed the "Singapore Crud"....cough and stuffy nose. Seems like all of her friends got it when they arrived, too. I am taking her to the pediatrician in the morning to get checked out.

This weekend I learned to drive. WHEW!!! It is definitely different. EVERYTHING is backwards!!!! Everything except the pedals. I keep reaching left to put on my seat belt and I continue to turn the windshield wipers on instead of the blinker. I think I have the hang of it now and we have a GPS in the car. The little lady really helps because I have no idea where I am going when I drive. Backing up is a challenge, too. Everyone backs into parking spots so they can get out quicker. It's hard to see the left side of the car when backing up. But, the more I do it, the better I get.

Our plans this week are to get things we need for the house. Trips to IKEA are definitely in store. We have lots to get there :)

Today we hired an Ahma (nanny, maid, personal chef who lives at your house). She starts the end of July. We would never be able to afford this anywhere else so we are taking advantage of the opportunity. It really is the way of life for most families here in Singapore. I had to take a class in order to become the employer of a Foreign Domestic Worker. We are very happy with the choice we made. She came highly recommended by my friend's ahma. We are excited to get her as she has 16 years experience!!!! And Bella likes her :)

Here are some pics we have taken this week :) Hope you enjoy!!

First time backing up
Some sort of Chinese float

Driving on the CTE

We wondered what these were.

Couldn't read any of the writing on the back

Opened them up.....animal crackers :)

Yummy orange milk drink...tastes like Orange Julius :)

Things I Miss Already

Of course I miss all of my friends and family dearly!! It's just not the same because I can't pick up the phone whenever I want to call someone. I have to check the time because I am 12 and 13 hours ahead of my family and friends.

Here are some things that I really miss so far:

Getting in the car to drive where ever I want to go....here you must plan your route, find the correct bus, travel to the MRT station, figure out where to go, etc. It's difficult now, but I am sure I will get used to it soon.

TARGET!! I miss TARGET. There are no stores like wal-mart and target here. You have to go to several different places to find what you need. No one stop shopping.

TV: I can't see any of my favorite shows (not that it really matters) but I miss TV. There is nothing to watch here, so I bought a ton of books about Singapore to read.
I miss So You Think You Can Dance, The Bachelorette, Project Runway, Cupcake Wars, Food Challenge
I think when we get Apple TV I can watch all of my shows again. I can't watch the episodes online because I am out of the country.

I miss my boxing class at the gym. I finally worked out this morning, but it just wasn't the same. Looking for a boxing class here. The only one I have found is $175 a month....whew!!! I'll have to sell a lot of bows to do that :)

Even missing all of these things, I am not homesick. I am so happy to be here and to be experiencing this part of the world. We have already done so many things that most people in the US only dream of doing. Here are some pics we took at the Singapore Flyer :)

Walking to the Flyer

View of Marina Bay Sands (where we went to the Chocolate Bar)
Looking up at the flyer!! WOW!!

Here comes a pod. They don't stop moving so you have to hurry to get on.

Bella said "Amazing!!" She loved it!

View from above

View of the city from above

Whew!!! What a big water!!

I hope everyone is enjoying my posts as much I am enjoying sharing them. We are having a blast! I hope we have some visitors once we get settled into our new house!! If you have any questions or any thing you would like to see pictures of, let me know and I will try to get some or answer your questions about Singapore!

One Week

Now that we have been here a week, we are finally adjusting and beginning to settle in. We have been busy since we got here. On Wednesday, we GOT A HOUSE!!!! And that was amazing!! We were not expecting to get a house so soon. It's a Black and White house built in the 19th century. We are thrilled becasue it is on base and conviently located to everything we need. We can venture out into the city easily when we need to.

Bella has had 4 playdates since we have been here. We have been to our friend's house twice for dinner and she has had friends over twice this week. Yesterday, we went to the pool and the kids had a blast. She asked to take a nap....that's a first.

We used the transit system for the first time together. It actually worked well. We went up to Orchard Rd. (the shopping MECA of Singapore) We got caught in a rain storm and had to stay in the mall for a while. Then we took a taxi back to the Ion Mall (our favorite so far) and then found the traditional Singapore ice cream sandwich. It was delicious!!! We walked around for a bit and then found our way back to the transit system and home.

We had our first DATE since Bella was born. We wnet with friends to the Chocolate Bar at Marina Bay Sands. Yummy. We had a great babysitter to stay with Bella. She did great!

Here are some pics of our new house and things we have done so far:)

Our House

Bathroom
Tub
HallwayLiving room
Kitchen

Dining room looking into Living room

Ice Cream Sandwich

Just like on the Amazing Race

The ice cream stand

View from the Marina Bay Sands (infinity edge pool)

My first plate
Date Night

View of Singapore Flyer

We're HERE!!!!

McCarty, party of 3, if you are not at gate E26 in the next five minutes, your seats will be given to standby!" This is what we heard when rounding the corner of the E concourse in Atlanta. We ALMOST missed our flight to Tokyo! I was running with Bella (35 pounds) and a BIG bag on my left shoulder...my left arm was numb and my hands were shaking when we got to the gate. Jonathan had to run with a bright pink carry on suitcase, his "man purse", and the stroller. We didn't even have time to put Bella in it.

The flight from Atlanta to Tokyo was 14 hours and Bella slept on and off for about 5 hours....she just couldn't get comfy. The rest of the time she watched videos, played games and screamed at the top of her lungs. Jonathan got a little sleep and I got about 30 min total sleep.

When we arrived in Tokyo, we had to go through customs and that took about an hour. When we got to our gate, they were boarding the plane...so we got right on and off we went. The flight to Singapore was 7 hours and Bella slept about 2 of those and then screamed the rest...needless to say, Jonathan and I got no sleep on that flight :)

At the Singapore airport, we went right through customs and got our passports stamped. It took two carts for our 10 bags of luggage and then we were greeted by our friends. Christine and Chad and Larry and Keri were there to get us. They brought us back to our apartment and we all got some much needed rest.

Day 1: Woke up at noon....ate lunch at McDonald's....walked around mall...took Bella to the playground...unpacked....ate dinner at a local restaurant....Bella was asleep by 9:00.

Day 2: We got up early and had coffee. Jonathan went to the gym, of course, and then we hit the town. We walked to Orchard Rd. and attempted to ride the MRT..it took us several times just to figure out how to get to the tram. Once we got there, we couldn't even get on because it was packed like sardines. We navigated our way back out and went to find lunch...I couldn't decide so we had Subway :)

We came back to the apartment and took Bella to play and then went to the grocery store in the mall. Bella fell asleep in her stroller and then slept another hour when we got back. We had dinner at our friends house (Chad and Christine) and Bella got to see Kerrington and Mackenzie...they had a blast!! Bella fell asleep in the taxi on the way back.

We are all doing well and getting adjusted. We thank everyone for sending up prayers for our safe arrival here :)

Here are some pics I've taken:

View from our apartment

Our Kitchen

Another view of kitchen
Inside the washer

Washer and dryer

Playground

Ion Mall

Another view of Ion Mall