Moving...AGAIN

This will be my last post for a few days as we make the move to our apartment tomorrow and do not have our cable/internet/phone hooked up there yet. I'm not sure how to function without email but I'll do my best to survive for a few days. If anything ground-breaking happens next week, it will be Brian's job to document it at work!

Today I thoroughly enjoyed 3 hours of solo time. I hired a sitter for the girls (one that came recommended from the other Americans) and I set out for Tanglin Mall in the Orchard area of town. I had hoped I would set up a grocery delivery at our place for tomorrow but learned that I needed to go to a different part of town for the best selection. So, that will have to wait. In the meantime, I was feeling a bit crazy and decided to buy stuff to cook dinner at the hotel tonight. I found a taco kit at the store and that seemed easy enough to bring home via taxi, so I gathered my necessary items. Ground beef will likely be a rare treat in our Singapore house, because it costs $10 US per pound. Ouch. Perhaps I should try fish tacos instead? Poor Elizabeth's diet will suffer over here since she's our little red meat eater. The girls surprised me last night though when we tried a fish restaurant and they happily ate grilled calamari. Emily had her first shellfish with no bad reaction so that was a bonus.

While at the mall, I also popped into Gymboree Play & Music and Kindermusik to inquire about classes for Emily & Elizabeth during the week. I think we'll try the Kindermusik class next week and see how it goes. They were more receptive to the idea of bringing both girls to one class, so they're more likely to get my $.

Today I received an email from Megan's new teacher at SAS. Her name is Lynda Scott and she actually managed to sound bubbly via email so that's a good sign for a kindergarten teacher. I emailed her back the document that Megan's teacher at Durham had prepared about her current skills and the response from Ms. Scott was, "I can't wait to meet Megan. She sounds like an enthusiastic, clever little girl!" Oh, lady, you have no idea! I'm looking forward to finally visiting the American School Monday afternoon for orientation and I hope Megan handles starting at her new school as well as she has done with all the other changes in our lives recently.

I have a few frustrations to share at this point in my adventure. The first is Megan's bed. After shopping at a few stores looking for the right sheets for her bed, we've determined that her bed will require custom sheets to fit properly. Brian thinks that's the best option. Since I've never even had to look into custom sheets for my US beds, I don't feel good about the prospect of me figuring it out anytime soon in Singapore. Her bed was the only bed that came with the apartment, hence the problem. My idea is to call the apt owner, tell him to take away his weird bed, and have the rental company deliver us a regular single bed. It's a sore spot with me right now.

Also, I notice around town that it's not all that easy to push a stroller - especially a double wide. Inevitably I get in front of a store and realize that there's 20 steps to get into the entrance. Well, of course there has to be a ramp somewhere to access the store, but the amount of time I spend figuring this out is a complete nuisance. Once inside a store, I've discovered that they tend to be smaller and more cramped than US stores so it's a challenge there as well. I'm sure with time I'll figure out the best routes but in the meantime, it's a hassle.

The washing machine/dryer combo is a nightmare, although at least I was prepared for this issue after living in Europe. All the people who think they need a front-loading washer can keep their trendy, water-conserving machines. I'll take my top-load Sears model any day! It has taken me ALL day between washing and drying to complete one load of wash and it comes out of the dryer phase looking like you wadded up the clothes into a ball to dry. Hideous. I pray that my laundry process improves at the apartment where I at least have a separate dryer.
Speaking of clothes, I'm off to pack up the remainder of my stuff before our final move tomorrow. I'm excited about not having to live out of a suitcase anymore!