Hello World!

Goodness me! My last post was almost 2 months ago. Longest hiatus ever (I think)! To my regular readers, my apology for 'disappearing'. We haven't subscribed to internet service (nor cable TV) yet. This is a quick 'appearance' to let you know I'm still around and have not 'disappeared from the face of the word' or 'depressed' as some friends had wondered. We had such a wonderful holiday in Singapore (can't wait for the one next summer). Thank you, friends and family, who took time and effort to meet up. Since our return to UK, there had been lots to do. It sure makes alot of difference when you have your own home. Even doing household chores is no longer considered a chore. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm actually enjoying it. Lavigne has started reception year and stays in school from 8.45am to 3.30pm. She, who had been looking forward to going to 'cheh cheh's' school all summer, is loving her time at school. Both girls have school dinners and I no longer need to do packed lunches (except for A). It certainly makes my mornings more sane and less stressful. OK, I hope we'll have broadband soon and then I can blog regularly. Oh, all the backlog!

Marriage thoughts

This post is actually inspired by another post written by a dear friend of mine.  I couldn't agree with her more that 'marriage goes through its ups and downs'.  In our years in UK, I thought there were more downs than ups.  Perhaps we were too pampered in Singapore and what life threw at us in a foreign land was not quite what we had expected.  But in those difficult days, we grew to be 'stronger and more independent' so to speak.  

Coming back to Singapore this time round, our relationship is on the up.  Maybe it is because he has already completed his course.  Maybe it is because the children are older now and don't need our attention and care all the time.  Maybe it's due to the fact that we're on holiday and away from the hustle and bustle of daily routines in UK.  I think it's a combination of all factors.

We are more tolerant towards each other.  We hold hands when we go out.  We get to enjoy couple time away from the kids, something which is non-existent back in UK.  If only they can all continue (not expecting the dating part though) when we leave here.  Marriage is indeed hard work.  It needs to be nurtured all the time.  But the children and other family matters usually come first so we often neglect each other.  We forget to woo the other partner.  We pay less attention to him/her.  Any free time seemed so precious that we spend it on ourselves.  We will have to remind ourselves of the happy times spent here and not spiral down again.  

Free!!

We're free from Mr Nasty Landlord AT.LONG.LAST!  As expected, he had tried to be difficult almost right to the end - charging us unreasonably for several items, the most ridiculous being labour charge for removing a tiny sticker on a door handle which we hadn't removed totally.  He also wanted to charge us £200 for painting the walls.  I had cleaned the walls and A had used the paint left behind in the garage by the builder to patch certain bits.  He said we used a paint of different colour and he had to get someone to redo it.  Most laughable of all is he sent A a letter asking us to enjoy our last month of stay in the house and hope that we will return the house in the same state as when we had taken over or in an  even better condition.  How is that possible?  Walls will be marked for sure which we had tried to clean up.  To save on professional carpet cleaning, I was on my fours for hours using a strong carpet cleaner to clean the whole house's carpet.  Luckily he didn't mention anything about the carpet.  If not I'll surely hammer him!  One day when A tried to call Mr Nasty, his dad answered the phone instead (he's the big boss of the estate company).  Senior Palmer asked if he could help and A told him everything.  Strangely, he said he had seen the house after we moved out and commented we left it in a good condition.  In the end, Mr Nasty reduced his claim and the rent by half.  I hope his father had given him an earful.  So we're now totally free from him and it feels GOOD!

