Sydney Trip - 3rd Day

The 3rd day of our trip is quite uneventful. We went out to eat dim sum at Kum Fook Restaurant which is located at Chatsworth. I find that the dim sum were not as good as those which we used to have at Crystal Jade Restaurant. E.g. the skin of the har gar & the chee cheong fun was too thick, thus they don't taste as nice. Well, what can we expect of Chinese food in a western country?

After lunch, Pat brought us to Victoria Plaza where she had made an appointment for her mum to see a Chinese sinseh for acupuncture. She was hoping that the acupuncture treatment can help to relieve some of the pain which her mum felt when walking.

While Pat & her mum was in the consultation room with the sinseh, Kel brought Daryl out to walk as he was getting restless. He took these pics of Daryl outside Victoria Plaza.















































































See how difficult is it to get a good pic of Daryl these days?

After taking the pics, the 2 of them came in as it was very cold outside. Kel then went inside the consultation room to check on Pat & his mum. While waiting, I took a pic of Daryl inside the clinic.





















Daryl sitting on a chair beside me

While waiting, he got very restless. He started to walk around the clinic. What irks me is that he would touch the items in the clinic & put his thumb inside his mouth to suck. At times, I caught him using his thumb to touch certain items, then he would proceed to put his thumb inside his mouth. Omg... I can't imagine the amount of germs that he was sucking on. When I stopped him, he would purposely do it & show me. After telling him off nicely a few times, I lost my patience & smacked him. He started bawling his eyes out. On hearing the commotion, Kel came out of the consultation room to see what was going on. When I told him what his baobei is doing, he scolded Daryl too. Seeing him standing there & bawling his eyes out is a very comical. If I wasn't so fed up with him, I would have laughed. Kel went to comfort his baobei & brought him out of the clinic for some fresh air while I stayed in the clinic & fumed.

When they came back, Kel told Daryl to come & apologize to me. He refused to, but he gave me a kiss instead. Well, at least he knows that he is in the wrong.

By then, Pat & her mother were done already, thus we went shopping at Chatswood Chase. We went to shop at David Jones while Pat & her mum went to walk around. While there, I bought a pair of Hush Puppies boots as I am freezing my feet off. I had only bought a pair of Birkenstock sandals to Sydney as I thought that I can withstand the cold. However, I was wrong. Serves me right for being a smart aleck... I wore the boots right away & went to pay for them. What a relief...

After shopping, we decided to go back as it was getting late already. On the way home, something unfortunate happened. While we were waiting at a traffic light which was red, an idiot driver crashed into our car! Can you believe it? We were not even driving, yet an accident can happened! Kel, Pat & me got out of the car to survey the damage & to confront the driver. I was furious as the driver could have caused serious injuries to us! When the driver got out of her seat, she apologized & said that she was distracted. Do you know what was the reason that she gave us? A piece of paper from her dashboard had dropped, thus she was trying to pick it up when she crashed into our car! Omg... what kind of reason is that?

I didn't know the reason of the crash initially as I was checking to see whether Daryl had sustained any physical injuries. After the crash, when I asked him whether he feel any pain, he told me that his back was in pain. Thus, I was very concerned. When I was satisfied that he wasn't hurt, I asked Kel what had happened. When he told me the reason, I was furious! I walked up to the lady driver & gave her a tongue lashing. I told her that she was a very irresponsible driver & she could have caused serious injuries to me, my son & my unborn baby. She even has the gall to defend herself by saying that she didn't cause the accident on purpose! I retorted that she better prayed that nothing happened to me, my son & my unborn baby. If not, she'll regret it for the rest of her life. With that, I walked off.

Kel took some pics as evidence.

















































The license plate of the driver at fault & the damage to her front bumper































































The damage to Pat's car. Luckily her car is sturdy, thus the damage wasn't that severe. If not, I dare not think of the consequences.

After Pat & the driver had exchanged particulars, we drove home. I went to take a hot shower immediately when we reached home as I don't feel that good. My tummy had hardened considerably & I can feel contractions. Kel asked me to rest while he takes care of Daryl. He bathe Daryl & put him to bed. He even read Daryl a bedtime story. Isn't that very sweet of him? It's times like these that I really appreciate him. :p



































Isn't the above 2 pics heartwarming? It always warms my heart when I see these.

I went to sleep after taking the 2 pics. Let's hope that I would feel better tomorrow.

Sydney Trip - 2nd Day

I was woken by Kel when he came back from renting his mum's wheelchair. He had woken me up as he & Pat had bought porridge back for our lunch. I reluctantly left the warm & cosy bed & ventured down to the kitchen to have my lunch. We didn't wake Daryl up as he was still sleeping very soundly. Since he didn't sleep well last night, we wanted him to have enough sleep.

After lunch, I went back to our room to nap again. By the time I woke up, it was time for dinner already. We proceeded to wake Daryl up as Pat had dinner plans for us.

After a quick wash up, it was off to Steven & Elaine's shop - Noodle.Com for dinner. Dinner was a sumptuous 1 as all of us were very hungry. Sam joined us midway through our dinner after his work.





















