homemade gifts for Stacy's teachers

Was busy for the pass 6 weeks as my in-laws came over to France from Singapore to visit us. Brought them around Toulouse, Barcelona and lourdes. I think they enjoyed it or at least I enjoyed myself. Haha.

Today is the last day of school for Stacy before Christmas and to welcome the New Year.  Last year,  during this period of time, I remembered was our first 2 months in a foreign country - we were lonely, cold and homesick. This year we somehow seem to be more prepared, with our Christmas tree and some decoration. And we are going out of town after Christmas! Yippee!

I decided to have Stacy made soaps and cornstarch puppies (yes, its made of corn and we purchased a whole tub of cornstarch building blocks from a toy shop).

 2 puppies made from cornstarch material

beautiful soaps for the teachers

Hope Stacy's teachers like It.

Conversation with Stacy

During lunch today. ..

Me: Stacy, mummy so sick still has to bring you to play at the indoor playground. Thought I told you that mummy needs to rest to be well but you insisted you want to go.  And then mummy also hurt her thumb and still have to cook for you and Erica.

Stacy: (look here, look there)

Me: why you bully your mummy?

Stacy: but you're always bully me... today is my turn.

When your mood are down, buy wall stickers

Recently the kids kept getting sick and then recovered and then sick again. This has been taking a toll on me and Ken. As expats with no help from parents or friends,  both of us couldn't afford to get sick. Going to see a doctor is a dread...with language barrier and having to drive there with 2 sick kiddos, drive us nuts.

So in order to stay sane and positive,  I went to buy a wall stickers - online shopping! My favourite past time.  I chanced upon a lovely sticker on the website and thought this will be perfect for the living room area.

Tada!

I got it from http://www.wall-art.com/en/Wall-Stickers/Inspirational-Words/
Whenever I come down from the stairs or when I come back home and I see these words,  I feel so much better. Totally in love with it!

Hope it give me courage to deal with insanity around me.

My experience driving in Toulouse

Well, after reading the headline, you probably be yawning and thinking, 'so?'. Haha...

I got my driving license 10years ago. It didn't comes easy. I have failed don't know how many times that I couldn't even remember, changed driving instructors and even changing the venues of the learning routes. All these during my polytechnic days, I kept my driving lessons a secret from my parents. I don't know why I did that but I'm glad I did, consider the number of times I failed...

After I gotten my license, I did not have the opportunity to drive a car anymore as buying a car in Singapore is so so very expensive. With my salary, I couldn't afford it. My teenage dream was crushed.

Before I came to Toulouse, I have 3 lessons of driving refresher course.  Not going to help. So when we came to France, I was even more shocked to realize that the cars are mostly manual transmission. I did took manual car license in Singapore but I tell you the narrow road lanes, driving on the left hand side and slopes on most traffic lights junctions were a nightmare for me. Ken was very encouraging, he leased 2 cars (for him to drive to work and the other for me to bring the kids around). For nearly 7 months, I did not even drive the car (ok, once and it was horrible experience for Ken). He thought very hard about it and decided to check out the market for an auto transmission car. We are in luck, my car came from Spain and is semi-auto. honestly, I wonder why they can't just make a full auto car and what is semi-auto? Haha

So here, I am driving the car around speed of 50km/hr. It's the correct speed when I'm driving around neighborhood. At the moment, driving on highways, is a no-no for me. I guess, if I'm alone without the children, I don't feel as scare. I don't want to put them in danger, also their noises, crying and talking sometimes distract my concentration. There will always be a first time but I need to gain confidence first.

Just yesterday, I had an accident, luckily it was not serious but I got a very nasty flat tire. I was on the way to Stacy's school to pick her up, Erica was with me. I was driving along a curvy road near a construction site, suddenly, 'BAM'! The car swayed to the other side of road with oncoming cars coming at me and horning me, causing me to freak out and I steered too near to a kerb and then I stopped the car. I came out to find a flat tire on the front passager side. At that moment, I'm really at a lost. Can I move the car? Who should I call? Erica is with me, who is going to help us? Stacy is still waiting for me at school. This is lunch hour, nobody is around and I couldn't call any mechanic at this time. Maybe I can call a taxi? Oh, well, it's lunch time.