MC

Louisa was supposed to start school today but she'll be on MC for 4 days!  Which means her summer school stint in Singapore will be shortened from 2 weeks to 1.  What's the culprit this time?  Very bad rash all over her body.  It all started last Saturday evening. I'd thought it was a food allergy.  Brought her to a GP and was prescribed the usual anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory medication.  He suspected dust allergy.  It made sense since we'd visited several bridal boutiques in the afternoon.  She didn't seem to respond to the medicine and the rash looked worse so I decided to bring her to KKH a few hours later.  There were many sick children.  After paying and waiting for nearly one hour, I saw that the rashes were subsiding so cancelled our queue and went home.  It was 2am then.  When she woke at 7am in the morning, there were more rashes and the itch was really bad.  I gave her the medication regularly and the rashes came on and off but it got really bad, even on her face from the afternoon.  My sister Jo (Bless her!  She'd been driving us around) suggested bringing her to KKH in case she became very uncomfortable in the middle of the night.  Along the way, we decided to go back to the GP whom we thought might give her the same treatment as KKH - an injection as opposed to waiting for hours at the hospital.  Unfortunately, the Dr (different from the first visit) said he didn't know what's wrong with her and advised us to bring her to KKH.  His answer to all my questions was 'I don't know', 'I really don't know'.  Good for him for not charging me anything.  So we ended up at KKH afterall.  There were even more children then the previous night.  We were warned of a long wait.  I could see most children were there for high temperature due to the patch on their forehead.  My sister brought Louisa to the car to sleep while I waited.  After almost 2 hours, she was finally seen to.  The Dr asked for many details.  She didn't think it was food allergy as Louisa didn't eat the same thing she had on Saturday and by right, the rash shouldn't come back.  She suspected a viral induced rash.  Louisa was given a jab (so brave of her), placed under observation and prescribed a different anti-histamine which worked this time.  Up till last night, there were still rashes all over but she didn't itch as much.  New rashes appeared on her face and her lips swelled a little.  The Dr from KKH did say the rashes will come and go for a week.  Finally today, she looked more like normal.  The rashes were really ugly.  Big, raised, blotchy and lumpy.  Louisa had been really good these whole time, all the while only complaining about the itch and I could see she tried not to show it at times.  

Doctor visits so far (over 2 weeks):

1. KKH - 4

2. GPs - 3

3. Specialist - 2

My wallet is haemorrhaging.

All's well

Lavigne's fever is gone and my review with my consultant today is good.  Flowers are almost all sorted, just the photo-shoot backdrop at the hotel needs to be discussed with the groom-t0-be.  Order for the flowers will be placed tomorrow and I shall complete the wrist and car door corsages by this weekend.  Getting excited yet nervous about the flower arrangements next Friday.  This is only my second time doing it (first was my own wedding).  Hope all goes well!     

Holiday so far

I had not been doing much for the wedding except to do more research, came up with the flower plan and check out the flowers and prices at a nearby nursery. A asked me what had I been doing the past week since I didn't seem to be doing much. My answer to him was 'I don't know'. But if I am to make a list, it will be as follow:

1. Makan
2. Dr visits
3. Personal grooming - cut and highlight hair (it's one of the first thing I had to do since I don't get my hair cut by the professionals in UK so you can imagine the condition)
4. Spending time with my family
5. Brought the girls out to a soft play place
6. Brought the girls to ECP to cycle (I had a wobbly start myself as I'd not cycled for more than 15 years?)
7. More makan
8. Nursery visit
9. Research on the computer
10. Even more feasting
11. Visit to schools for registration
12. Even more more food!!!

You can see that I've been eating lots - Laksa, bak chor mee, hokkien mee, chendol (which caused me to have diarrhoea), prawn noodles, rojak.....and I have yet to eat durian (too much deprivation is definitely not good). I can see my face becoming rounder and the waistline expanding. BAD! The food blog ieatishootipost is organising a durian degustation this Fri at a store near my mum's. Unfortunately, I got to know too late and places have all filled up. Perhaps it's good for me too. Otherwise I'll have to go look for another dress for the wedding. A friend asked if my dress is very small. It is the figure hugging type and a perfect fit so if I put on any weight, I won't be able to fit into it.

Sadly, due to the girls' illnesses, I have yet to catch up with any friends. Looking at my diary, this holiday is going to fly by really quickly.

Yes or no?

