Singapore, Day One, Part Two

Pics of our temporary apartment, continued from last post...

The view from our apartment:Caleb looking outside and telling me which pool he wanted to swim in:

The other half of Caleb's room (see last post), which I'm calling "Suitcase Central." We brought 12 suitcases--the max allowed for a family of four traveling in business class. We also have an air shipment arriving next week and a sea shipment in a few weeks. You just don't know what you're going to need and wish you would have brought!

Master Bath:

This pic is for my sister. She appreciates a good shower head. This one is incredible. Of course it could have felt so good because I hadn't showered in over 24 hours.

Dining table:

Caleb's room, complete with sock monkey!

Here's me trying to get a pic of my super curly hair to show you. Caleb's saying "cheese" if you couldn't tell. Look at those blue eyes!

Singapore, Day One

Our first day in Singapore is going well. Our plane landed about 1am this morning and we were settled at the hotel with kids bathed and in bed by about 3:15. Justin and I got to bed around 4, and then were both wide awake at 7 since our body clocks are seriously messed up. We've had a busy morning, which started at the Ministry of Manpower getting Justin's employment pass and our dependent passes (like green cards, and they're actually green!). We've walked around all morning, so now Levi is napping and Caleb and Justin are headed down to the pool. The boys are doing so well!

Here are some things I've noticed about Singapore in the half-day we've been here:

1. Getting around with a stroller is difficult, especially at the MRT (Singapore's subway system, stands for Mass Rapid Transit) stations and various other buildings. Lots of escalators and not always a convenient elevator.

2. I don't wear a lot of makeup, but what I had on this morning was running down my face in about the first 30 minutes. Sweet. Add tissues to the things I'll be carrying in my purse.

3. I have to get used to the signs they use here. I didn't recognize the one they use for elevators...my sweet husband had to correct me when I thought I was headed toward the elevator and was really taking us all to the bathroom.

4. They call elevators "lifts." Singapore used to be a British colony, so their English is more British English with an Asian accent. And with their own special additives, of course.

5. I love it here. It just feels right. What a blessing that peace is!

And now, a few picures.

Levi at the airport with his harness monkey looking over his shoulder:

Our corporate apartment we'll be staying in for the first few weeks, until we find a permanent apartment. It's swanky!

Living Room:

Kitchen and Laundry Room:

Master Bedroom:

Less Than Five Days

In less than five days now, we'll be on an airplane headed to our new home. If we weren't going 90mph to doctor's appointments and last minute errands I would probably be an emotional mess. Our to-do list is shrinking, finally, but it's still long. We've got to change our address on about 50 things, forward our mail to my parents' house, finish packing the suitcases, probably buy another suitcase, get 3 months of my prescriptions filled, go to one more doctor's appointment this afternoon, have the power of attorney signed and notarized for our house sale (for whenever that happens), get international driver's licences, set up lawn maintenance for the house, go to the bank, finish cleaning the house, clean out the car, and have the oil changed in the van. I'm sure I'm missing some things. Once we get on the airplane, I might just pass out from exhaustion. At least that's my hope at this point! I'm hoping that's what the kids do, too!!

Our neighbor, Shelley, is making us what she calls "our last supper" tonight. Fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes. Yum!

The kids are adjusting to our life here in the hotel now. Caleb is always asking when we're going back to the hotel. It's our new normal. Next week we'll have a whole new normal, and I'm sure the kids will adjust to that as quickly as they have this. Poor Levi wakes up from his nap in a different place just about every day because we're visiting friends and family during the day.

My mom is coming into town today to help my sister with Ava. Kimberly's on bedrest at home and Ava has been pretty sick this week. I wish I could have been more help to Kimberly during this time and in the weeks to come. She needs a lot of help at this point because she's not getting the rest she needs and is basically in labor all the time. She's still having contractions, but, thankfully, it doesn't look like Audrey will be coming really soon. She's still expected to deliver early, but hopefully not in the next few weeks.

We're off to the doctor in a couple of hours to get my thyroid medication refilled. So much to do...