I called Ken to fetch Stacy. A kind passerby came and usher me to move the car to a safer place. I took Erica and walked back home. Luckily, it took me 10mins to walk back. Do you know, unlike Singapore, we have to change the tire ourselves. Singapore is truly blessed to have 24hrs car services throughout the island.

Ken came back with Stacy and went out to change the tire himself . My hero.

Oh yes, my teenage dream? Is to drive a really big family car so that I could drive my parents and siblings around and bring them to place of interests and nice restaurants once in awhile. Ok.... Until the day I have the money to buy that kind of car in Singapore and to drive safely.

my car, came with an adorable model. Haha

Symptoms of hand-foot-mouth disease in France!

Since Saturday, Stacy started to develop rashes on her arms. She was ok in the morning, then we decided to bring the children out for a drive. Stacy came out of the car with rashes or red spots on her arms. We brushed it off, thinking it was just the heat from the weather. When we were having dinner, she felt cold and feverish. We again brushed it off, thinking she was just tired and needed to sleep. Sunday came, no fever but some tiny blisters developed on her sole of her foot. We thought she recovered from fever, she should be fine. Went to school on Monday, more rashes on arms and legs and her blisters on one foot seem worse. I told teacher she was a little cranky as she felt pain on her foot. And silly me, I kept thinking it was her shoes that caused the blisters.

Today, as usual, she went to school. Stacy even told me she was happy to be going to school. Ken and I already thought we should take her to the doctor after her school and see what the doctor say. When I picked her up around noon, I was shocked to see her in a tantrum, crying loudly (I mean, really loud and all other children came out to see the commotion) and even rolling on the carpark ground. Yes, I was embarrassed as so many people were watching us and the teacher kept asking her to be quiet. But at the back of my mind, I had a feeling she could be in pain.

Her appointment with the doctor was at 1.30pm (the receptionist told me on phone in French, of course). Ken came home during his lunch hours so that he could drive us to the doctor's. Reached but was told on phone by doctor this time round that consultation hour was at 3.15pm. Sigh... Maybe my French was that bad and I mistook what the receptionist had said. Ken went back office and I had to drive the kids to the doctor at 3.15pm.

So glad to see the doctor but he could only speak French. I brought a little book of basic French to utter a few words on the conditions of Stacy. Hehe... It was really difficult for me, I broke out in sweat.

Doctor suspected Stacy has hand-foot-mouth disease (hfmd) and said it was contagious but could resume school on Thursday. Wow, that was fast! Do you know in Singapore, hfmd) is a serious thing? Apparently, It got so serious, some schools closed down because a lot of children got infected. Toys and furniture have to be sanitize, children's hands are wash very often during these period of time. Children infected have to be at home, no party, no going out, some serious cases have to be admitted to hospital and even parents got infected by their children. Seriously, i do not know much about this hfmd but I know you will get fever, blisters on tongue, hands and legs. And it is painful, you can't eat and drink.

But in France, I heard from a friend, it's minor, closing down of schools are unheard of. Some people have not even heard of hfmd. Hehe, it make Singapore sounds like a third world country. I blame it on the weather and climate. Singapore is humid (more than 95% humidity) and hot, a breeding ground for germs and viruses.

        Her arms covered with red spots

blisters on her foot

Sores on her tongue

... stacy is still energetic. Drawing her face with a magic pen and said she is an elephant. And went on to draw on Erica's face and said she is a monkey. Lol.

I just hope Stacy recover soon. Now Erica is also feeling feverish.

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in Toulouse

Today is the chinese Mid-Autumn festival. I was a little homesick...

Every year, I will celebrate by going home to my Parents' house, have dinner with them, 'admire the full moon' and eat mooncakes with my family. 

Chinese people believe a full moon is a symbol of peace, prosperity, and family reunion. On Mid-Autumn Festival night the moon is supposed to be the brightest and fullest, it is often known as the"Day of Reunion" . 

When I went back to Singapore in July, I bought some paper lanterns and my auntie gave the children batteries operated musical lanterns to bring back to Toulouse. I'm glad I did.

