Fab 5 Friday...

Sorry to have disappeared for the last week! I think we hit the U.S. last Friday evening and we just haven't slowed down - and it's been AWESOME!! Just so much fun! And I've narrowed down a few of the highlights for this week's Fab 5!

1. Family and Cousins.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see my family. It's been a long 10 months...and they were very much missed. My boys have had a blast playing with their cousin, Ally, and we've enjoyed many fun meals together...with lots of laughs. I look forward to a summer filled with days and nights like we've had in the past week.

2. Shopping. Whoa! Shopping overload! I ordered a ton of stuff online before heading home and I've hit the stores hard since being here. (We will not discuss how many new pairs of shoes I have purchased!) Needless to say, we will be borrowing suitcases to return to Malaysia (and probably purchasing a couple, too.)

3. Jeans. Yes, jeans make the list this week. I have not put on a pair of jeans since we moved to KL as it is just too damn hot! I have thoroughly enjoyed wearing jeans this week. The cool weather in the mornings and evenings has been totally refreshing.

4. Running.  I went for a run this past week. It was my first run in 9 months. It's not that I've been sitting on my ass, but running was not at the top of my exercise to-do list with my back and the heat and humidity. But, with the cooler temps and a CrossFit box that has been unresponsive and is really pissing me off, I decided to take to the streets. And it was fantastic! It made me remember what I love about running. And, I was slow and sweaty and huffing and puffing...and loved every minute of the 5K.

5. The Food. We've had many treats this week - Harvest pizza and salad, Rob and Deb's ice cream, and General Tso's chicken - to name a few. But, you should be with Grayson - because he is just living for his next meal. He has his Nana picking him up all sorts of goodies, baking him pies, buying him ice cream and pistachios and cherries and blueberries. I'll have to warn the little man that the good times are coming to an end as we're moving to our lake house on Saturday. (Yeah, Nana lives 3 minutes away - so that's not entirely true, but a Mom's got to try!)

All right! Time to go make sure my kids are ready for the day. We're celebrating Grayson's birthday (again!) today - breakfast out, mini golf, laser tag, ice cream, and a pizza party. I need a nap already!

Fab 5 Friday Comes a Day Early...

Yes, due to the fact that I'll be enroute to the United States...the Fab 5 is coming at you a day early! And, it's an easy one this week...in fact, I had way more than 5 great things and had to narrow it down!

1. Heading Home. Yes, this is by far and away the highlight of the week! We board our flight at 11:15 p.m. Thursday evening and head to Istanbul. Hopefully, the kids will get some rest along the way as they prepare to see Nana and Poppy and Uncle Todd, Aunt Michele, Ally, and Uncle Jared.

2. Staycation. We did a staycation this past Saturday at the Hilton here in Kuala Lumpur. Just what we needed. A change of scenery, a nice pool, someone bringing us cocktails, room service for the kids, and dinner with friends. We all slept in Sunday morning and had breakfast at the super huge Hilton buffet to celebrate Father's Day.

3. The Verstraete Family. We had a chance to have drinks and dinner with Krystal and Jeremy on Sunday evening - along with their two adorable little girls, Olivia and Ellie. We had been corresponding via Facebook for several months as they prepared to move to KL - so it was great to hookup before we head back for the summer. They're going to do just fine here in KL - totally excited about the adventure ahead of them and all the opportunities that will come their way. Can't wait to see them again in August when we return.

4. The Living Room. Ah, yes. We now have our living room back - which means Blaine is doing stairs! Woot! Woot! Give it up for Blaine! Making progress!

5. Special Treats For The Kids. We've been doing a few fun things with the boys this week to make the time pass quicker. Monday we hit Kidzania and Monday evening had us dining at Mikey's New York Pizza. Tuesday brought on "How To Train Your Dragon 2" in gold class. That's a definite treat for the kiddos - and the movie was great too! Highly recommend! A trip to Fat Boy's completes the boys' special requests.

Kidzania

Mikey's

How To Train Your Dragon 2

All right, time to double-check the suitcases and make sure we've got everything we need! Later peeps!

Lojacks and Rainbow Looms...

Yeah, just had to put it up!

So...this morning I am at Kidzania with the kiddos. This is not my ideal place - it is loud with kids running around - but, I'm up in the little parents lounge with my laptop, a book, and a cup of coffee...so it is survivable. Plus, they (the kids) were just so damn excited that you couldn't help but smile.