A family pic - Kel, me, Sam, Kel's mum, Daryl & Pat

















































Daryl & Me. He was sitting on Pat's car when Kel took the pics. See how cheeky he is...





















Our family pic





















Another family pic under the shop's signboard

After our dinner, we went back to Pat & Sam's house to rest.

Off to Sydney

We are off to Sydney today for a 15 days holiday! It's been a very, very, very long time since Kel & I have been on a holiday together. Can you imagine, our last trip was in 2004 & it was not even to somewhere far! We just went to Ipoh to visit Kel's friend who had moved there for business.

What makes this holiday even more special is coz Daryl is coming with us for the very 1st time. Finally, there's a chop on his new passport. :p

Our flight - SQ 221 will be departing from Terminal 3. Thus, we check in early so that we can explore the new terminal. Another reason is coz we had requested for a wheelchair for Kel's mum who had difficulty walking. Thus, we need to be there early as we would be the 1st to board the aircraft.

The new terminal is huge... We had a great time exploring it, especially the duty free shops. :p Kel bought liquor, cigarettes, cigars & a new cologne while I bought a new perfume.





















































I took the above 2 pics of Daryl in front of a water feature while Kel is still shopping in the duty free shops. Now I know how much attraction the duty free shops have on Kel. *faint*

Soon, it was time to board the aircraft. When we reached the boarding gate, to our horror, we saw that a lot of passengers had already boarded the aircraft. This means that we would have to wait till all the passangers had boarded before we could do so as Kel's mum had to be wheeled to her seat. Boy, we were very fed up with the error that SIA had made. Luckily, the air stewardress told us that we could board 1st while she take care of Kel's mum. When all the other passengers had boarded, she would then wheeled Kel's mum in.

When we were all settled in, we took some pics for remembrance as we are taking the A380 aircraft for the very 1st time! Our seats nos. are 38D, E, F & G.



































Me & Daryl





















The 10.6 inch personal widescreen LCD - the largest in economy class with 1,000 entertainment options. We had a lot of fun exploring the various options. It features 100 movies, including the latest blockbusters, more than 180 TV shows, 700 over CDs, over 20 radio channnels & action packed 3D games.

At 8.35pm, the aircraft took to the skies & departed Singapore. Daryl fell asleep soon after the aircraft ascended as he didn't take his afternoon nap. However, he didn't sleep well as I think that he's not used to the humming sound of the aircraft engine. Thus, he kept waking up.



































Me & a grouchy & sleepy Daryl





















Kel & his mum



































Daryl & Kel enjoying their inflight entertainment





















Daryl's snack. It was his 2nd meal of the flight. He had a great time eating this as he didn't get to get his 1st meal which was supposed 2 be his dinner. He had fallen asleep when they served his meal. Thus, Kel & I polished it off. :p

















































A full & satisfied Daryl with Kel watching their shows again

The flight was supposed to land at Sydney at 5.55am. However, the flight was delayed till 6.45am as the aircraft had to circle around Sydney's airport for a while as there were too many planes landing at Sydney's airport. We were incredulous as this is the 1st time that we had heard of this. That was not the end of our woes...

2nd, as Daryl didn't sleep well on the flight, he wanted to be carried instead of walking by himself when we disembarked from the aircraft. When we suggested to him that he sits in Kel's mum's lap, he refused. In addition, as Sydney is 2 hours ahead of Singapore, it means that it's only about 5am in Singapore time. At this time, he's usually snuggled in his bed. Therefore, he's super duper grouchy.

3rd, I kena the flu when I was in the aircraft. It could be that the aircraft was too cold for me or I had somehow kena the virus on board. As I didn't sleep during the flight, I guessed that my resistance is lowered. The result... I kept sneezing when we landed. Judging by my past history, it's going to be a while for me to recover. What a way to start our vacation...

4th, the airport is way too small for the no. of passengers who are using it. Thus, there was a very long queue of passengers who are queuing up to clear customs. A long queue which moves very slowly + a super grouchy & restless toddler who didn't have enough sleep = an explosive situation. Kel lost his patience with Daryl & gave him a smack. I had to soothe & comfort the notti boy.

5th, we helped Pat to bring over 2 pieces of her luggage as her luggage was way overweight when she went back. For some unknown reason, 1 of her luggage which she had packed into a box, had to be retrieved from another baggage claim area which is at the other end of the airport from where we were waiting for our luggage. Thus, Kel had to make his way among the huge no. of travellers to retrieve the box. Boy, was he pissed...

6th, Pat told us to wait for her at a cafe which is on the right side from where we had exit the customs. After 20 minutes of waiting, I sensed that something is amiss as the waiting time was way too long. When I called her after we had cleared the customs, she told me that she's already outside the airport. Thus, I called her again & found out that she was not able to locate us. Apparently, we had waited at the wrong cafe as there were 2 cafes in the airport. The cafe which she mentioned was at the other end of the airport! She told us to wait while she & Sam walked over to find us. After 5 minutes, I spied Sam & called him. What a relief...

