My New Home In 2018

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you my long awaited... New home! 

After an almost 5 year wait since 2013, I've finally moved in to my dream home. This is my ultimate utopia. My happiest place in the world. 😊

After so many obstacles, we've finally received the keys to our home. We chose the bank instead of HDB for our home loan. There was so much administrative work that we have to deal with. We were literally running all over, attending appointments, dispatching documents, making phone calls and sending emails. Then, came the renovations with its inevitable hiccups. And finally we've made it to moving into this wonderful home.

The unblocked view is amazing. And if you squint your eyes hard enough, there's a tiny strip of sea view in the farthest distance. Without further ado, let me show you around my little 4 room flat (93 m² or 1001 ft², including the aircon ledge). But firstly, the floor plan... 

This is the recommended layout. Mine's slightly different. The TV and sofa is facing the opposite way and the entrance of the kitchen is shifted to the left instead of being at the right which is directly facing the 3rd bedroom. No good. And the 3rd bedroom is actually converted to a study room for the 4 of us.  

After meeting up with our interior designer several times that comprises of hours and hours of discussions and decision making, to getting approval for the renovations which was delayed due to unknown reasons, the renovations finally began. 

                         

First day of renovation: Aircon installations, electrical wiring and hacking of kitchen wall - all in one day! No wonder our renovation took only about a month to complete. 😅

BEFORE...

The totally bare-faced home with my son. We opted out of the flooring, toilet accessories, and all of the doors.

AFTER... Because of our limited budget, our home was kept as simple and as practical as possible. More pictures...

Our living room with Van Gogh's beautiful painting. Wall fan is chosen for the entire home as I dislike how ceiling fan creates the flickering effect.

The dining area, with Van Gogh's painting again. Homogeneous tiles were used for the entire house instead of laminates that were used in the old house as they are much more durable and requires much less maintenance.  

The kitchen. I finally own an oven. The very first oven of my life. Heh heh...

Master bedroom

Boys bedroom

Study Room that can accommodate 4 of us

Master Bathroom

Storage heater tank was installed to counter the problem of low water pressure that the higher floor houses face. Moreover, the water gets really hot in the afternoon which is unsuitable for babies and kids to shower. So the cool water in the storage tank solves this problem as well.

Common bathroom

Non-slip black tiles overlay the existing grey tiles in the shower to fix the water pooling problems as well as making the shower area child-friendly. My older boy used to slip and fall in the bathroom at the old house but not anymore now.


Simple stainless steel shelves were used for easy cleaning. (The glass shelves at the old home were a headache to clean.) Plastic/acrylic shower screen was chosen instead of glass ones for the very same reasons, as well as for safety reasons because of my 2 rambunctious boys. My ID said he haven't done plastic shower screen for all his projects for the past 5 years! Haha. 

Lastly, the service yard.

Before I end, here's some beautiful sceneries I manage to capture...

The very first breaking dawn at our new home... I'll never forget how thankful, relieved and contented I am at that moment.

Sunset view from my yard. This earth is so beautiful and amazing.

But of course, to me, nothing is as beautiful as the family I love...

I hope my boys can grow up happily and healthily in our new cosy home. Love them always... 

After 36 years, I have finally created the home that I love. And I shall enjoy all this gratefully as long as it lasts.

My Diaper Bag Essentials Checklist

Dear all, let me share with you what's in my diaper bag as a second time mom. The following essential items are usually enough for baby (From 0 to 9 months) and me to be outdoors for up to 9 hours. Hope this helps 😉

1. Diaper Bag - mine was given free by the hospital. It has lots of pockets and it comes with a changing mat. Love this bag (in picture above).

2. Diapers and essentials - at least 3-5 diapers with disposable gloves (for my sensitive skin), wet wipes and dry tissue, nappy cream and hand sanitizer. PS: put all this together in a small bag so that you don't have to scrabble around looking for items during a diaper change.

3. Extra set of clothing - for any mess e.g. sweat, messed up meals, saliva, puke, pee, or poo.

4. Nappy cloth and hand cloth - to wipe up any mess. Sometimes, I also use nappy cloth as a scarf for my baby for chilly days or in very cold aircon areas like on buses or shopping centres.

5. Plastic bag - to place and discard used diapers or keep soiled clothings.

6. Weather essentials - umbrella, portable electrical fan, sunglasses and wide brim foldable hat: to cater for the unexpectable weather in Singapore (Rain>shine>rain>shine...)

7. Jacket - For the baby to wear if we'll be in a very cold area for extended periods of time, e.g. cinema, near ice-skating arena, or in arctic-cold supermarket.

8. Baby 'soothers' - Anything that soothes, calms, relieves, comforts, eases, pacifies or entertains the baby. The favourite toy car or handkerchief, the pacifier, teething toy, the blankie, that little crocodile soft toy or even a snack - anything that makes the baby happy. My baby likes to bite handkerchief and must nap with a pacifier so I bring these 2 things all the time. Sometimes you need to rotate the items in case baby gets bored. Bring anything (not too big) that works for your baby. A crying baby = a crazy mommy!

9. Handy tissue paper - for all occasions or mess. Due to hygiene reasons, I don't mix this with tissue used for diaper changes.

10. Mommy snack - usually an apple or a handy small bite in case I get hungry in between meals. 

11. Milk - When I stopped breastfeeding or was in transition, I bring 2 milk bottles which contain milk powder for one feeding each, a water bottle with plain water, a 1 litre flask that contains hot water, and a bib. I put them all in a separate 'milk bag'. PS: I give baby a full feed just before heading out and immediately upon return.

12. Mommy's personal things - My water bottle, wallet, handphone, lip balm, etc.