Paper lanterns bought from Singapore

Me showing Erica a Paper lantern with a Lighted candle in it

A confused looking Stacy holding on to batteries operated lanterns

Photo of mooncakes and other goodies taken by my brother in Singapore

Photos taken by my brother in Singapore

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 

Preparing School for 3 years old

Summer holiday is ending and we are now preparing stuffs for Stacy to go to school. In France, children go to school at 3 years old. Unlike Singapore, children or even toddlers go to school before  they are even 3. We are anxious parents. Haha

We managed to enroll Stacy in an English and French speaking Montessori school as we thought it will benefit her better as we will still need to go back Singapore after ken's work contract ends. The school fees of cause come with a price - yes, price is money.  We have to scrimp a lot to put her in this school. In France, the privilege of studying in a public French school for young children is free. Private French school is what I heard is around 100 plus Euros. International school is out of question for us as it is very costly. We are definitely lucky to get something 'decent', speak both English and French and 6mins drive from where we stay! Yippee!

So we received this email from the school telling us what to prepare and bring on the first day of school. I'm not sure whether it is like that for most schools but definitely Singapore school system for young children are not so complicated ... Or maybe we are just being 'pampered' in Singapore? I always thought that children just need to show up in school and that's it? No. Haha. Read the list below:

For all the children :

• Slippers, marked with the child's name
• Rain boots, marked with the child's name
• Sneakers and sweat pants for P.E. to be left at school, marked with the child's name
• 2 boxes of tissues
• 2 kitchen rolls

For the 2/3 years old:

• 1 packet of baby wipes
• 1  packet of cotton wool - large square
• 1 napkin with elastic, marked with the child's name
• A change of clothes
• For those who nap, 1 blanket and 1 pillow, marked with the child's name
• 1 small notebook

For the 3/6 years old:

• 2 packets of baby wipes
• 1 napkin with elastic, marked with the child's name
• A change of clothes
• For those who nap, 1 blanket and 1 pillow, marked with the child's name
• 1 plastic folder - A4
• 1 blue plastic folder with plastic sleeves
• 1 red plastic folder with plastic sleeves

Ok, weekends is shopping for the above items. Not that we don't have some of these items but things like slippers, rain boots, sneakers and sweat pants that need to be left in school, surely we need to get extra so that Stacy can wear these during non-school days. I guess stationary shops will run out of blue and red plastic folders as ALL the children needed to buy this. Hehe. 

Another thing on the email, which is very important. It also mentioned buying your child a school insurance and presenting the documents on the first day of school. What?! We got to buy our own insurance? Ok, in Singapore school system, during registration, when the schools request for the child's birth cert, health booklet, etc, they are also using it to buy the child's insurance for you. So we only knew about this recently and only a few days to settle the insurance part before school open on Tuesday! Aiyo!

Stroller or baby carrier?

Today a friend asked whether the use of stroller in Singapore is better or using a baby carrier to get around is a better choice. She asked these questions as it arises from a petition going on the internet about allowing unfolded stroller up into buses. In Singapore, a lot of people take the public transports so at times, it can be really crowded. Of course, the bus company rules that stroller (except wheelchair) must be folded before getting on the bus. Now, when a mother hands are full with shopping bags, carrying the baby, tap the ezlink card, etc etc - the stroller better be a one-hand easy fold version.

When Stacy was born, we used a baby carrier more than the stroller. Singapore has become very crowded with people and pushing a stroller around, especially in a shopping mall is never easy. You got to wait for the lift to go to another floor and the mall could be 4, 5 level high, which means waiting time could be long and when the lift door open, it is crowded with people.  And when Stacy grew too heavy for the baby carrier, husband and I will take turn to carry her - once in awhile use the stroller. So that's why our first stroller was still very new looking.

After Erica was born, we bought a 2nd baby carrier and another easy one-hand fold stroller (we decided to give away the first stroller). Getting around Singapore, in the car, taxi, bus or train - baby carrier still seem to be the easiest for us but not our back and shoulder. Haha.

Until we come to France, every parents seem to be using the strollers. Baby carriers, only seen on foreigners like me. Lol. Everyone or most people have a car, getting around from one point to another with kids were easier. Just pack the stroller in your own car and go. As buses are not as crowded like Singapore, unfolded strollers are welcome on the bus and even trains. I see that it make sense too, especially during Autumn/winter, you will be wearing thick padded winter coat, it is abit uncomfortable to strap babies in the baby carriers.

So I started investing in a double stroller - baby sits infront and toddler sits behind with the option to stand too. Very sturdy stroller, very easy to maneuver the children around. Bad side, is that it is a little bulky to fit in the car. Now another problem comes, Baby Erica has grown and wants to walk on her own and wants to do what Stacy does. Both fight for the seat behind because she can stand on it too. So my grocery time or going to the park with them can take ages to reach....

