The 1st days in LV

It had been a week since we shifted into LV. With the shifting nightmare over and packing mostly done, we are also starting to settle in. There are still random things that we buy now and then, here and there. How come so many things to buy de? The most recent delivery is this.

It is a manual washer and dryer! Really, no joke! Popo has this habit of manually washing random pieces of clothes despite the washer/ dryer that we have. Then the clothes will be dripping dry on the drying rack. In the process, she leaves a wet trail from the toilet to the balcony. Haiz. Hopefully this will not become a white elephant. I had thought it will be fantastic for spin drying the handwashed pieces or to wash floor rags and socks that she will NEVER put in the washer. Anyway... I have done my part. 

How are the kids settling in? 

Lil Shauna totally loves her room. It is so difficult to see her now bcos she is constantly in her room doing her stuff, watching Netflix. She loves her loft bed too though I thought it was a hassle to climb on and off. Maybe this is the difference between young and old bones. Haha. The kids are also utilising their bean bags despite them being so gigantic in their tiny room. Often, I find them flopped on the bags watching their phone. 

Lil Shauna had been enjoying her room for the past week until when she had been discovering small little worms/ caterpillar on her study table! Yes, really worms/ caterpillar! Daddy Lim and her spent the whole afternoon and evening trying to find the source and finally found a nest of eggs stuck to the window grills. The eggs hatched and the worms fall on her study table directly below. Luckily, not her bed and mattress! Yikes! We all had goose pimples from the worms/ caterpillars and eggs, which we removed and I am not going to post pictures to irk myself silly. Hoho. 

Zaky is also settling well into his room and most importantly, in his bed. He had been sleeping "alone" after I tucked him to bed and I have been "keeping watch" by sleeping on a mattress on his floor for the past week. He has learnt how to count to 10 and fall back to sleep should he wake up in the night and my presence gives him great assurance. So far, he had done really well except for one night. As for me, I am really missing my bed. Hahaha. The night light is always turned on in his room and fortunately I sleep totally fine in bright rooms. Hoho. 

Daddy Lim had been enjoying the big bed on his own for the past week until Lil Shauna jumped in last night bcos of the creepy crawlers. I so missed my bed. Zaky says that he will be finally ready to sleep on his own 2 years later. T.T

As for myself, I am definitely enjoying the new space. The balcony is always good to enjoy a nice cup of coffee. We now have ample working/ studying areas and plenty of tables and chairs; no lack of working space. For now, I yearned to one day (soon) be able to reclaim my bed. Hoho. And to try to recall where I have kept the stuff, I can't seem to find a number of them when I am sure I unpacked them. Old age. 

Mummy Lim

Happy 10th Bday Zaky!

Zaky's bday usually falls on SA2. This year it falls right smack during PSLE marking week. I still remembered those short trips that we would steal during the PSLE week and using them in exchange for a bday party. This year, we are so stuck. Zaky then laments that we NEVER ever do anything for his bday. Who is the one with the goldfish memory? 

In a short span of a few days, I pulled together a mini celebration for him with a couple of friends to the Nerf Experience. He was thrilled.

We were told that Nerf Experience is now operating at 25% capacity due to Covid-19. Entry is on a 1st come 1st served basis. We were advised to arrive by 11.30am to Q for entry at 12pm. So I ended taking a full day's leave and started the day with a walk around the neighbourhood. 

The walk didn't last very long bcos Daddy Lim had to rush home for his morning meeting and we have to feed the tummies before that. Such a busy morning. 

We met the rest at 11.30am and a Q was already started to form. I felt the same stress  like I was trying to fight for a slot at the ice skating rink. T.T

When play is in the picture, there is no need for food. Luckily Auntie H had the foresight to buy bread for the kids to bring into the center to tahan until they were done. The Nerf Experience was 3-hour long. 

Time flies and 3 hours flashed by. I was eager to hear the kids' experience. They said that it was "fun at 1st" but not so after the novelty wore off. 

The bread was a life saver and it was finally time for proper food. 

The others had to leave after the "lunch". We headed off to the arcade, the last bit of fun to end the day. 

Zaky asked for a bday cake and he got his cake. 