Louisa developed a high temperature Friday night.  After living in UK for a while now, I didn't bring her to see a Dr straightaway.  The GPs' advice in UK is usually 'rest at home, drink plenty of water, no medication needed'.  So I gave her paracetomol and monitored her temperature throughout the night.  It remained very high (at one point it was 39.5 degrees) and I sponged her.  Since there had been a case of H1N1 in her school just before the holiday, I brought her to a GP just to be on the safe side.  The nurses at the clinic wore masks and patients with high temperature had to don it too.  It was a totally different scene in UK.  Louisa was eventually seen to by the Dr in a 'separate room'.  Her symptoms were only cough (she had it in UK before coming) and high fever.  The Dr said she'd prescribe Tamiflu so I asked if Louisa has H1N1 to which she replied 50-50.  I asked if tests are needed to confirm and she said not anymore.  Anyone with any symptoms will be treated with it and it can be used for common flu too.  Then I was told the clinic doesn't stock it as it's unstable.  Was asked to check pharmacies or go to KK.  I rang up a few pharmacies and none of them has the syrup form.  So I had to go to KK's pharmacy.  Temperature had to be taken at all entrances and a mask given.  Singapore is really carrying out all the precautions.  When my mum rang me while I was in UK and told me about the situation here, I couldn't quite fathom it because it was totally different in UK even though the country has the 3rd highest number of cases outside Mexico and America.  When I started to worry when I found out someone got it in Louisa's school, her friend's mum told me 'it's such a flu'.  Anyway, the normal pharmacy had closed and I had to go to the Emergency Pharmacy and queue for it.  So many people were wearing masks.  After a long wait, I was given the Tamiflu tablet.  I commented that my child is still young and won't be able to swallow the pill.  The staff told me to open up the capsule and mix it with water.  Louisa doesn't even like drinking paracetomol syrup, let alone a bitter powdery mixture.  The GP specifically prescribed syrup form.  The reply I got was that there was no more stock for the syrup.  I heard a staff from another counter giving out the syrup form so I questioned him.  He said it's MOH's regulation to keep the syrup for very young children and infants.  I told him my daughter's not even 7 and she's still young and by telling me it is out of stock is totally misleading and that I insisted on having the syrup.  He said it's ok and gave it to me.  I had a shock when I was going to pay for it.  Almost S$50 for a small bottle!  The pharmaceutical companies are making mountains of money.  It's strange.  Everytime I come back, a big expenditure will be on medical costs.  Had already spent S$100 to get Lavigne's eyes checked.  She had sty and will need another review.  Medical care is readily available here but it is so darn expensive! 

Home

No matter how long I had been away or where I had returned from, the feeling I get whenever the plane lands on Singapore tarmac is always the same - 'this is my homeland and I am glad to be home'.  It is one of familiarity and fondness.  As I walked out of the aircraft, I felt a wave of heat and heard people speaking in Singlish and Hokkien.  I knew my family were waiting for us outside.  I said to the girls 'I'm so glad to be home'.  Later, Louisa said the same thing to my sister, Joanne.  My dad cooked so many dishes.  My parents-in-laws came for dinner together with my sis-in-law and her fiance.  That was a nice get-together.  I'm also looking forward to using the massage chair and playing wii amongst many things.  There's also many people to catch up with.  I know the month will fly by so I'll have to make good use of the time.    

Due Home Soon

In about 5 hours' time, we will leave for the airport. Compared to my previous trips, I didn't start packing until yesterday. Yes, YESTERDAY! I had already put aside clothes and things to bring home in my wardrobe but only took out the big luggage yesterday. However, everything's packed. The excitement is finally starting to build up. It's been a whirlwind 1.5 months. Even Lavigne's teachers told her to 'let mummy have a good rest in Singapore'. People have commented I look tired on several occasions. I certainly am. I hope the girls will sleep well so that I can catch some sleep too. It'll be my second time flying with them without A who will be joining us next Saturday. They are really excited and have been counting down to this day like 273 days ago. We are looking forward to be on board the Jumbo A380. I know, quite 'sua gu'.

Cheerios!