I use the baby carrier to carry Erica when I take the bus and Stacy will walk. Sometimes, Stacy is really tired and wanted to fall asleep as the bus journey is long but I have to force her to walk home. I felt sorry for her and regret not bring the stroller. But the bus that I usually take, need to climb a flight of stairs, cross the bridge and then reach the bus stop. There is simply no ramp for the stroller. Seriously, it's for the fit and able people or you find an alternate route.

So stroller or baby carrier for me? I simply have no idea which is better

Singapore vs Toulouse

Was on a holiday back to Singapore for 3 weeks with my family after 9 months away. Haiz... Time passes and now we are back to Toulouse again. I'm really homesick n misses my parents, siblings, aunt and Koffee. Even my very cool husband misses his parents too and keeps telling me he must be getting old. Haha

Photo of my beloved

I miss the food in Singapore. The convenient of buying food just across the street from my house and oh well, so cheap at SGD3 for a packet of chicken rice. The food centres close late too - nearly midnight. Means you can get your craving satisfied in the middle of the night.

Here, hungry in the middle of night? Cook it yourself. Hehe. Seriously, I think my weight went down after I stay in France. In Singapore, shopping malls and everything else mostly open everyday, especially weekends (it is the most busiest). In Toulouse, shops and malls are close on Sunday. Well, they emphasize on 'family time'. Some shops even have lunch hour - will be close for 1.5hr or so. Most play areas (example, indoor playground) are only open on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. As Wednesdays are a non school day for young kids. When my family first came to Toulouse, we got a shock when we go shopping and to run errands. We took awhile to get use to their lifestyle and respect it. Fortunately, our favourite pizza shop is open on Sunday. Yippee!

I would say if in doubt of the opening hours of the places you like to go, check out their websites or phone them before leaving the house to avoid disappointment.

The great things about living in France,  we get to drive out to other parts of france and even to Spain. Travelling to Europe contries are so much nearer now!

Oven baked Toulousain sausages

I love sausages! So naturally,  now that I'm in Toulouse France, I must try their Toulousain sausages. I tried the one at a restaurant when I first came to find a place to stay. I must say it's really good. The sausages are pork with salt and pepper. You can have it grilled or in a cassoulet. Some people find it even more enjoyable served with red wine. I'm an alcohol person but I prefer drinking beer more than anything else. Haha. 

Today, I decided to cook one in a different version.  I wanted my sausages to be oven baked and with some sauce to go with. I don't like it to be too dry.

Ingredients

1. 4 pieces of Toulousain sausages (I bought mine at a supermarket) 
2. 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3. 1 onion, chopped
4. A handful of cherry tomatoes ( I love to add more tomatoes but I run out of it as Erica keeps eating it
5. Olive oil
6. Balsamic vinegar
7. Coarse salt
8. Black pepper

Methods

1. Pre heat oven to 190 degree Celsius
2. In an oven baked tray, threw in garlic, onion, tomatoes and sausages 
3. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar 
4. Mix well and then place sausages at the top of all ingredients
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
6. Oven bake for 20-30mins
7. Done! 

Yes, I chewed off abit of the sausage as I could not resist the temptation. *sheepishly*

I served it with steaming hot white rice! Yum!

Work and breastfeeding - can it be done?

A friend talked about her breastfeeding days to me today. She fully breastfed her baby for 3months and partial (breastmilk and formula milk) till 6 months. During those time, she has people who 'condemned' her for giving up breastfeeding. My story is opposite from her, I gets 'condemn' for breastfeeding my 15 months old child till now. I breastfed my older child till 18 months old. In France, most mothers breastfeed their babies until 6 months old. It is extremely rare to find a mother still breastfeeding a baby beyond that age.

Now, I don't convince anyone to breastfeed their child. I only offer advise on breastfeeding if my friends come to me for help. It is entirely the mothers' choice and decision on how they want to feed their child.

When I used to be working, I pumped at work every 2-3hrs. You need very understanding colleagues and bosses who are 'open' with you missing from the office to do your pumping. Of course, sometimes it's better to let them know so they don't think you are off to go shopping somewhere. Hah! How I wish. Some companies offer a nursing room but my previous company do not have one so I used any empty rooms that were available (meeting rooms, empty office cubicle, toilets, storerooms).  I always have this black bag that I lugged around.

