Milestone

For those of  you most interested in KL and Malaysia, I apologize, but I have to bore you with a baby update.  Emily reached a major milestone - CRAWLING.  Since we have been here she has been pushing up with her arms and trying to move from sitting to crawling.  So she has been working on this for at least the last 5 weeks.  I think the biggest obstacle was the marble floor.  If you took a few nose dives on cold, hard marble you would be interested in crawling either.  But now she is a pro.  She moves around on all fours and can transition from her belly to sitting.  Yeah Emily.  

I finally found a coffee table today and she has already tried pulling up on that.  If she is anything like Samantha I give her a week and she will be cruising around the furniture.  Speaking of furniture we also had our new couch for upstairs delivered today.  A few more touches and I will do a video tour.  Ohhhh Ahhhhh.  

Finding Stuff

I would say the hardest part of the transition has been finding stuff.  You totally take for granted all the normal things you buy/use in your daily routine.  Like me, you probably buy the same peanut butter and laundry detergent as your mother.  Now imagine that you have to research all your daily products and find new ones.  Trash bags for instance.  They took about a week to find because they are not with the other ziploc bags and are in rolls not boxes.  Your eyes are used to scanning for boxes so we didn't even see them.  Couple that with not knowing where to go and you can see my predicament.  So finding stuff has been my life for 5 weeks and I am happy to report, I have conquered most things.  

Food has been pretty easy because they have most all American brands or comparable stuff.  At the store today there was an end cap display of Old El Paso items (taco shells, tortillas, etc).  We even buy Pace Picante Sauce and Ranch Style beans here.  But milk for instance, we are on our third brand and I think we got one.  Different grocery stores have different stuff too.  So the other day I needed black beans and they were not at my normal store.  So we went to a different market and they had them, stock up.  Some other challenging food items - sweetened condensed milk, that took a week and about 4 stores to figure out.  It is in the coffee section here and labeled as sweet cream.  Chicken broth is another that took a while.  I finally found that too.  So now I have my normal store where I get most everything but then there are two other stores I keep in the rotation for the challenges.

The other issue is we did not bring hardly anything that plugs in.  So we had to start from scratch with cordless phone, printer, dvd player, lamps, hairdryers, etc.  Again you forget how long it took you to acquire your basic necessities.  Furniture has been our other investment.  I am just about done getting the essentials and now I am working on making it a "home".  I have our little downstairs bath done.  Big whoop, only the living room, kitchen and two other floors to go.  I am not talking major decor or anything just a few personal touches.

Current challenge is a calendar.  Sounds simple right?  I have checked grocery stores, hardware stores, book stores, "walmart" type stores, to no avail.  Someone told me yesterday about a stationary shop.  I will keep you posted. 

The Mothership

Yesterday I picked up a home decor magazine at the nail shop and it had an article about a new decor warehouse/store.  So last night I did some research online and Emily and I ventured there this morning.  As I walked in, the lights of retail heaven were shining on me.  It was the birthplace of Pottery Barn, Home Goods, Cost Plus and many others.  They had three floors of apothecary jars, candle holders, dishes, place mats, frames, silk flowers, etc.  I guess I would equate it to Garden Ridge but much trendier and nicer.  It was not dirt cheap but certainly reasonable.  Definitely going back there, especially for Christmas gifts.  

Today I bought two bunches of sticks for a vase, a pack of 8 place mats, glass vase, some adorable crystal dragonfly stings to hang from Emily's ceiling and a basket.  All less than $85.  Another must see on the "girl" list of things to do. 

PS - a few more interesting motor bike pics.  I actually saw the lawn mower and couldn't resist.  Then of course there is the snack guy.  

Not me...

I know considering my previous driving stories you thought the car in these pictures was because of me, but noooo.  Kyle had an accident yesterday.  He was coming back from a meeting downtown with two other colleagues when a car that was stopped on the side of the highway decided to pull out.  In order not to hit him Kyle swerved into the other lane and the car in that lane could not react fast enough and side swiped him.  Luckily nobody was hurt and the other driver was extremely nice.  Of course the guy who pulled out took off. 

Turns out the protocol here is to drive to the nearest police station and file a report.   One of his coworkers is local so it was nice to have her there to help translate.  They filled out some paperwork and took pictures.  Since it was the company rental car it was all covered by the rental car insurance.  The next day they brought him a new car and finished up the paperwork.  Talk about easy.  

Samantha had to play "Vanna" to show everyone the damage.  