Happy 10th bday to the not-so-little boy! 

Mummy Lim

LV: The Big Day Part 2

I got to squeeze in with Zaky on his new comfy bed for the night. Hoho. With the day's drama behind me, I started to feel better. The pre-rain morning was nice and coolinf. 心情变好了. 

I had the opportunity to have a quiet coffee at the balcony before the family woke up and appreciated the little funny things, like how Zaky's friends who were washed were hung up to dry. 

Or how the jenga blocks played such important role in our new home - holding up the drying rack.

And holding the storeroom shelf upright bcos Daddy Lim and I did such a lousy job erecting it lopsidedly. Lol. Yes, it was so slanted that we can fit in a jenga block. 

Sunday morning and afternoon was spent on the kids' ice skating classes. With PSLE marking falling on Monday, the kids were now keen to go for the sleepover at my brother's place. Popo refused to go bcos she was hopeful that the mover will deliver the rest of the furniture on Monday morning as they had promised. As usual, anything out of the norm gets her jittery and will kick off a frenzy cleaning spree. I wasn't as hopeful. 

With the kids away, the house was so quiet. Such that Daddy Lim and I got to enjoy the bottle of moscato that had been sitting in our fridge. Hohoho. 

Late in the evening and after several chasers, the mover informed that they would deliver the furniture at 1pm on Monday. See lah, see lah. Haiz. I was keeping my fingers and toes crossed that it would really happened. 

Fast forward to Monday, Popo started getting frustrated and started grumbling early in the morning. Arrrggghhh. We managed to go back to Centris during lunch to pick up a few left behind items. While rushing back, the mover called to inform that they were heading to pick up the furniture, lunch before heading over, ETA 2ish. See lah, expected. There was even more grumbling from Popo when we told her the news. 

The mover eventually did come. Thank God. That sets Popo up for a round of wiping and cleaning and mopping. She let go whatever that she had been holding back on shifting day and was grumbling and complaining. I died. Before the night ends, we managed to put most of the stuff in its place. Finally, the shift is completed! 

Yup, yip, hooray! Finally...

Mummy Lim

LV: The Big Day Part 1

Finally it was D Day. The last time we shifted into Centris, we had the Helping Hand to assist with the move. For some reasons that I cannot really remember, I didn't remember that the experience to be enjoyable and didn't want to go back to them. We have less stuff this time (I think), the move should be relatively easier and we decided to go for the Cheap Movers instead after reading good reviews. We were quoted $288 for 1 trip. It is afterall 1 MRT stop away. 

Four years ago, we managed to unpack all the boxes in Centris on shifting day. Now that we had shifted quite some stuff into LV, I was hoping that we would be faster. The kids are also older now and they should be able to help to speed up the process. Right?

I guess all moves are not enjoyable. Our move to LV was so super dramatic. T.T 

The mover agreed to come at 10am and told us that the shift can be completed by 12.30pm, as restricted by the condo MA. Permits were all applied and approved. We spent the morning throwing in final loose pieces into the last boxes. 

I had guessed that the mover would be late and was pleasantly surprised when they called me at 9.45am to say that they were "on the way". It must be a very long and far way bcos they only arrived at 11am. Zzzzzzz. 

There were altogether 4 guys but only 1 of them appeared to be experienced. This further hampered the move and we tried to help at times. Popo was mega upset that they didn't cling wrap all the mattress individually. Aiyo, my head is aching.

We finally left Centris at about 12pm and were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the lorry at LV. I bet they took a lunch break in between bcos they didn't turn up at LV until 1.40pm and then the nightmare started. 

The movers called to inform that the LV security guards refused to let their lorry enter LV as it had exceeded the shifting time, which is 12.30pm. Sh*t. We ended up spending the next 30 mins or more trying to plead with the security guard for leniency. The MA office was also closed and the security guard stood his ground - no shift allowed after 12.30pm, regardless of the amount of sob stories I told. 

Then more stupidity comes into play. The security guard said that shifting is not allowed as per policy but agreed that we can move our belongings using luggage bags but not boxes. What??? I argued that we have been moving our belongings in boxes in the past weeks and we were never stopped. That was when the security guard said that we are residents and he cannot stop us from shifting personal belongings in boxes but the movers cannot help bcos that would be considered as shifting and shifting is prohibited after 12.30pm. What the... 

