A Visit from Mom and Dad!

Two weeks behind.....yikes! Strap on your seatbelts ladies and gents, this is going to be another long one. 

I spent the next two days after Scott left preparing for my parents' arrival on Wednesday. Scott and I had invested in a new pull-out couch in anticipation of their coming. However, when the IKEA men came to assemble the couch, we discovered that the fabric covering the mattress pad was torn. The men said they would come back (in about a week) with a new mattress. Talk about a close call, the new mattress was delivered the day before my parents came into town. The men came at 3:30pm and I had to be out the door by 4:10pm to have the boys to their swim lessons on time. The guys finished around 4:13pm - and I immediately took 

off. As I was about half way down the road, the IKEA guy calls me to ask if I can come back because they forgot something in the apartment. ARGH! I flip a quick U-turn and head home. 

The assistant delivery man heads upstairs with me and I quickly unlock and run into my apartment. I was immediately aware of the fact that the guy has not come inside and I figured he was having trouble taking off his shoes. (Not helping with my frustration level at this point). After about 45 seconds I stick my head outside the door to see what is taking him so long....he is just standing there! I then realize he was expecting me to find the forgotten item. I tell him, "I don't know what you are looking for." His responds in Chinese. He looks confused. I motion for him to come in. Once we are inside, he stands there staring at me. I repeat, "I don't know what you are looking for." Again, Chinese in response. I am beginning to realize I will not be able to get this guy to budge - so I head upstairs to look for something that shouldn't belong in my home. I find a small plastic bag with some screws and assume that is what he wanted. I walk downstairs and ask, "Is this what you need?" Again, he is confused and says something in Chinese. I hand the guy the bag, and start heading out the door. 

While I am at the boys' swim class, I get a call from IKEA. I am expecting them to tell me I did not hand the guy the right thing. (I am ready for war.) Instead, I am questioned about the torn mattress pad. I am asked about five times if the pad was ripped when the box was opened. I kept telling the man on the phone that the delivery men opened the box, the called me upstairs to inform me that the pad was torn. "So, you were there when they opened the box?" "No, they called me upstairs after they opened the box." "So, you saw them open the box and it was already torn." "No, I was not physically in the room watching them assemble the couch. They called me upstairs after they opened the box." It was strangest conversation; I could not tell if they were doubting me, or their delivery men. Strange. 

My parents landed at 5:45am on Wednesday. I was planning on having a cab pick them up, but the boys really wanted to go to the airport. Thus the three of us we up and out the door by 4:20am (the boys in their pajamas). We were all so excited to see Mommmy Baba and Grandpa. Miraculously, we were able to fit all five of us, and their luggage into my car. The second we walked into the apartment, Mom's suitcase was opened, pouring out all sorts of goodies: Easter candy, Special-K bars, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, flip flops, etc. We were all so excited to see such luxury items in our place. The boys still had school that morning - so they quickly got dressed, and then we dropped them off at their schools. After depositing the children, Mom, Dad, and I headed to the American Club for breakfast. We hung out there for about an hour, and then had to head home for a short nap. 

Let's see...today is Thursday.....so by my estimations, I have gained about ten pounds in the past seven days. A week ago today, Mom, Dad, and I headed to the Suntec Mall to go on the Hippo Tour (a double-decker open air top bus. Their slogan is "Be hip; go topless). Upon arrival, Mom and Dad were introduced to their very first Hawker Center. It is basically Singapore's version of a food court, but the food is extremely inexpensive.  We spent the next hour eating. During that hour I ate  a piece of pandan cake, shared a chicken rice with my parents, consumed some tempura and rice, then hit a stand that had only deep-fried goods. With our bellys full, we boarded the bus for our Hippo Tour. The tour guide was awful! Rather than talking about the sites we were passing, he spent the entire time talking about himself and his favorite eating places. About half way through the tour my dad said, "This guy is for the birds."

When we got home I received a phone call from a number I did not recognize. It was the manager of IKEA, questioning me about the mattress pad again. So weird. After another five minute discussion about it being torn upon opening, and my explaining I was not technically there when it was opened he said, "I understand. Thank you." I hung up and started to tell my dad about the other phone call I had received a few days prior. While I am in the midst of my story, the phone rings again. I jokingly say, "I bet it's IKEA." I almost burst out laughing when the voice said, "Hello, I am calling from IKEA about a torn mattress pad." Are you kidding me!? LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!! I have to go through yet another discussion over how the ripped pad was discovered. It's a stupid mattress pad! Send it back to headquarters and have them reimburse your store. I can't imagine that this is the first time IKEA has had a faulty product. You would think this pad cost thousands of dollars for how obsessed they are with discovering the true source of the tear. These guys should be hired as bookies in the US.

That evening I had a great surprise from Scott...he was ale to come home early from his business trip. Everyone was excited to have him back a day early. As a celebration (and to offer Scott a break from ethnic food) we went to Black Angus for dinner.