Living in a Hotel

Well, we're officially all moved out of the house. It's been a rough week. Caleb's been upset about his playroom tv not making the trip to Singapore with us, and Levi has been just plain cranky all week long. They are really feeling the stress of the move. It's hard since they don't know that's what they are feeling. Every time I take Levi somewhere, he fusses loudly the whole time (it's really more like screaming). I don't know if he's not feeling well, or if he's just not sure what to feel since his little world has been turned upside down.

So, for now, we're living in a hotel. Caleb is sick (he's thrown up twice today and is running a fever), so today has been especially hard. I'm taking him to the doctor in the morning to see if it's a virus, strep throat, or maybe his ears again. If it's not one thing, it's another.

We've been talking about moving to Singapore for so long that it hasn't been real until this week. It hit both Justin and me once the movers started packing up our stuff that this is really happening! (And, by the way, I would highly recommend moving with professionals. They are amazing! And fast!)

Now we're living in this weird limbo phase for the next 12 days. It kind of feels like we don't have a home, which is really weird since our house is only 15 miles away. We haven't sold the house yet, and don't really know what's going to happen in the next couple of months with that. We're just taking it day by day, which I guess is best anyway.

I don't have a lot to say other than this week has been really weird and really stressful, but we're glad that this move is finally here. Oh, and we're exhausted.

We're planning on visiting family this weekend, but that all depends on how Caleb is feeling tomorrow.

That's all. We're just trying to tie up loose ends and get all the last minute things done. The list is still pretty long, but we're checking things off.

After the Day I've Had...

I need a bath or a hug or maybe some ice cream. Or maybe all of the above.

After I dropped Caleb off at school this morning, I went and picked up Ava. My sister hasn't posted on her blog about what's been going on with her, so I won't post all the details here, but suffice it to say she's on the couch. A lot. So, I went to grab Ava for the day and run errands with my friend, Kim. We were in search of necklaces for her and the other bridesmaid to wear in a wedding this weekend. We did that for a couple of hours, had lunch, and tried to get Ava and Levi to fall asleep in the car because our house was being shown from 1-3pm (the worst possible time for a family with toddlers. Oh, and apparently our house doesn't have enough natural light and the screened in porch makes the living room too dark. Ummm..they're called trees. We have a lot of them. You'll appreciate that when it's 110 degrees and the sun is beating down on your house. I'm loving the comments we're getting from potential buyers. *sigh*). Levi and Ava didn't fall asleep until 2pm, and then I picked Caleb up at 2:30.

When I picked him up the teacher said he's been coughing non-stop all day.

He gets in the car and says, "What's making my ear hurt?" Your ear hurts? "Yes." I figured we'd just wait and get into the doctor in the morning since it was already 3pm and he didn't seem too bad.

10 minutes later he was screaming in pain and I was on the phone trying to get an appointment with the pediatrician. I drove to drop off Ava (30 minutes away), then drove the 45 minutes to the doctor's office with Caleb screaming and crying because his ear hurt. In the meantime, Levi woke up (imagine that), and started crying himself. It was a lovely, leisurely drive through Houston traffic.

Caleb has a blister on his ear drum; the doctor even let me look at it through the scope. That's what was making his ear hurt. They gave him Motrin and the pain subsided. The doc said it may go away all on its own in 2 days and the Motrin will keep the pain at bay, but he gave us a scrip for antibiotics just so we don't end up in the ER on a Saturday night for an ear infection. We love our pediatrician!

So, now Caleb's in bed with Vicks and socks on his feet hoping to make the cough go away. His lungs were clear with no wheezing, so we're not sure why he's coughing.

It's been a LONG day!

FIGHT!!!

Caleb and Granddad got into a nerf ball fight. :-)

NM Trip--Bandelier

Yesterday we went to Bandelier National Monument with Granddad. The boys had a great time. Caleb did get tired of walking, so you can see Justin carrying them both at one point. :-) The one where they are both bending down they are checking out a dead bug.

 

NM Trip--Park

 

Friends are GREAT!

My sweet friend, Hol, designed this new header for me. I absolutely love it! It definitely represents the next stage of our life...Singapore! And the verse is quite appropriate for this time in our lives as well.

Tagged

Here are the rules for "eight things": Mention the person that tagged you. Complete the list of eight things. Tag eight of your wonderful blogger friends.