I was very fortunate to receive a hand-me-down Medela Pump In Style from a cousin. So I save money from buying an expensive pump. It's cost about SGD$600-$700 at that time. It's a very expensive investment but it definitely save a lot of time pumping and very effective in getting your breastmilk out without the pain. At that time, my pumping schedule was like this:

• 6am - Pump milk for 15-30mins. Prepare for work. 
• 7.30am - Breastfed baby before leaving the house.
• 10.30am - Pump milk
• 12noon - Pump during lunch time.
• 3pm - Pump milk 
• 5.30pm or 6pm - Pump milk before knocking off
• 8pm or 9pm - breastfed baby

Sometimes, I have meetings or have to travel outside of office, I will have to change my pumping schedule or even brought my pump with me if I'm not in the office. Yes, I do get engorgement when meetings overrun or even fever when I did not empty out the breastmilk a few times when I am rushing for time. During those period of time, I drank a lot of water, ate oatmeals and mother's milk tea - traditional medicinals to increase my milk supply. I still continues to eat my pre-natal pills and especially calcium supplements. 

Good luck to breastfeeding mothers and want-to-breastfeed mums out there. End of the day, even if you can't breastfeed, you are still your child's best mum in the world!

How to cook mussels - quick and easy

Recently, Ken has been craving for oysters and mussels. And today, we bought 2 big packets of muimat a grocery shop. They were really cheap at 4 euro a pack. Woohoo!

My method of cooking are usually fast and must still taste reasonable. Luckily, the man is not a picky eater. 

Method:

1. Washed the mussels
2. Chopped up some onions and garlic 
3. Put the mussels, chopped garlic and onions in a wok (you can use a pot too, as long as there is a lid to cover it)
4. Filled the wok with a 1/4 cup of beer (hehe, I have a lot of beer in my fridge. You can also use water or wine. Do not immerse mussels in water like how we do potatoes, as the mussels will not be cook this way. The steam will open the shells instead)
5. Heat up the stove and steam the mussels on high heat for 5mins or until you see steam coming out from under the lid. 
6. Once you see that the shells are all open, it's ready! Try not to overlook the mussels. Finally, I gave the mussels a stirred with a spatula to make sure there are coated with the beer, garlic and onions. 
7. Serve.

Ready to eat! Yummy!

From tthe photo, it doesn't seem to have alot of water (or beer); at the bottom of the mussels. In fact, there was lots of water (from the mussels) so do not put too much water, 1/4 cup will do. Enjoy!

Relocating - being the expats in Toulouse France - Part 3

Before I left Singapore to go to France, a good friend advised me to do some 'networking' and sourced for other Singaporeans or English speaking  people in Toulouse France. That's what I did. I went to some expat blogs and starting searching... And yes! I was really fortunate that I found one and she started introducing me to other Singaporean friends here. I  am really grateful for that. It definitely make me feel better and not so home sick.

I also started to go to some indoor plays or parks to find English speaking mothers like me and hopefully we can do play date with their children. Imagine eavesdropping on people's conversation to see if they are English speaker. Haha. Well, I just got to be thick-skinned - if not I have no friends here and I'll go insane.

I heard about a website call mom & tots. They are groups of English speaking mothers who meet often,  together with their children. One day, I'll go join them... Once I could drive well in Toulouse. Oops!

The well-behave kids in France

I always find it amazing and yet curious that French children are very well behave. What I'm saying is that they know how to sit properly at the dinner table,  speak softly and politely,  say 'thank you' (or 'merci' in French), use the word 'please' (or sil vous plait in French), etc. Even babies could sit quietly in their stroller for 1.5hrs - 2hrs while the parents eat in peace.

Alright, it make my children seem like monsters in France public area. With their shouting,  screaming,  crying, runnning and walking around during meal time, make me want to bury my head in the ground.

In Singapore,  I felt completely at ease when I bring them to restaurants, even with their loud voices or walking around after they finished their meals. Nobody care or seem aware of it.

When I arrived in France, I brought my children to a restaurant. BIG mistake. Stacy talked loudly (young children can't control their excitement)and Erica was crying (as she wanted her nap). Everyone in that restaurant were staring at us! Not sure whether they pitied us (Ken and I) or we were disturbing their peaceful meals. To make matter worse, food served to us were by courses, appetiser,  main course, dessert and then follow by coffee. That 1hr seem like forever! !! We quickly finished our food and left, not forgetting a little bit more tips.