So the movers ended up unloading the boxes from the lorry and while they slowly decide if they would/ could help to move the boxes into LV, I got the kids to help push the boxes via the mover's trolley from outside LV to our unit. We did that like 5x, moving and unloading about 12 boxes on our own. Thank God that the kids helped. The mover eventually helped to shift the fans and the car rack bcos fans and car rack are not considered as furniture and are allowed. Cling wrapped with the boxes, we got the planks of the storeroom shelf and 2 foldable mattresses. 

The whole saga was so silly. I told the kids that when they grow up and worked in the society, pls do not pen stupid policies - shifting is prohibited but moving belongings by boxes is allowed? The movers cannot help but the resident is allowed to move the boxes on their own??? I could have done more damage than the movers bcos I am not experience. Plus we ran 5 trips instead of what the mover could have done in 1 (or 2), we actually caused more disturbances to the neighbors. So what is the rationale? Haiz.

It was agreed that the rest of the "furniture" will be stored by the mover and sent back to us on Monday. Without the shelves, especially the one in the storeroom, we ended up with stacked boxes in the living room that we were unable to unpack. It was a mess. I was tired and frustrated. Fortunately, Popo held her tongue and didn't add on to my heartache.

Anyway, 2 of the movers who helped had to stay behind while the rest moved off for another job. The lorry turned back for them much later and I was able to retrieve the metal bars, brackets and screws for the storeroom shelf. I had intended to assemble the shelf on my own so that the boxes can be unpacked. 

The mover then said that I have to pay extra $150 for storage. Huh? They late leh. They have given me more inconvenience and I have to pay extras? No way. They then relented and asked for the balance payment instead. Errr... Talk to my hand, the move is incomplete, how can I pay? The poor guy was stuck between me and his boss/ senior and they eventually left without receiving the balance payment, promising to deliver the rest of the furniture on Monday. 

At 5pm, I was pathetically sitting on the corridor trying to assemble the storeroom shelf and fortunately Daddy Lim came back. He had to rush off for some official business after lunch and I was left to deal with the saga with the kids. Luckily the kids helped. 

The shelf was eventually erected after plenty of sweat. I was literally dripping sweat and I realised how many bloody screws and nuts there were. We could finally unpack the boxes and pack the stuff into the storeroom. The storeroom is bigger but we also moved more things into the storeroom. Ended up, it took a lot of skills and strategy, trial and error to fit all the things into the storeroom. 

We did unpack "everything" within a day. Whatever that needs to be loaded onto the shelves that were still with the mover have to remain in the boxes. 

Only Zaky's room was ready. 

Though without the beds, we were lucky to still have the 2 foldable mattresses. We planned for Popo and the kids to do an emergency sleepover at my bro's place for 2 nights. However, Zaky has ice skating class the next early morning and Lil Shauna was keen to join the church zoom Sunday class also taking place early morning. Ended up, we squeezed and made do with Zaky's bed and the 2 foldable mattresses.

Fingers and toes were all crossed, hoping that the rest of the furniture will really be delivered on Monday. I really don't trust such contractors and movers. Sigh.

I was so exhausted. My Garmin clocked more than 20k steps. My feet and back were aching. Shifting is no fun. Sob. 

Mummy Lim

Ice Skating 211: SISA Ice

We stopped the ice skating lessons for Lil Shauna for a couple of weeks to concentrate on PSLE. She still hit the ice for "leisure" practices so as not to lose touch and also to help look after Zaky. Yay!

Now that PSLE is over, lessons are resuming and so are SISA ice back to full ice. Coach asked when Lil Shauna would be available for lessons. Errr..  she is super free lor. Too free. Hoho. 

We were finally back on SISA ice on Tuesday evening. Lil Shauna was whinning about butterflies in her stomach. Huh? This is the nth SISA ice and with the same coach plus the people doing SISA ice are usually the same leh. 