Eight things I look forward to:
1. Heaven!
2. Moving to Singapore (29 days now!)
3. Being done with the plane ride to Singapore
4. Seeing my boys grow up
5. My sister having her baby this July
6.Visiting Justin's family in New Mexico this week
7. Vacations!!!
8. Levi being done with diapers (won't be anytime soon!)

Eight things I did yesterday:
1. Went to church with my mom (dad was sick)
2. Bought a "My 1st Scooter" for Caleb with Nana's money
3. Went shopping with my mom--stocked up on makeup
4. Stopped twice on the way home from my parents' for a certain 3yo to potty
5. Listened to "Scooby Doo" in the car on the way home (boys were watching in back)
6. Tended my farm on Facebook (my mom totally got me hooked)
7. Emailed a sweet Singaporean lady who wants to help with our transition
8. Watched The Unit last night with Justin.

Eight things I wish I could do:
1. Sew
2. Play the piano well
3. Bring my family and friends to Singapore
4. Dance
5. Be organized
6. Sell our house
7. Teleport myself
8. lose the weight

Eight shows I watch:
1. NCIS
2. The Unit
3. House
4. The Amazing Race
5. Dancing With the Stars
6. The Office
7. Bones
8. Dora, Diego, Backyardigans...

Camping Trip 2009

Here are just a few shots of our camping trip from last weekend. Is that a dirty face or what?

Top Left: Levi's seriously dirty face--he had a GREAT day!
Top Right: Caleb playing in the mud pit the kids made
Bottom Left: Levi and Caroline--aren't they so sweet together? (they were born two weeks apart)
Bottom Right: Our tents. Levi slept in the green one all by himself in the pack-n-play. The boys slept great. Us...not so much.

Flooding Pics

If you've never been to my house, this won't mean much to you, but here are some pics of the flooding here on Tuesday AM. This was about 4:00am when Justin and I were awake because of the noise. They are blurry because the rain was coming down so hard. The water level was up to the middle of our neighbors across the street's driveway and halfway up our yard/driveway. The "For Sale" sign in our yard is on the street, even though you cannot tell where the street is!

The water is gone from here, but we are still dealing with the effects of the rain because there is still a lot of flooding to our south. It has taken Justin at least an hour to get to and from work each day because he's had to bypass the flooding and closed roads.

Under Construction

Just ignore the design of the blog for a while. It's under construction until I can figure out what I want to do with it. I thought about starting a whole new blog for our Singapore journey but then I decided that was dumb. I'm just needing a fresh look to go with our soon-to-be fresh new life on the other side of the world...

Singapore Zoo

Ever since we saw Camille's post about the Singapore Zoo Caleb has wanted to go. So do I! They have a new kids area that looks really cool! I'm just about to jump out of my skin to get to Singapore!

As of May 19 we'll no longer have any stuff in our house. The movers will come the 18th and 19th and pack everything up. Our belongings will either be on a ship bound for Singapore or in storage here. The only stuff left in our house will be what's going to Singapore on the airplane with us. Not much.

Our to-do list is finally shrinking instead of growing. We're slowly crossing things off. A big, time-consuming one is our valued inventory list. We have to give a replacement cost value for every.single.thing we're shipping to Singapore. Awesome, huh? Wanna come help?

Monkey Madness

These sweet monkeys are on their way to our house! I ordered them for the boys and plan to save them until we are on the airplane bound for Singapore. I know they will love them, and I hope these guys will help my little guys to snuggle in on the plane and in their new home. Thanks, Barb!

The Boys' Sizes

This is a post I'll keep updating while we're in Singapore so the grandparents know what to send them. ;-)

current as of July 14, 2011

Caleb:
Shirt: boys 5/6 or XS (S works, too)
Shorts: 4/5
Undies: XS boys
Shoes: US size little boys 12.5
Pajames: boys size 6
favorite things: applesauce, pudding, costumes, juice boxes or Capri Sun, PopIce popsicles,

Levi:
Shirt: 4T
Shorts: 4T
Undies: XS boys
Shoes: US size toddler 11
Pajamas: 5T
favorite things: Nutri-Grain cereal bars, pudding, cars, fruit snacks, and doing whatever Caleb's doing :-)

Sweet Moments

I was having a sweet moment with Levi earlier. I went to get the boys and tell them lunch was ready, and Levi grabbed my hand and wanted to hold it as we walked into the kitchen. I basking in this moment and was in the middle of telling Levi how much I like it when he wanted to hold me my hand when WHACK...my older son threw a ball at me. Moment over.