Our relief was short lived. It was a very long walk from the cafe to the carpark where Pat & Sam had parked their cars. As we had 2 trolleys, Kel & I had to push 1 each while Sam helped Kel's mum along. Luckily, I managed to persuade Daryl to be a good boy. Thus, I can hold his right hand while I used my right hand to manoveur the trolley. It was not easy but I managed to do it while sneezing all the time due to the cold. What a sight we must have been. At the carpark, I was very relieved to see Pat. She helped me to push my trolley while I held Daryl's hand.

We reached their cars & loaded our luggage in. Sam went to work while Pat drove us back to their house. It was a very long drive of about 1.5 hours as we encountered the morning traffic. Daryl & I were so tired that we fell asleep during the ride.

After this experience, now I understand why Changi Airport is always voted as the best airport by the travellers. After a long & tiring flight, all we wanted to do was to clear the customs & go to Pat & Sam's house to rest. However, it was not to be as we had to deal with long queues, waiting times, frustrations, etc. Now we appreciate Singapore's efficiency.

I was woken up by Kel who told us that we had reached Cherrybrook Village Shopping Centre. This's the nearest shopping centre from Pat & Sam's house. Pat wanted to stop here for a while so that we can have our breakfast & she can buy some groceries just in case we are cooking dinner.

We stopped at this cafe - Zest Patisserie for breakfast. While Kel & Pat was ordering our breakfast, I took pics.





















Daryl giving me the 'look'





















Giving me a very big smile when I told him to say 'cheese'. What a cheeky boy...

After breakfast, we went inside the shopping centre. While Kel, Pat & their mum are shopping for groceries, Daryl & I took the chance to explore the centre. Daryl was very happy when he spied a car kiddy ride & wanted to sit in it.





















See how happy he was

When they were done, we left the shopping centre & went to Pat & Sam's house. It was such a relief... We went to our room. I unpack our some stuff while Kel bathe Daryl. Then it was my turn. After our shower, we were knocked out. Poor Kel didn't get a chance to nap after his shower as he had to accompany Pat to rent a wheelchair for their mum. Nevermind, he will get his chance later in the night. :p

2nd Day

Yesterday night was a nightmare for me. Coz of the ulcers in his mouth, Daryl was not able to suck his thumb when he sleeps, as per his normal routine. Thus he kept waking up in the middle of the night to cry. I was woken up a few times by his cries. The worst thing is, he couldn't be comforted by petting which was what I normally did. I had to carry him in my lap & pet him back to sleep. *Yawn*

In addition, Kel was of not much help. Reason, he had fell down on Fri night, thus the left side of his rib cage hurts like hell. He can't carry heavy stuff as it would aggravate his pain. 1 of the heavy stuff which he can't carry, happens to be his baobei. *faint* How bad can things be? Dr Chua had told to take it easy for the time being. If the pain still persists on Wed, he would have to go back to see Dr Chua again & probably go for an X-ray to ascertain whether he had broken any ribs.

I took some pics of Daryl's blisters. As you can see, his case is indeed a pretty mild 1.



































The blisters on his mouth





















The only blister on his left hand





















The blisters on his groin area

Daryl's appetite is not so good today. He only ate 1/2 of his normal portions & he told me that he's "bao bao" already. In addition, he's also not drinking much water. I had to resort to bribing him with his fav Pokka Green Tea so that he can drink more water.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that he would recover soon.

HFMD

This morning, I woke up to find that the small pimples around Daryl's mouth had turned into blisters. In addition, I also found ulcers in his mouth, 1 blister on his left hand & some on his groin area. Worried, I went out of our room to find Kel to inform him about it. We were afraid that it might be the Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease or HFMD in short.

We decided to visit Dr Chua to confirm our diagnosis. At Dr Chua's clinic, our worst fears were confirmed. Daryl is indeed suffering from HFMD! Luckily his case is a mild 1 as he's not having any fever. Dr Chua prescribed an antibotic & a cream for Daryl to apply. In addition, Daryl was given a MC for 7 days.

I think that it's going to be a long 7 days... Hopefully Daryl can get well soon. Seeing him in such pain really breaks my heart!

Colour Colour

After dinner, we were sitting on the sofa to watch TV when Daryl told me that he wants to 'colour colour'. Thus, I took out the kids menu & the crayons which I took back yesterday from Seah Street Deli & gave them to him. The kids menu & the crayons were given to Daryl when we had lunch there yesterday with Esther, Nicole & Janet.

I showed Kel what Daryl had 'coloured' in the kids menu. However, blur me forgot to take a pic for remembrance. Then Daryl asked me to 'take out the crayons' as he wanted to 'colour colour' already. I took them out of the box & Daryl sat down to create his masterpiece.














































































See how cheeky he is. When he realised that I am taking his pics, he gave me these funny gestures & expressions.



































Daryl's masterpiece... FYI, the funny shapes & lines do represent somethings. E.g. the 2 'rectangles' somewhere on the top left of the drawing is a bus & a truck. I am surprised that he even knows how to draw them. :p

After creating his masterpiece, he took a 'break' on the sofa. Then he told me that he wants to 'cheese'. So I took these pics.









































































Kel & I were in stitches when we saw these poses. :p