Goodbye

This will be my last time blogging from my old home. I'm not entirely sure the real reason behind me still having things here - my computer, the vacuum and cleaning stuff. Ok, computer's here because I don't have internet connection at my new place so I come back here to check my emails. But seriously, I think I'm trying to hold on to this place even though I can't wait to handover it to the landlord. Even though we'd lived here only for about a year, I really like this home. It's way nicer and bigger than our old uni accommodation in Surrey. All things come to an end. I will have to finally say goodbye to this place and pack up all the remaining things (even though the handover will not happen till end of the month) for we fly off next Monday. Am I ready for the trip? Nope! I've started packing but I haven't got round to buying presents or stuff requested by my mother-in-law. I haven't even had time to recuperate from my recent illness. My colleagues had been telling me to rest well in Singapore since I went back to work this week. I'm going to be busy the first 2 weeks helping my sis-in-law with her wedding preparation. But there will be home-cooked food to look forward to and the company of my family and friends. Time to disconnect the computer and pack them in their boxes and see you all in Singapore!

The countdown

One more week and we'll be going home. I thought I could finally look forward to the holiday after the move and that the house will be rented out and we can handover on 15th July. But looks like that's not going to happen now all because of Mr Nasty Landlord Dominic Palmer. Someone wants to rent the house and is keen to takeover on the 18th. As previously agreed, Mr Nasty said he'll end our contract on 15th July provided someone wants to rent or buy the house by that time. Voila! He's got a potential tenant. So my letting agent's been asking us to clean up the house for the handover on 15th as the new tenant is preparing to move in on 18th. Today Mr Nasty says he wants to sell the house which means we have to hang on and pay till end of the month even though we'd moved out a week ago. He had been a difficult person to deal with at the beginning and he's a big A*** right till the end.

Today after shopping at the supermarket, Lavigne and I got caught in the rain. It's one of those loathesome weather - rain a minute, shine another. It was drizzling so I decided to walk briskly to the car. The moment we were out in the open, it poured! I got the shopping and Lavigne into the car and pushed the trolley back to the bay. Passed by Subway and 2 youngsters in there went 'Chinks'. I thought I had misheard but on my way back, they said it again. I was already in a foul mood. So when I drove past them, I did the unthinkable (by my standard). I showed them the middle finger. They got me at the wrong time. I had enough of bullying of late.

On a happier note, even though the whole house is not set up at the moment, I'm enjoying having an ensuite, my bedroom and the kitchen. As we now have a dining table in the kitchen, I'm spending alot of time in there, doing my paperwork. My old kitchen was 1/3 the size of the new one. So I'm really liking the bigger space.

Scream

Maybe I should learn from my friend, drive to a place where there's no one and give an almighty scream! That's all I want to do now.

Day 7 & 8 - The MOVE

We did it successfully without the movers. There were a few incidents which I will share later. Very grateful to all who came to help - Daniel and his gf Vanda, Daniel Chew, John (Louisa's friend's dad), Gerald (and Emily and Sharon), Rock and Ching. We wouldn't have made it without them. The new house is still in a mess (esp the kitchen) but we've only cleared out the old house yesterday so that's understandable. Only the girls' room and the master room are more decent. I'm really enjoying having an ensuite and the extra toilets AND a built-in wardrobe. For the past few months, I had shared a one-door wardrobe with the girls and it had been so inconvenient. So happy to have my own wardrobe space now. The biggest headache will be trying to fit all the things i want into the playroom/my workroom. Adrian had set up a 'toy library' in the garage so the girls can choose what they want and rotate the toys in the house. I'm actually blogging at the old place now as there won't be any internet connection until we return from Singapore. We'll keep my computer here until we handover, talking about which I have more unpleasant encounters with the estate agent of my landlord. What an incredible week it had been!

Day 7

Aka 'mad day'. It was a day of rushing here and there. The vinyl's been laid and I swear the urine smell still lingers in the toilet downstairs. So, so tired. Won't be blogging much. Just taking a break. A said that I look very old now, especially my eyes. Oh no! I must sleep 3 days and nights when I return to Singapore and go for facial. Tomorrow is THE DAY. I hope we can move as much stuff over as possible, all the furniture in fact and the carton boxes can wait till Sunday. Better get going.