I was busy on my laptop while she had the hour long lesson. One hour flew past and she was soon back with red cheeks, huffing and puffing away. Did she master her double salchow? Bo leh. How about the camel spin? Same leh. Lol. I thought we might get lucky with the 1st SISA ice in a long time. Hohoho. She came back and insisted that at least her double salchow is now better. In what way? What do you call a deer with no eye? Hoho

Mummy Lim

LV Project: The Last Bit of Delivery

On Tuesday afternoon, the last bit of the furniture delivery is concluded - the sofa has arrived and this puts an end to all the new furniture delivery. Woohoo! It had been plenty of working from LV for the past month.

What is left now is the final shifting in a few day. 

LV is definitely very livable now. I had plenty of choices on where I wanted to work on Tuesday afternoon - the island counter, the kids' study table, the dining table. I told Daddy Lim that I could even take an afternoon nap on the sofa! Hoho. 

With all the new furniture delivered, I couldn't help but stepped back, take a look and snapped a few pictures. 

That was when I realised that our LV home isn't like those atas 美美 kind and that is understandable given the limited renovation investments that we put in. We didn't have the theme, theme or the glamorous ID nicely done up feel but what we have is a very comfortable livable home. Ok lah, can lah. Haha.

Mummy Lim

Zaky Core 4 Lesson 2

It was the usual routine and the usual long Q outside the rink scene when we arrived for Zaky's lesson. Daddy Lim got activated to Q while I prepped Zaky. Daddy Lim said that he was queuing at about the same spot as last week and there were plenty of slots on the 12.45pm session register then. 

I accompanied Daddy Lim in the Q and walked in and out to peek at Zaky. He seemed to be doing well. As I was doing so, there appeared to be some commotion right at the start of the Q. From what I gathered, a mummy had arrived at the rink really early to get slots for her son's bday party during the 3pm session but she didn't know that she had to join the Q. She only realised that when the Q started forming and the staff at the rink had eventually allowed her to "cut" Q resulting in many other upset patrons. This is particularly so when she wanted 10 slots and 3pm is a really popular session. 

Bcos of the out of the norm demand, patrons who were unable to get the 3pm session slots overspill to the other sessions. It was super tense, this weekly ordeal to get skating slots for the kids is getting more and more stressful. Fortunately, we secured the last slot for Lil Shauna. Heng ah!

Lil Shauna and Zaky went to the rink for ice time as scheduled. Remember Zaky bugging for new skates? I asked J's mum if J's old skates can be sold to us and we got to try on them. J is also Coach Raymond's student and had been skating with Lil Shauna for years. 

The skates were very fitting such that the original thick socks that Zaky used on the rental skates don't work. He felt a lot more comfortable when he wore jiejie's cutesy ankle socks and even better when changed into the new almost-not-there ankle stocking that I managed to buy from Diaso. I hesitated about buying over the skates as Zaky might be outgrowing them very soon. I asked to loan the skates for another week and was then told that they would like to gift us the skates. Woohoo! 

It took a while for Zaky to get used to the skates. He was absolutely thrilled to know that he would be having his own skates. He would be using them for his lessons on coming Sunday and I hope they will serve him well. 

Mummy Lim

Memorable Gathering

It was one of those normal grocery shopping evenings in JP. Coincidentally, I bumped into an ex-colleague whom I have not met for a long time. This called for an impromptu gathering with the usual gang. Hohoho. 

The others reacted just as enthusiastically over WhatsApp and soon the date was set. So efficient, just like old times. 

We visited one of the ladies' beautiful home and she whipped up a sumptuous dinner. I arrived shortly after 6pm. It was a great dinner and ever greater catch-up. We reminisce about the old times and they updated me about who and who and so and so; half of them are still with the Company. 

That was the Company where I spent 9 memorable years of my youth. I love the culture and (most) of the people. I literally "found" Daddy Lim in that place and also "rear" 2 kids. Hoho. Those ladies literally grew up with me and we slogged those long overtime hours together. 

Time flies, it had been 7 years since I left. I am glad that they are still all the same. Conversations flowed so freely. We didn't leave until it was 11pm and a promise to meet up again. They just tugged at my heart. 