I asked my friends who have children in France about how they get their kids to behave in public. Some said that the misbehave kids used to get spanked (now, they told me French people don't spank their kids due to child abuse regulations, how true I don't know) . Babies, they use the 'cry it out method'. Parents don't pick up their crying babies the instant they cry but they adopt the 'wait and see' method. Which means babies learn to smoothe themselves to sleep.

Ok, cry it out method doesn't work for my children. I thought I tried once to see whether Erica can smoothe herself to sleep when she was a baby. For that half an hour (which seem like forever) she never stopped crying. So loud was her crying, I think police might come knocking on our door. And I felt so bad, I think babies cry because they need something and they can't talk so crying are their communication to us. I also read somewhere that babies who cry and who their caregiver pick them up to comfort them, they grew up feeling more secure. I stand by this theory.  I can't bear to see any babies cry and not being pick up and finding out what has cause the discomfort.

So there are really no misbehave French kids? Another friend told me, there are definitely the misbehave kids, its just that we never see them. Their parents never bring them to a restaurant till they are older. They engage a babysitter for a few hours so the parents can enjoy a nice meals together.  The well behave kids he told me, the parents start teaching appropriate behaviour when they are really small and are always consistent in how they want them to behave. Well, easy to say that,  but it's really not the same with every child, right.

I'm still struggling with my kids. I just see that the older Stacy is, she seems to control her temper melt down better. And also before entering a French restaurant,  I would ask whether they are ok with having children dining there. Please note that most restaurants do not have a high chair for babies and toddlers. Either you bring your own booster seat or a stroller. Sometimes these are what I miss in SIngapore - child friendly restaurants.

Playmobil house - model no. 5302

I chanced upon this playmobil house on the internet and thought that these will be a great investment for the children. My mind was on one thing when I bought the full sets - only when the children are good, I will add in characters and other house themes (one at a time). This is one of the methods that I use when they demonstrate appropriate behaviour. Please note that the house only comes with 2 characters, flowers and some small accessories.  The rest of the characters have to be bought separately.

They really love the house very much. It took me 2 nights to build the house. The instructions given was easy to follow. I didn't give them those tiny accessories as I'm afraid Erica would swallow it.  The playmobil playhouse is actually for children aged 4 and above. I will wait until Erica is around that age and then give them the smaller accessories.

Well, I love the playhouse too.

Relocating - being the expats in Toulouse France - Part 2

We took KLM airline to Toulouse France as we wanted to 'break up' this long haul flight to stay a night in Amsterdam and to recover from jet lag (for the sake of our young children). We never regret it. The place is nice, friendly people and they speak English!

The next day, we arrived at a service apartment in the downtown of Toulouse to meet my in-laws. They flew in a separate flight. Yes, they came with us to help us with these difficult time for 6 weeks. I really appreciate them!

Staying downtown helps, as you get to see so many things, so many people and learn how to use the public transports. The only bad thing is that it can get really noisy , especially when you want to sleep at night. We didn't move straight into the rented house that we choose as the house has not finished its renovation. So we ended up staying in the service apartment for 2.5 weeks. The saddest and anxious days of my life! My in-laws we're be flying off in another 3 weeks time, our shipment have not arrived and we are running out of money!!!

Well, you may wonder, didn't the company give us any settlement allowance before hand? Yes, they do but really not enough when you actually convert base on the exchange rate.

Tips - before you relocate, ask for these from your company (if you can. Certainly the requests are not greedy):