Since last Friday was Good Friday, everyone was home from school and work. The boys had been wanting to go on the double decker bus since we moved here - and since the tickets we bought for the tour the day before were good for two days, we decided to go on the Hippo tour... again. Unfortunately, it was a blazing hot afternoon with humidity and blue skies. Everyone but Jacob took refuge under the awning at the back of the bus. Jacob was determined to sit in the very front for the tour. I bought him a bottle of water and went to deliver it to him in his pilot's seat. The boy looked like he had been running a marathon - he was sweating like crazy and was all red (and the tour hadn't even begun). I offered for him to join us in the back, but he was determined to stay in front. He toughed out the entire hour in that sun. What a stubborn little trooper he is!

Funny story with Jacob. That evening I was in the kitchen washing dishes in the sink. Jacob came in and was telling me a story. While he was in mid-sentence, I felt something crawl across my foot. I immediately burst into a screaming fit. Jacob, taken so off guard, jumped back and looked as if he was about to burst into tears. His reaction caught my attention, so I was looking at him, and still screaming. So there we are - mother and son in the kitchen, with mom screaming like a manic with a frightened son staring at her like he had done something wrong. When I finally settled down I realized that it was not a roach that had scampered across my toes, but rather a plastic ring from the milk container had fallen onto my foot from the counter. Whoops. I started to laugh (about as manic as my scream) and gave Jacob a huge hug. He had no idea if he should cry or laugh. I think once he understood what had happened, he thought it was pretty funny. I am sure that will be some bizarre memory from his childhood of his mother acting like a psycho.

After the Hippo Tour, we decided to go on the Duck tour. The Duck tour is an amphibious vehicle, painted like a duck (as you can see in the photo), that takes one through the city, then descends into the water for an aquatic tour. The best part about that tour was how funny the vehicle looked. I think we were all pretty worn out by that point.

On Saturday, Scott and I still had not printed the programs for church on Sunday. We decided to head to Raffles Plaza, so Scott could use his office to print off the programs. While he worked on that, the rest of us went to the Fullerton Hotel. The boys immediately made a B-line for the pond at the bottom of the hotel. The pond is stocked with Japanese fish (they look like carp to me).  Jacob stuck his hand in the water, and about ten fish eagerly approached his hand looking for an easy snack. Jacob jumped back and almost fell flat on his back.  The next ten minutes were spent with Jacob petting the fish, and Andrew holding his hand under the water laughing, "They like me! They like me!", while the fish nibbled on his hand. It was an hysterical sight.  We took the boys to see "Horton Hears a Who" that afternoon. Cute movie, but I must admit that I dozed off a couple of times. 

That night I went to the greatest restaurant....ever! It was a Japanese place that had one of those sushi conveyer belts that go by the tables. I was in heaven! That evening I ate about five small plates of sushi, seared beef, vegetable tempura, shrimp tempura, a couple of dumplings, rice, soup, and then (to end on a high note) I had tempura ice-cream. While being completely and utterly disgusted with how much I stuffed into my body - it was still an amazing dinner. (I think my food consumption  scared Scott). 

The next day was Easter. Mom and Dad ran into one of their missionaries from Sydney. (Seriously, Singapore is the apex of the universe). Since it was Easter, Scott and I had decided to splurge and buy a ham from the American Club. Hams do not exist here - so they have to be flown in. I was expecting to get the most delicious ham of all time. However, one hundred and forty dollars later we wound up with a ham that looked like a giant hotdog. Basically, it was a very expensive disappointment. I was mistaken to think that Easter wound not be Easter without a ham. Next year my attitude will be different. That night, Mom and Scott took the boys and the longest walk in their lives. They were gone for so long that the sun had set an hour and a half before they returned. The boys crashed immediately after they got home. 

Since orchids are my mom's favorite flowers, we went to Singapore's National Orchid Garden on Monday. It was absolutely beautiful. It was cute to see how excited my mom would get every time she saw a new species of orchid. The only downer was a group of foreigners who were extremely loud and obnoxious. The Orchid Garden is so beautiful and well kept that it demands a sort of reverence. It guess these people missed that vibe. Every time we would see them, our group would head the opposite direction.

That night we all went to the American Club for dinner as a last hurrah before Mom and Dad went home. I opted for the buffet, and again inhaled an abnormal amount of food. The high point was when I came to the table with a dinner plate filled with about 8 different desserts. I figured I would party it up since my parents were in town, and would then behave once they left. Like I said, I have gained about 10 pounds in the past seven days. These are the times it would be nice to be pregnant so I would at least have a good excuse for eating so much. What can I say? The food here is amazing! 

My parents left on Tuesday afternoon. Many tears were shed that morning. Jacob is out of school for Spring Break, so he was able to come with me to the airport. It was sad sending off my parents, so I was glad to have Jacob's company. I am so glad that we were able to have them here for the week. We truly had a fantastic time together.

Jacob is on a mission to do absolutely nothing for one whole day - so this Spring break has been pretty low key. However, I think the "doing nothing" thing is starting to catch up with him. He is getting that crazed look in his eye which means wrestle mania will commence when Andrew returns from school. I have about 45 minutes until the fighting begins!