Mummy Lim

Two Very Silly Blind Bats

Last Wednesday evening, with PSLE done, the kids dated their Centris friends and were playing afool on the pool deck. Given that it was Children's Day celebration in school the next day, I didn't call to nag them to come home. Instead, I got a call from Lil Shauna at about 8pm, asking for help. She said that both Zaky and her glasses were lost in the pool. Huh? How? They didn't go swimming. 

So, Zaky was running alongside the pool, tripped and fell. What's new? The impact of the fall sent his glasses flying into the drainage alongside the pool. It was shallow but the night was dark and the drainage was lit by luminous blue lights that blind. He tried to search for his glasses but in vain. 

Lil Shauna then came to his "rescue". Upon hearing his fate, she tried to peer into the drainage in attempt to look for his glasses. Lil Shauna loves big spectacle frame and her glasses often sit low on her nose bridge, as if they would slip off any time.

Just as she was looking into the drainage, her glasses chose the perfect time to slip off her nose bridge and into the same drainage. Zzzzzzz... 

The kids attempted to look for their glasses but it was dark, the blue luminous light blind and they are also very blind without their glasses. After trying fruitlessly for 15 mins, they knew that it was time to report the loss and call for help. 

It took me a while to finally locate Lil Shauna's glasses. The kids were helping to shine light via the handphones into the water as I waddled to and fro along the drainage. I was worried that the glasses would have been sucked into the drainage system. Not only would we have lost 2 pairs of very expensive glasses, we would probably have to pay to repair a damage pool drainage system. 

Lil Shauna's glasses was pushed by the draining pool water to the side of the drainage; I almost stepped and crushed it. It took me even longer to find Zaky's glasses. It was hiding among huge leaves on the drain cover. I was lucky again not to step on it too hard, crushing it.

So Mummy saved the day and the pocket too! I was worried that the lenses would have been scratched. The kids said that there were no scratches. Instead, the pool water had washed the lenses very clean. Hahaha. 

Mummy Lim

PSLE is Over!

Finally! Lil Shauna is a free bird! So am I! Hohoho. 

Lil Shauna had been feeling under the weather during the weekend. By Sunday night, she was complaining of a sore throat. Daddy Lim and Zaky were coming down with running nose. 

On Monday morning, the kids were pack off to school. Shortly after, the teacher sent Zaky home. We bet he must have enthusiastically told the teacher that he was sick. Lil Shauna was super unhappy when she was home from her Chinese paper to realise that Zaky skipped school. Errr... Not me leh, teacher sent him home leh. 

I was hoping that Lil Shauna's sore throat would recover for her Science paper on Tuesday. She needed to tahan one more day, to at least complete her Science paper. The HCL papers are extra and we can skip them in the worse case though it does feel really wasted; she had struggled with HCL for 2 years. She didn't feel better and she was very grumpy when I drove them to school bcos Daddy Lim had a sea trial. Zaky still had somewhat of a blocked nose but I shrove him to school anyhow or I would get hell from Lil Shauna, who whined about how bad she was feeling but Zaky got to stay home instead. 

She came home after her Science paper and told me how hard it was and that she didn't think she did well but she didn't care anymore. In her mind, PSLE is deemed over despite the remaining HCL paper. I was of course upset bcos I always have high hopes for her academically but what's done cannot be undone and it is now all in God's hand. Haiz.

PSLE is officially over with the completion of the HCL paper on Wednesday and she is over the moon. I also felt the burden lifted; whatever will be, will be.

We have timed the shifting to take place after PSLE and it was the perfect timing to clear her worksheets and workbooks. Lil Shauna enthusiastically took on the mission and cleared out a big pile in no time. Throw, all throw. 

She insisted that she wanted to help to dump the papers into the recycle bin to get a sense of satisfaction. 

Drum roll, pls!

PSLE has ended just in time for Children's Day. The school had some kind of Fitness Carnival today and there is no school tomorrow. I had assumed that Lil Shauna would be really happy but ironically, the end of PSLE and no longer the need to mug left her feeling very lost. She was grumpy about having nothing to do. Luckily, nothing that retail therapy cannot solve. She was chirpy again after some T-shirt shopping from Cotton ON. Haha. How I wish I am the one with nothing to do. Haiz. 