1. If you have to put up in a service apartment for a while, make sure your company pays for it first. We got a nasty experience, we thought the company will handle the service apartment fees but we got a shock when the hotel staff asked us for money and said if we do not pay up now, we have to leave by tomorrow. Two weeks of stay for 2000 euro!! It's not a fantastic apartment mind you. We cleaned the apartment ourself (cleaner comes once a week). 
2. If your house is not furnished, make sure your company give you the cash first to buy the necessities. Do a calculation on the average cost of the furniture and household appliances in that country. If you pay first using your money that you brought with you ( which you are not going to bring so much hard cash) and then claim from your company, it can take weeks to pay you back. 
3. Open up a bank account in France once you are here. It's easier than trying to do it from your county. This also helps to speed up your company to pay you back the money for claiming purposes. French people prefer to pay using a debit card, so having a bank account set up, will definitely be more convenient. 
4. You need a car, France is big and calling a taxi is very very expensive. You can cry by just staring at the meter. If you have children, it's good to have 2 cars. One for the husband to drive to work. And the other for wife to send the kids to school and for emergency purposes. Please note that certain places are not safe even if there are public transport available. If the company could pay for the cost of a car will be good or have them to pay you the car allowance first. All these paying, can really eat up all your savings. 
5. If no car, the public transports are good too. You need to purchase their bus or train tickets. The funny thing is that you need coins to buy a ticket from the ticket machine, they don't accept cash notes. We like to buy the 10 trips tickets for 12.90 euro (so you need 12.90 euros in coins) Or if you have a France bank account, you may use your debit card to purchase the ticket for a trip or you can also buy an annual ticket. But when you just arrive in France, you might not have set up any bank account yet.

I will add in further notes if there are other important things that I think of. Of cos don't ask for the sky and want to live like a king. Be reasonable and what is needed for your family. This is more important. 

Relocating - being the expats in Toulouse France - Part 1

I keep telling myself that I must put up this post for people who are relocating , especially to France. I am not an expert but I just write what I went through or want I know.

When Ken got offered a position in Toulouse France, we only have about 4 months to prepare and go! I got to quit my beloved job, transferred our maid ( which truly upset her), packed up and told friends we are leaving, learn french language(crash course), etc etc.

The thing that come to my mind was to buy things that maybe France won't have. I mean, you will definitely be homesick, you need to have something from your hometown to keep you sane, right? I went crazy with shopping, online shopping too. I bought chinese herbal soup in packets form, winter clothes(Singapore is hot, you don't need them), chili sauce, noodles, 3in1 coffee if you like to drink coffee(very important!!), chrysanthemum tea, red tea, similac milk powder (we could not get the same brand in France so I bought 6 big cans for Stacy, merries diapers (I swear merries diapers is the best) etc etc. mostly food and household items. I did not buy any household appliances except to bring what I already have, as France uses 2pins plug, we uses 3pins plug.

The challenge came when we have to pack what we need for the luggages. The rest of the items (which we think we might not use that much), we shipped it. Shipment took 6weeks to reach France. So do not ship over important documents which you will need when you arrive in that county. Unless your shipment comes almost the same time, you reach France. We got not much time so we only managed to ship our items 1week before we were scheduled to fly.

 We have 5 luggages and 2 hand carry for 2 adults and 2 children. We arrived during the colder months in Autumn.
In our luggages,
- mostly long sleeves clothes
- winter clothes (shawls, gloves, beanies, winter shoes, etc)
- jeans /long pants
- children toys (we have to bring quite a few as 6weeks they will have no other toys until the shipment arrive)
- English books (children books, your favorite books, very important!)
- phone chargers
-universal plugs
- baby and toddler's food and snacks (we brought quite abit as France did not have those from USA but their own brands)
- diapers
- milk powder
- toiletries
- medications (for children and babies especially. France have their own brand but if you prefer your own
- documents ( children's birth cert, our marriage cert, and you need them to be translated to French, etc.)
- I will add the list if I remember anything important

In part 2, I'll blog about when we arrived in France and things we need or do.

Dinner in France

After my bad experience of bringing my kids to a restaurant in France, I told myself I would not bring them to a restaurant (except asian restaurants and fast food joints) here anymore till they are older. When we first went to a restaurant here, as usual my kids talked loudly, cried, laughed and wanted to walk around - we got stared at by other patrons (disapproving stares actually).

Ken and I felt embarrassed. You mean it's not normal for children to do that!??  Somehow, the children in France are really behaving well at the tables or we see no children at the restaurants. Really? I guess l'll do more 'research' and talk about it on my blog later.

Anyway, my friend invited us for a dinner last night at an Italian restaurant. I'm like ' you sure? I think I better don't bring my children'. She insisted and said that the restaurant is open by her Italian friend and it is perfectly ok to have children running around and making noises. I felt better and I am glad I went with my children.

Amazingly, my kids behaved (with some hiccups of cos'). Or maybe we are less stressful. I am really happy that my friend made these arrangement and so Ken and I got to be in a nice restaurant with the children again!