TV

If you are an avid TV watcher don't move to Malaysia.  We subscribe to the local cable option which provides a bunch of channels that appeal to all the cultures here.  So there are local channels in Melay, Chinese, Arabic and Indian.  Notice English did not meet the primary list.  Actually we do get some channels that I like to watch including, Discovery, National Geographic, CNN, and E!.  We also get some cartoon channels for the kids which is nice.  The other channels are MTV, Hallmark, HBO (different version), ESPN and a few more.  

So the other day they advertised "all new" Brothers and Sisters.  I got excited.  So I watched and it is the episode where Tommy and Julia have the twins and the son is sick.  Anyone who watches this show know how freaking old that is!  Another example - Oprah comes on the Hallmark channel and they showed an episode with a guest that was nominated for an Oscar.  When were the Oscars?  I am hoping that they have summer hiatus here as well, but I probably should not hold my breath. 

Honestly the most current news/shows we get is on E!.  Thank god they have their priorities straight.  Not too much else to say about crappy TV.  

Speaking of old, another funny example - I bought some Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies for my banana pudding recipe and honest to god, they had candy canes and wreaths on them.  Yes, we are in July here too.  Since they had not expired so I bought them.  I guess all the old stuff gets pawned off on asia.  

Wet Market (aka Farmers Market)

Being on the equator has some advantages, like the fruit and vegetables.  In KL they have several wet markets which are amazing.  There is one that travels from suburb to suburb and then another that is open every day.  I knew about the one in Bangsar that was on Sunday nights so we ventured there as a family.  It was great to just wander and see what was offered.  Then I went with Arika and Elizabeth to the more "serious" daily market.  I finally had someone to ask what all the different fruits and veggies were.  I was also excited because Arika had been telling me about her "curry mixer lady" which I got to meet.  I always thought of curry just as the spice we are familiar with but it is actually a bunch of different spices, garlic, onion, etc all used together to make a sauce.  I bought a fresh curry to make with chicken and several different frozen packets.  You just tell her what you are going to make that night and how spicy and she will get a little of this and a little of that and put it in a small bag.  Then right across the aisle is the guy who sells fresh coconut milk.  Curry is very easy, you put her spices, the meat and some water in a  large pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes.  Then add some curry leaves and coconut milk and let is simmer another 30 minutes and presto.  Serve it over rice and it is delicious.  Levi would LOVE this lady!

The pictures are actually of the traveling wet market so I will get some of the "serious" market next time I go.  There are fruits, vegetables, fresh noodles, (I bought fresh wontons for soup), snacks, Chinese steamed buns, flowers, lots of fish, chicken, meat, honey, and much more. 

Anyone who visits, a trip to the TTDI market is a must!

Feffy's

Yes, these pictures are of a KIDS spa.  Can you believe this place?  Talk about heaven for a little girl.  After a few weeks of the bad "Posh Spice" haircut I figured I bet go and try to get it fixed.  So Samantha and I went to check out Feffy's Kids Spa.  They have three hair cut stations with the mirrors wrapped in feather boas, the the bench for manicure/pedicure is nicer than most places where I get pedicures.  Last, but certainly not least, they have treatment tables for facials and massages.  I am not sure how old you when you start doing facials but kids have options here.  Poor Samantha is going to have to drool over all of the other parts because it is just haircuts for her.  I always have to mention price because it is so cheap.  Her haircut was 15RM or $4.25.  Oh yes, and Samantha has decided that boys go to Cheeky Monkey and girls go to Feffy's.  

Now I have started a game that we do at restaurants.  I told Samantha that when we eat out she needs to eat like a lady and use all her manners.  So we have started giving her a rating from 1-10 based on her behavior and it she ever gets a 10 I promised her she could go and get her toes polished at Feffy's.  Pretty safe bet on my part.  So far she is up to a 6 and since she is only 3 years old I probably have a while before she gets a 10.

Play Dates and Maid Reconsideration

Luckily at my friend Arika's fourth of July party I met a group of expat moms and they have invited us to be part of their weekly play groups.  Deborah, who was hosting this week, has a daughter Samantha's age and another girl who is 18 months.  So Wednesday I kept Samantha home from school to attend the play date.  Deborah and the other mom's were very nice and welcoming.  I think you have to be if you live in KL and are part of the expat community.  Just since we have been here two of the kids in Samantha's class have moved. As it turns out the Wednesday group is for toddlers and Summer (the other 3 year old) is at school.  Oh well we stayed and played with the smaller children and will go back next Wednesday with Emily.  

While there they invited us to the Friday play group which is for the older kids.  It just so happened that this week it was also at Deborah's.  So today I take both Samantha and Emily to the other group.  There were tons of kids, moms and yes, maids.  I guess that is the thing, they all bring the maids to watch over the kids so the moms can socialize.  Honestly there were probably 10 moms, 8 maids and 15 kids.  Talk about craziness.  I will say, it was tough to watch Emily to make sure she didn't chew on every toy in sight, oversee Samantha in the baby pool outside and still get to know the other moms.  I might need to reconsider the maid thing...hmmm.