Mummy Lim

Zaky's Core 4 Lesson 1

Zaky wanted to continue learning and I have signed him up for Core 4 lessons. Many moons back, Lil Shauna got her own personal beginning skates when she barely started Core 2. To date, she has changed like 3 pairs of skates. Zaky is asking when I would buy him his personal skates. Hmmm... Let's see how it goes. Haha. 

Zaky was hoping that the same coach would be taking his Core 4 lessons and bingo. 

I got Daddy Lim to Q to register for the afternoon skating slot for Lil Shauna and I got to watch Zaky skate. The lesson was about crossovers and more crossovers. The boy was surprisingly not too bad with the crossovers! Some time back, I was actually hoping to take Core 4 with the boy when he resumed skating. I was tempted when Zaky took on Core 3 again. However, I totally chickened out when I was told that Core 4 has to do crossovers and 3-turns. I scare to fall down leh. Haha.

The kids went back to the rink in the afternoon; I was too tired and lazy to join. 

There was no whinning at all bcos he got a scolding from me right before we left the house for begin glued to the phone. 

Let's see how long his enthusiasm lasts. 

Mummy Lim

PSLE: 2 Papers Completed

Finally, Lil Shauna completed her English and Maths papers last Thursday and Friday. Two down and 3 more papers to go. 

I have nagged enough and "tried" to give her enough. She had HBL from Monday to Wednesday. On Wednesday, she kept telling me that she had to chill and that her teacher encouraged them to chill too. I wonder if the teacher would still say the same if she knows how much Lil Shauna had already been chilling. Zzzzzzz.

On Thursday after her English paper, Lil Shauna said that she needed to chill (again?) after completing her 1st PSLE paper. I let her go as the next paper was Maths and her strongest subject. She did do some revision later in the afternoon. 

The weekend was largely confined. We did hop off for a McD bfast and to Ikea, which have suddenly become very exciting excursions in the midst of PSLE. Lol. My camera so meitu. Double LOL.

Lil Shauna has 3 more papers to go and is taking her Chinese papers today. She seems to be coming down with a sore throat and I pray that whatever virus leaves her and stays away from her. 

Last evening, I ended up struggling with her to revise the 生字. I asked her a couple of times much earlier only to have her turn me down. Why must wait until the last minute to 抱佛脚? Haiz. She only went to bed at 10.30pm and was grumbly this morning - probably a combination of physical exhaustion and her least favorite subject.

I hope as much as her for the exams to be over. What's done cannot be undone and can only hope for the best and be thankful with whatever God has in store for her. Fighting!

Mummy Lim

LV Project: Nth Ikea Trip

Ikea is like NTUC for grocery shopping - there is always things to buy. On Sat, we made our Nth trip to Ikea and still went home with a big bagful. Even then, that is not the end to it; something can only be purchased at a later date after this, this and that had gone into the house. There will be more Ikea trips to come. 

Now that Lil Shauna is largely confined at home for PSLE, she was very excited about being allowed to go to Ikea. Haha. 

Meanwhile, we continue to move little by little, bit by bit to LV. As we do that, LV looked more and more inviting. I can't wait to just nuah at the big, windy, unblocked balcony. For 1st hand experience, Daddy Lim and I had our 1st coffee at the dining table that we had just placed in the balcony. Hoho. Very nice.

There were a couple of things that we bought from Shopee/ Q10 and they looked like they turned out very well. Like this water extender. 

Or this dish sponge holder. 

They are all inexpensive but appeared to be working very well. Hoho. 

The kids got to enjoy lunch at the balcony too while the parents busy unpacking and setting things up. 

I can also be the handyman. Hoho.

We have less than 2 weeks left before shift day. It is time to start packing up the rest of the stuff in Centris. We haven't start bcos it irks Popo to see boxes lying around and most of the things left are things that we are likely to need. It isn't fun to need something and have to guess which box and to open the wrong box. I think we are better off buying it. 

I managed to pack up the storeroom y'day and am proud to say that we didn't have too much rubbish after several previous decluttering missions. There will hopefully be a few more delivery this week; the furniture are on the way to be shipped to Singapore. 

We all can't wait to shift to LV. Yay.

Mummy Lim