Hold onto the sweet moments...they don't last long. It's kinda like life...you're cruising along enjoying the serenity and good times when life throws a ball and whacks you in the back when you weren't looking.

Here, for your reading enjoyment, are interesting things Caleb has said lately. (The list is ever growing!)

1. "On my birthday I want to get a window tatoo." (ooooookay.)

2. "Mom, on your birthday, I want you to get a new washing machine and dryer." (this was after we saw a commercial about Tide. I wonder if he wants me to get the front-loading kind because that would be awesome. But how about the birthday after we get back from Singapore, Caleb?)

3. "Mom, after we go to Singapore, I want to go to China and meet Kai Lan." (sure thing, Caleb. I'll put meeting cartoon characters on my to-do list right after winning the lottery.)

4. Looking out in the backyard, I see Caleb playing with our honeysuckle vine.
me: Caleb, what are you doing?
Caleb: I'm trying to swing.

5. "Mommy, when is our car going to be a racecar?"

6. "Mommy, how fast are we going?"
"40, Caleb. That's the speed limit."
"When are we going to go five-ty?"

7. We've been trying to explain to Caleb that toys cost money and that Daddy goes to work so we can have money. He didn't quite get the whole concept.
Caleb: "I want a monkey that plays with play-doh." (the Coco-Nutty Play-Doh Monkey)
us: "Well, we don't have money for that right now."
Caleb: "I want to go to the store and buy some money."
us: "That's not how it works. Daddy has to go to work to earn money."
Caleb: "Daddy, when are you going to work?"
Daddy: "We have to buy food first, Caleb, before toys."
the next day...
Caleb calls Daddy at work.
Caleb: "Daddy are you done with food yet?"

8. "Mommy, why did I come out of your tummy?" (he asked this one as I was typing this post.)

Never a dull moment around here!

Could we just get a good family picture?

(notice how Caleb isn't bothered by our attempt to get a family photo...he's just enjoying his candy the whole time...)

Attempt 1:

Attempt 2:

Attempt 3:

Attempt 4: Result...no, we can't get a good picture!

Easter

We were at my parent's house for Easter this year, and we went to my dad's mom's house for our annual hunt with the cousins. Levi's hunt started off poorly because he was upset his daddy had walked outside without him. (He's was going outside to get pictures of them!)

Caleb going for an egg...

Poppa helping Levi...

Levi was really slow because he wanted to open every egg and see what was inside before he decided if he liked it or not! He's got it all figured out. :-)

When The Mommy Is Sick...

...the boys will get into everything. They found the water hose in the back yard yesterday while I was sick and trying to stay as close to the bed as possible. They were a little too quiet, and when I went to check on them, this is what I found. Obviously Levi is an innocent bystander in this situation. (Or maybe not a bystander but a victim since he is being sprayed with water.)

Notice how wet Levi's hair is and how dry Caleb's is...

Luckily I'm feeling somewhat better today and Caleb is at school. It's hard being the mom of two toddlers when you just want to lay in bed all day and not move!

Life With Little Boys

Running, jumping, climbing, laughing, shooting each other with nerf bullets. Just our everyday life...

Finally...Peace

PICTURES AT THE END!!! (I know you're happy about that, Mom!)

Things have really settled down around here and inside me. Lots of people have been praying for me, and I can feel the difference. Just a few weeks ago I was suffering debilitating anxiety about our move (complete with nausea every time we talked about Singapore), but God has truly given me a sense of peace about everything that is coming. He has blessed my socks off by putting me in touch with a woman who is the wife of Justin's co-worker and also going to Singapore. (Hi, Andrea!) I finally feel like the range of emotions I'm feeling are normal for anyone in my situation...moving a family to the other side of the world. I feel more excited than scared now and THAT is truly a miracle!

A young couple came to look at our house on Sunday, and I'm praying that it will work out for them. I'd love nothing more than for a young couple wanting to start a family to move into this house. Justin and I were in that same situation when we bought this house, and it has been such a blessing living here.