Easy peasy Nutella cupcakes

I love chocolate! I could eat them everyday but I got to watch my weight too. Agh!
Today when the children were taking their nap, I decided to make some cupcakes for their tea time later. And I need to make them real fast! Once they wake up, means no time for me, I got to read, teach, play and cook their meals. Busy busy.

I searched the net and found this receipe which only require 3 ingredients!
- 2 eggs
- 1cup of Nutella (I used a table spoon to measure instead, about 16 scoops)
- 10 tbs of flour
Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius (I preheat to 165 as my oven is force-fan). Whisk the eggs until smooth. Add in flour and Nutella till well blended. Scoop into cupcake moulds. Oven bake for 12mins or until toothpick comes out clean.
Voila!

Yummy! My kids love it and that's more important!

kiddos' telescope made from empty milk bottle

Everyday or every other day (if I'm lazy), i will tried my best to do arts and crafts with the children. Today, we made a telescope using stickers!  Stacy has alot of stickers and she keeps asking me if she could use these stickers on cupboards, walls, etc and I won't let her. Haha.
Its an easy task for her, she peeled off the stickers herself and sticked it on the bottle. I tied some strings around the bottle to decorate it as I don't want it to be too bare.

Tada!

My breastfed children

I breastfed my 1st child till she was 18months old and I am still breastfeeding my 2nd one. She is now 15months old.  I think I could continue breastfeeding Stacy but then I got Preggy with Erica and the milk might have changed.  Stacy weaned off on her own. I read an article saying that if a child wean off on their own, they will be more independent.  Well, we see...

Breastfeeding has never been easy. You can ask any bf mums. Dealing with engorgement,  fever, pressure at work, disapproval, etc, etc. when I am struggling with Stacy on her latching and getting enough milk to feed her, I searched the net, helpline for breastfeeding mums, consulted friends who bf... I cried a lot. It was really a struggle and not many people understand. Others asked if it is so tough, just give the bottle. Sigh.. I don't know, why I never give up and I see my efforts and perseverance pays off. It gets easier and easier. I even gave advises to friends who want to breastfeed and were successful!

Some people say after the child is 1year old, should not breastfeed anymore as breastmilk has no nutritional value for them. I prove them wrong. I did my homework of cos'.  It's my decision. http://sg.theasianparent.com/extended-breastfeeding-need-to-know/

My intention is to breastfeed Erica until she could hold a cup really well and I will let her drink powdered milk.  So need to worry about have a milk bottle when traveling!!

Lacanau Ocean & Sand Dune - Lacanau & Dune du Pilat, Aquitance

Took a relax weekend to go Lacanau Ocean and visiting a sand dune.
Love the ocean alot! Cos' there aren't any beaches in Toulouse. First day, we went to the ocean. Wonderful place! As long as the children love it!

2nd day, went to the sand dune. Only need to pay 4euros for parking lot, no need to pay for any entrance fees unlike some tourist atttaction. Went with 2 young children. I would say its better to bring a carrier to carry babies and toddlers. Although I do see some people pushing their strollers (its possible but may be difficult to push once you reach the sandy area) and after that you can leave your stroller and climb up the steps. It's better to wear shoes or slippers which you do not mind sand going into. I saw alot of people taking off their shoes to walk instead. Once we reached the top by stairs, we are greeted by strong wind (remember your sunglasses as sand could go into your eyes) and magnificent views of the forest and sea. Some people bring a picnic, however, it is easy to find food at cafes. They serve yummy food at reasonable price. Alot of people there speak English. There are shops selling clothes, accessories, postcards, toys and alot more. You find a tap nearby to wash sand off your body too. We really love the place. Adults get to take nice photos and children get to play with the sand.

I treasure my weekends!

Back to blogging or writing

It's back to blogging for me. Thanks to a friend. When I saw her blogging actively, I suddenly remember my 'almost forgotten' blog. I started my blog when I was a student (that was so long ago). Now that I'm married with children, what I blog about, I guess, revolve around my time with the people I love dearly.

About 8 months ago, I'm still in Singapore working and then one day, my husband told me his company is sending him to France for work on an expat term. Of cos' I' m happy for him but also the little time that we have to pack and go was a very hard and harsh decision to make. My 2nd child, Erica was only 4months old. Oh well...

Now, here we are staying in Toulouse, France. I suddenly becomes a housewife (but I told my husband, I'm like a housefly -annoying the kids). Haha.