As we were leaving one of the moms who has a 6 month old invited us to the Wednesday baby play group.  I graciously said that sounds great.  As I was giving her my number I mentioned that we went this Wednesday and had a great time.  Then she says "oh that is the toddler group".  I go on giving her my number and she goes on to say "I feel really bad mentioning the baby group of you all ready have another play date on Wednesday." Like she was "stealing" us away.  Crap, I think I just agreed to two different (baby vs toddler apparently) on the same day.  Oh the "stay at home" mom drama.  

Maid or No Maid

Maid or no maid that is the question.  I knew that everyone must have maids here when we were looking at houses because every place we saw had a VERY small room and bathroom near the kitchen/laundry area for the maid.  At first you think my god how could someone live in such a small area but you soon learn that it is much better then where they are from.  The Malaysian people ALL have live in help, one main reason is there is not day care here like in the US.  The girl's school in Sugar Land was open from 6:30am to 6:30pm.  Here there is no school for children less that two years old.  Then the Montessori and public schools are only until 1:30pm.  So if you work you have to have someone to pick up your children and take care of them.  

I was very lucky because my friend Arika (she is a friend of a LM coworker who has "adopted" me) recommended her maid to me.  Renu and her daughter came the day we got our keys to help us clean up the place.  Who am I kidding, she didn't help me clean, she cleaned it all.  Both of them came twice a week, 4 hours each time, for two weeks.  Now that all the major cleaning is done and her daughter has gone back to college she is coming by herself twice a week for 4 hours each time.  I it amazing how inexpensive it is.  I pay her 120RM (15RM per hour) a week, so that is $34.  She does all the cleaning and also irons Kyle's shirts.  It is working out pretty well.  

One day I got a text message from another friend and there was an expat family leaving and they were looking for a new home for the live in maid.  I texted back and said we would be interested.  So this week I met her on Wednesday at the play group and then she came over last night to meet the girls and Kyle.  She is very highly recommended from several of the moms.  She went to college in the Phillipines and speaks both Bahasa (Malaysian language) and English.  She was trained in restaurant management so she cooks and she also drives, which I understand is a huge plus.  Kyle and I really liked her but I am just not sure I am ready to have someone living with us just yet.  It is unfortunate because ask me in 6 months and I will probably be dying for help and not be able to find anyone.  I think I need to learn more of the "ropes" first.  Everyone is curious about how much she would cost and we finally got the scoop.  You have to pay about $120 a year for their working visa.  Then it is $400 a month (yes, the same as we paid for one week of childcare in the US, no cleaning included) plus room and board.  Then you also pay for holidays and give them one month off a year to travel home.  The ticket home is also paid by the family.  Not a bad deal.

We have decided to increase Renu to three days a week so she can watch Emily and I can go do stuff of my own if needed.  I found a pilates studio just down the street so I am going to do that on Thursday mornings when Renu is here.  Renu is Indian and has four kids of her own.  The girls really like her so it will be nice to have a babysitter.

I am posting pictures of our maids quarters and bathroom so you can see what I mean about small.  

Pediatrician

Not even four weeks here and we already went to the pediatrician.  Luckily I had been introduced to a friend with children and she recommended someone to me.  His name is Dr. Azam and he is at a local hospital.  The health care here is very good because most of the doctors have trained in Australia or the US.  So Emily and I are off to discover how all of this works.  We park in the garage of the hospital and luckily the front desk could direct us to Dr. Azam.  There were 4 towers each with 4 floors so not a small place to wander and find him.  Once we get off on his floor you register at a "front desk" area.  I only filled out ONE form with our name and address.  No book of papers like first time patients in the US.  Once registered they sent us to the hallway outside office number 272.  There were plenty of padded benches lining the wall with other doors to other offices.  They said about 9am or 9:30am they would call us.  So Emily and I wait and a few other families show up.  No appointments so it is first come first served.  Then about 9:45am a young guy in his late thirties walks by and goes into his office, Dr. Azam I presume.  The nurse calls the first patient and when they are done we were next.  So we go into his office and it is like a living room.  He has tons of kid toys, a couch, coffee table, desk, computer and small exam table.  It is a one-room private office.  No exam rooms, waiting areas, or reception area, just Dr. Azam and the patients.  It was kind of nice.  We sat on his couch he talked to us and then examined Emily's hoochie (she had a bad diaper rash/yeast infection) on his table.  When we were done we went back to the front desk area and waited for the nurse to bring up our paperwork and prescriptions.  We paid 117RM or about $27 for the visit and two prescriptions.  The best part is the pharmacy is right there and you just take the prescription to that desk and they fill it on the spot.  Overall very nice.  I was glad we had a small issue so we could test the waters.  Now if we have something else I know the drill.