Day 6

Very exciting day today which didn't start off very well. Woke up at 6am (again!). It gets bright at about 4+am in the morning and I don't have blackout curtains or blind in my room. We've been eating lots of takeaways (A bought roast meats rice from Chinatown last night which was really yummy. I was famished) so I thought I'll cook beef stew for dinner this evening. Made Lavigne's and A's packed lunches and he forgot to bring it with him, left it behind in the car. I had to ask my neighbour for some fridge space to put his lunch as we've not moved our own fridge over yet. Louisa took ages to eat her breakfast, both girls refused to get changed and we left the house really late. Then Lavigne realised her hat's not inside the car. A said he took it back into the house the night before but couldn't locate it. So she cried from home all the way to class. As if that wasn't bad enough. A forgot to top up petrol last night when I had asked him to and the red light was already lit up when I came home yesterday evening. He had gone to the new house and back. I was certain the car was going to stall halfway and I was so worried. Luckily we made it to school.

It's Louisa's school Sports Day today. They had brought forward the starting time due to the heat only yesterday and the carpet layers were supposed to be at the new house at the same time. So I had to miss half of the event.

I'm so pleased with the new carpet. They are very nice to walk on, unlike the previous ones which were flat as pancake. I also managed to get my blackout blinds and curtain rails today. There's going to be a viewing in the old house later on (the agent booked someone in on my move day even I had told him about the chaos). I can't keep the house neat and tidy for them now and I don't care. Will be packing up the remaining stuff in the kitchen and bring them over in the evening. I'm totally exhausted! I need a good break in Singapore.

Pictures

As promised, some pictures to share. No time to do collage though.

Girls' Room
(Before)



Girls' Room
(After)
Curtain too long, must alter.



Master Room
(Before)



Master Room
(After)


Playroom
(Before)


Playroom
(After)


A's Study
(Before)

A's Study

(After)

Day 5

Unlike the past few days, I didn't go to the new house after dropping the girls at school. Managed to run some errands and did more packing. In the afternoon, I brought more cartons over and popped by John Lewis which is having a sale, hoping to get some roller blinds and curtain rails. Unfortunately, only a few items were on sale and they were not what I was looking for. Found something I like for my bedroom which was not on sale but the length that I wanted was out of stock. So it was a fruitless trip. Worse, I made a wrong turn and ended up in another town. Luckily I had left early and managed to get to Lavigne's school on time.

We went back to the new house after school as I needed to clear all things from the floor upstairs for the laying of carpet tomorrow. Then I realised I hadn't painted over the marks made on the ceiling whilst painting. That was neck breaking and up down the ladder repeatedly. Not fun at all. The good thing about painting before the new carpet is laid is that we don't have to worry about dirtying or dripping paint on the existing carpet. In fact, I didn't even lay anything on it. So that took the stress off.

I'm so glad I don't have to go back there this evening like I had been doing. A's on his way there with more stuff though. Good thing we didn't get the movers. We'd moved lots of things there ourselves everytime we go there. That saved us lots of money. I can't wait for the new carpet, especially the fitting of the vinyl in the toilet downstairs. The smell is unbelievable. The boys must have had lots of accidents in there. I'd wanted to open the door to air it but was afraid the whole house will smell horrid. So I just left it closed and forbade anyone from using it. Talking about which the thing I'm most happy with the house is there's 3 toilets. We have always survived with only a toilet in the houses we lived in. Total nightmare! I can't remember the number of times when the moment I sit on the throne, someone has to use it urgently too. Or when I'm bathing, I have company in there too. Soon, we'll have a choice of which one to use and not fighting over just one.

Update: A just got back and he's pleased with the upstairs. Phew! He's not been to the house since Sunday.

Day 4

The task which I had planned to do after my trip to Singapore was finished today. Wallpapering, roughly know the steps to laying it but absolutely no experience with it before. Thank goodness I had asked my friend who has done it before to help me. I didn't realise it was that difficult. The weather was too hot and the adhesive dried very quickly so as a result we had to work fast too. The easiest part of all is to apply the paste. After that, everything is tricky. Matching the pattern, smoothing out bubbles, snipping off the top and bottom. When she showed me how to do it, it seemed pretty easy but trust me, it's not! We didn't manage to finish the wall in the girls' room before doing the school run. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to do it on my own. But I managed somehow after struggling with the last drop which was a really narrow piece.