So we've all got our lojacks on (and our black and white Rainbow Loom bracelets) and the kids are out having a blast!

And that brings me to the Rainbow Loom. WOW! This little arts and crafts device has taken over my children's lives. They are constantly making bracelets, charms, necklaces, anklets...hours are spent searching YouTube so they can learn new patterns and create new things. They have a list of rubberbands that they need to buy in the States because they can't get them here and planning to pack it in their carry-ons so they can make things when we fly home. 

I then got curious about this little thing and found out that the creator is a Malaysian immigrant to the States named, Cheong Choon Ng. What!? Yup, he's an engineer and was watching his daughters make rubberband bracelets and designed a prototype and then found a Chinese manufacturer to make it for him. As of September 2013, he had sold 1.2 million units. I can tell you it's many more since then as it didn't really come to the attention of my kiddos and their friends until about 6 weeks ago. 

My rainbow anklet and Caleb creating something new

So, I believe Malaysia should be really proud of Cheong. He's got my kids off of their electronics and actually making things - and then even giving these things to friends! What? Creating stuff and then sharing? It can really happen!

Time for me to make my packing list...afterall, I've only got 3 DAYS!!!! Like you didn't know that!

Fab 5 Friday...

I will be the first to admit that this has not been an easy week. But, we got through it and that's the important thing, right?

And, with that being said...TGIF.

1. Countdown to the States. 6 days peeps! That is all I can say, 6 days.

2. Al and Erin Came to Visit. We were lucky to have Al and Erin come visit from China this week. Very fun to have visitors - especially this week as we had to cancel our Penang trip. I'm hoping we might be able to sneak in a trip to China before they head back to the States at the end of the year.

3. Second Surgery Complete. Blaine had his second surgery on his knee on Monday. Everything is going fine and he'll start PT in two weeks. The best thing is that his cast is off and he's down to a brace.

4. Last Day of School. The boys finished school on Thursday and I'm pleased to say that they both had great years. Good teachers, great friends, fabulous report cards...all in all, a big success.

5. Gluten-Free Brownies. Yes, the brownies from For Goodness Cakes make the Fab 5 this week. I stopped by to see Sheila last week (as she made the pretzels for staff appreciation) and she had some gluten-free brownies - that were AMAZING! As she said, who needs gluten when you have chocolate and butter. Anyways, highly recommend!

That's all I've got today! We've booked a one night stay-cation at the Hilton for tomorrow evening. I've promised the boys a trip to Kidzania on Monday and gold class movies on Tuesday. All of that should help the time to pass before we head home Thursday evening.

Winding Down...

Yes, let's just get that out of the way! 12 days until the boys and I head home! Woohoo! Can't wait!

School is winding down quickly. I finished up with all of my official duties as communications officer for the PA this week - last submission to The Link and a successful staff appreciation party last night with a fun baseball theme.

This weekend brings on many parties for the boys - 2 today and 2 tomorrow. And Monday, well, that's Blaine's surgery day! So no rest yet. But, we've got friends coming in on Wednesday from China and then on Thursday afternoon we head to Penang for rest and relaxation. (That's mom code for: margaritas and a lounge chair.)

Lastly, my article about Seoul is up on WOD Talk. If you have interest, you can read about it here: http://www.wodtalk.com/featured-post/girls-weekend-in-seoul-crossfit-asia-regionals-2014.html

Enjoy the weekend, peeps!

Fab 5 Friday...On a Thursday

Even with my "I'm soooooooo done with this!" attitude right now, I've got a Fab 5 Friday for you! (I almost find it hard to believe, but you've got to focus on the small things, right?) And, thankfully, this week has been busy with school activities so I've tried not to think too hard about having less than 2 weeks until I leave for the summer ! Woot! Woot!

But, tomorrow is a busy day with staff appreciation at school - so you're getting Fab 5 a little early!

1. Grayson's Birthday. We celebrated littlest dude's birthday last Friday night. So much fun! He has a great group of friends...they are kind and funny and it was a great Friday night. Lots of Lego work as we had his party at PlayGo (in Publika) and served up Miss Mabel's "Plants vs. Zombies" cake. Grayson asked if she could make the cake for him special - requesting a strawberry cake with vanilla frosting. He told us it tasted "just like strawberry jam!" (And it was yummylicious!) Then, we hit Morganfield's in Publika with the Gallaghers for some porkaliciousness. Littlest dude was very happy!