My counselor strongly suggested that Justin and I have a weekend away before our move since that won't be possible again for quite a long time. Since Justin is now scheduled to go to Singapore for a week ONE MONTH before we move, I'm not sure that's possible! Our to-do list just keeps getting longer instead of shorter. We have a lot to do before June 1!

I wish you all could see the boys' passport photos. They were wearing matching sweaters and have the exact same expression on their face. They look like twins, and really the only way to tell them apart is that Levi has brown eyes and Caleb's are blue. It's pretty funny.

Levi has taken to calling Justin and I both Mommy. He refuses to say Daddy, even though that was his first word. He won't do it, which I think is a little funny. When I was loading the pictures below he kept yelling, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy." He was talking about Justin. hehehe.

Ok, as promised in my last post, I found some pictures that you haven't seen yet.

Levi and his sweet little face...

Big, (finally) toothy grin!

This was Levi's reaction when I said, "Did you make a mess?" :-)

Our little super hero. Outfit chosen by Caleb. This might be blackmail later in his life. hehe.

Justin and I had a great date night last Friday and drove up to College Station for the Third Day concert (one of our favorite bands). We got to meet the band before the show. Even Justin commented about how blue Mac Powell's eyes are...it actually shocked me when he lifted his head and looked me in the eye. They are that blue.

Us before the concert. It was terribly windy and cold (it was an outdoor ampitheater).

Mac on stage...

Things are well here...thank the Lord!

For Sale

Our house has a "For Sale" sign out front. It's not officially on the market yet, but it will be next week. Yesterday I met with my friend who's our realtor, and then I fought back tears all day long. I'm sad. I'm really sad to leave my family and friends here. I know that we'll only be gone temporarily, but that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to the people who have literally held me up the past few years. I'm also sad to sell this house because I really love it and it's the house we brought our boys home to. Justin and I have lived in this house since July of 2003, less then 10 months after we got married. Almost all of our memories are here and it's the only home our boys know.

Ok, moving on before I dissolve into a bucket of tears. (Yes, I know we'll make friends in Singapore and it will be a great adventure and it will change our lives and we'll be back before we know it. That's what people always say. I get that. I'm just sad. But I'm really excited, too.)

I'm in the middle of filling out the boys' and my passport applications so we can all 4 traipse up to the Post Office on Friday to turn in our applications. Thankfully I found my old passport while we were cleaning out our bedroom because you have to jump through hoops and sign away your life in blood if you lose your passport.

I wish I had some new pictures of the boys to post for you to "ooh" and "aah" over and make this post a little less heavy, but I don't even know where my camera is at the moment. We've boxed up so much stuff and made trips to the storage shed and taken donations up to the church and painted every surface in sight every night for weeks (or months, I'm not sure). So, if I find the camera and it has pictures you haven't seen on it, I'll make sure and post them here.

In happier news, I got a CUTE Vera Bradley purse and clutch wallet on eBay (for way cheaper than retail) and it arrived yesterday. It's the little things, really. ;-)

Testing

I just figured out that you can email posts to your blog. This seriously might change my blogging habits. Not really sure why I think it's easier; I guess because I'm on email all the time. And I don't have to log in or anything.

Interesting.

~Jennifer

"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze."
~Isaiah 43:2

CHEESE! And Alaska!

Levi's new thing...saying, "cheese!" to the camera...(notice the TEETH!!! he has three of them!!!)

The boys at Grandma's, where they were all last week while I was in Alaska and then while their daddy and I were doing MASSIVE cleaning and organizing in the house. This little bench was in my grandmother's garage and no one wanted it. My kids LOVE it...it's just their size!

This is Caleb's "I'm 3 years old...do you think you can boss me around? I'll be on my merry way doing whatever I please no matter how many times you've told me not to do it" face. Enough said.

Last week I went to Alaska to meet this little guy! And his mommy is pretty special, too!
Ahhh...beautiful Valdez, Alaska. It was refreshing.

Sam thinks so, too...

Frozen harbor in Valdez. A far cry from Texas, for sure.

Well, I'm procrastinating the continued chaos of cleaning and organizing and moving furniture to storage and packing boxes. Back to the regularly scheduled lack of posting here.