I had cooked dinner before going to the new house in the morning so when we got home, I just had to heat up and dinner was served. Again, I left after eating to start on the wall in my room. Contrary to what I had thought, it was easier to lay though it had many repeating patterns and the paper was thicker.

A asked me which is easier - painting or laying wallpaper. I told him painting itself is easy but cleaning the tools afterwards is a pain whereas for wallpapering, the task is difficult but clearing up is easy and quick. If I hadn't asked my friend for help, I would have botched the whole thing and probably give up halfway through.

So now, upstairs is all ready. New carpet will go in on Thursday and vinyl on Friday before our move this weekend. I can concentrate on finishing up the packing the next few days . Will load pictures later, too late and tired to do it now.

Day 3

Double whammy day. I broke the pole attached to the roller, twice. First time after it happened, I brought it back to the shop and received a refund for it. Then I bought another one which is not extendable and was cheaper. Not long after I used it, it broke too. I wonder if it's a design fault or simply that I used to much cow strength.

Painting without the pole had been a slow and difficult task. I had to go up and down the ladder , my fingers ached and my palms developed blisters. It's also hard to juggle a family while trying to get the new house ready and also the move. Lavigne didn't have school today as it was inset day and she stayed with me and was totally bored even though I brought toys for her. After we picked Louisa from school, it was back to work before a quick trip to the supermarket in the evening to get some ingredients to make spaghetti bolognese. Adrian had already gone home before us and after dinner, I left the girls with him and went back to finish up the painting.

4 rooms painted in 3 days and I am very pleased.

Day 2

We went to Homesbase this morning to get more paint. Very coincidentally, I bumped into the ex-owner of our house and his son. Their movers had forgotten to clear two of the kitchen cabinets (full of condiments and booze) so I told him about it. He was rather embarrassed and said he'd clear them later that day.

My first painting disaster happened today. The original plan was to paint the whole of the girls' room pink but in the end, I painted only two of the walls to keep it 'less pink'. Since the walls which I didn't paint were dirty and marked, I decided to paint it a neutral colour - snowdrop. That was when it all happened. At Homebase, I couldn't find it in 5L so asked a member of staff to help me. He found it and I happily paid for it without double-checking. When I opened it up at home, I thought the colour looked a little funny. But I started the edging anyhow. The moment the brush touched the wall, I realised something wasn't right. I wondered if I had chosen the wrong colour. I carried on but kept saying aloud 'the colour's not right'. A heard me and asked me to stop. I went to get the paint brochure and matched it with the label and the mystery was solved. I had wanted 'snowdrop' but the guy gave me 'snowfall'. It's a few shades darker. No wonder! So I took the paint back to the shop and explained the situation to the staff. In the end, they said I could get an exchange. Thank goodness! I thought I'd wasted the money and had to get another one. When the man went to get the right paint for me, he came back to tell me the one I'd wanted is meant for kitchen and bathroom. So I had to choose another one on the spot. Luckily I had my wallpaper sample with me. I opted for 'whisper of snowfall'.

Karen, the ex-owner, then dropped by and packed up all her stuff she left behind. There's also an old dryer in the garage which she said if we want it, we can keep it or she'd get someone to come and remove it. A said it's not working so we told her we don't want it. Within about 2 hours, her husband came with a man in a lorry and went away with the dryer. I was really impressed that they worked so quickly. I'd thought they'd come in a few days.

Our progress didn't seem as good as yesterday. We didn't progress to other rooms. But I managed to tape the edges of the playroom and A removed some of the wallpaper in the lounge. I actually quite like the feature wallpaper but it's in gold and charcoal which doesn't go with our colour scheme. A was adamant about stripping it. I felt a tinge of regret while he was doing it. Oh well, nevermind.

I hope to finish painting the playroom and one small wall in A's study (he'd removed a baby's wallpaper border) tomorrow. Then upstairs will be completed apart from the wallpaper. It will be more than what we had set out to do which is good really. I can't wait to lay the wallpaper but am afraid I will mess it up. Shall ask a friend to help me out.