2. Final Day of Soccer. The boys celebrated their final day of little league soccer this past Saturday. It's been a good experience for both of them. They've progressed a lot this season - especially Caleb. (And Grayson, too - but we all know that he's not the most "driven" child - so it's good that Coach Paul rides his ass a little.) Anyways, we had fun with the parents vs. kids games and the boys received shoe bags and water bottles - which was just incredible. The little league volunteers at our school work very hard and they are very much appreciated by this family!

3. Student-Led Conferences. Both boys had student-led conferences this week - a morning where they show-off their portfolios and take you around to the specials and give you a glimpse at what they did this year. Grayson's portfolio was fabulous...very proud of his improvement this year. But, there was one page in Caleb's that just cracked me the hell up. He had to self-assess his Babe Ruth presentation...and here's what he wrote:

I hope you can read where he wrote, "My props were boss." And his teacher responded with, "They sure were!" Hilarious!!

4. Rainbow Looms. Yes, we're embracing the small stuff this week. With Wednesday's conferences, the kids had no school and the afternoon brought rain, but rainbow loom to the rescue! Hours of peace and quiet as children worked on projects with these silly rubber bands - that I keep finding all over my house! (I'm trying to overlook that portion of things!) Caleb cried in frustration after several failed attempts at a project (Yup, my little perfectionist!), but, he was so proud when he completed that stupid charm that I couldn't help but smile.

5. Manis and Pedis. Yeah, I'll miss the inexpensive manis and pedis when I'm home this summer...so much that I had to go in this week - you know, just so it would remain fresh on my brain!

Okay...I'm off to bring mini-cupcakes to Grayson's class because a party wasn't enough - we need birthday snacks for the classroom, too! And, if you could send some good thoughts to Blaine - he has his second knee surgery on Monday. We really need things to be healing properly!! Prayers, positive thoughts, whatever you might do - would be greatly appreciated!

Ready For Home...

So...I'm just about done with Kuala Lumpur, school, the daily routine...you name it, I'm done with it. My attitude sucks lately and I'm holding on by a thread until we get to head back to the States. Yes, 17 days...that's all I have left. I can do this! I can do this! I can do this! (Sorry...that's my current mantra...I need to say it as often as possible in hopes that I will believe it.)

And, it's not that I don't love my life here in KL...I do. But, it's been 10 months since I've been home and I'm ready for a break.

Recently, with the winding down of school, even the boys are ready to go back to the U.S. We've been talking about all the things we want to do, where they want to go eat, who they are excited to see. I'm not sure if this helps or hurts the current situation where the longing to be somewhere else is so great, but we just can't help ourselves. Last night I made a list of the "Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in the States..." - here it is!

1. My family. It's been 10 months and I can't wait!! I don't think there is much else to say about this...bring on the fam!

2. The Klutts'. Yup, can't wait to see this family, too!!! July is coming!!! July is coming!

3. Target. Oh, there is not too many things better than a big, ol' binge trip to Tar-Jay.

4. Cooler Temps and Less Humidity. Warm days and cooler nights will be a welcome change. I'm hoping for a few nights of shorts and hoodies...

5. Harvest Pizza and Salad. You can probably insert your favourite local pizza joint into this slot...this just happens to be mine. And truly, it's the salad I'm looking most forward to...so simple and delicious.

6. Light Beer. I love light beer...which is not available here in KL. I'm totally looking forward to ice cold, inexpensive light beer from the bottle.

7. Lake View All Summer. We're renting a small house on Glen Lake for the summer and I envision many days with boys fishing, swimming, kayaking, and just enjoying the view.

8. Martha's Ice Cream. I think this made everyone's list of things we can't wait for...soft serve ice cream in multiple flavors!

9. Shopping. I've been online shopping like a crazy woman and shipping it all to my mom's house, but I also look forward to shopping when I arrive.

10. Drivers Who Follow the Rules. Um, yeah...red lights are not optional. Pedestrians have the right of way. Motorbikes follow the same rules as cars. Is this too much to ask for? Driving in the States is going to seem extremely sane and safe!

What are my other ex-pat friends looking forward to? What would make your top 10 list?