The funniest part is the next day I go to a play group with the kids and I walk in and one of the moms says "were you at Padai Hospital yesterday?"  Then I recognized her and her daughter.  They were the first patients of Dr. Azam.  Small world, even in KL. 

Chinatown

Last week Wendell, Sharon, Emily and I ventured out to Chinatown.  With a little help from the GPS we made it.  It was a little passed 10am and I think it was too early to go shopping because most of the vendors were wheeling in their goods, however considering it was the same stuff as the guy next to him it probably didn't matter.  It was very interesting because it almost seemed like the "source" for all the cheap crap that is "made in china".  If you are familiar with the catalog Oriental Trading you know exactly what I mean.  Plastic kid toys, anything you might need to run a hair/nail salon, and of course the knock off bags, belts and wallets.  Now the handbags and wallets are pretty nice.  You can get Gucci, Prada, of course Louis Vuitton, and many others.  I saw a Tods bag I loved and it was 95RM which is about $27.  Not bad.  There was also tons of food and fruit vendors.  We didn't buy too much on this trip but I am going back for sure.  Place your orders ladies.  I did buy a handmade necklace made of gardenia flowers for Samantha for 2RM (less than $1).  It was beautiful and so fragrant I had to store it outside.  

Driving Part II

Long time, no post.  We have been waiting forever to get internet hooked up at our house.  After two weeks they told us that there is not enough bandwidth in the area to support a 4mb line.  Urgh.  So Kyle went and bought a broadband version and we were up and running in 30 minutes.  Thank god.

So back to driving.  Since my last post of bragging I have to come clean on two incidents.  The first happened while trying to parallel park pulling in forward in a overly crowded shopping area.  I cut it a little close when pulling in and scratched the front bumper of a parked BMW.  Oops.  Not knowing what they do here, we wiped our car "clean" as best we could and went to lunch.  Saying a silent prayer at lunch that the BMW would be gone when we went back.  Prayers answered.  One confrontation averted.

The second incident was in a parking garage.  I was just saying to Wendell and Sharon how good I had gotten at navigating the tight corners in parking garages and then we heard this LOUD scrapping/crunching noise along the driver's side.  Apparently I did not give myself enough room.  It didn't help that I was driving a full size mini van (ford astro style) in a garage built for mini coopers.  The damage was certainly noticeable.  Wendell gave it a 7 but I think it was more like a 3 or 4.  The door still opened.  That night the car rental guy came over to take the van for some repairs unrelated to the body damage.  So I casually mentioned that we came out of a restaurant and noticed this "small" scrape.  Sin, sin, sin I know.  He says "no worries" and that was that.  Confrontation two averted.

Notice in the pictures Sharon took what I am up against on the road...

Kyle also saw a guy carrying a law mower on his scooter.  Sharon was in Bali and saw a lady breastfeeding while riding on the back.  Anything goes here.

Moving Day

Today is inally moving day.  We will be leaving The Nomad (our temporary apartment) and actually sleeping at the new place tonight.  Yeah!  Two days ago our shipment from the states arrived.  I posted a picture of this delivery truck because it is like the one that delivered our stuff.  We didn't take actual pictures of our truck but it was pretty funny because they backed in our "driveway" and this hand comes out of the back, they unhook the plastic stuff and he flips it up.  It reminded me of a truck with illegals finally reaching their destination.  They had about 5 guys and we were unloaded in about 30 minutes.  The people here are incredibly nice and very hard workers.  

I was like Christmas for Samantha and Emily.  They unwrapped Samantha's bike and she started jumping up and down.  Then when they got to her play kitchen she didn't know what to do.  Poor Emily missed her excersaucer so bad.  She was so glad to stand up and play on her own. 

Let the nesting begin...we did most of the kitchen right off the bat.  I have now opened all of the boxes and unpacked about 80% of them.  When they packed it all in Houston it looked like a ton of stuff.  When I unloaded it in an empty house here it doesn't seem like we brought enough.  I am not sure why I didn't pack a laundry basket, more pillows and baking dishes.  Oh well.  Once we get settled I will post pictures of the place with furniture but here are few.

My New Best Friend

Yep, IKEA.  Or as they say here E-K-Ahh.  After several scouting trips and pure torture for Kyle I finally placed our big order.  It was a kitchen table, 6 chairs, a bed and dresser for Samantha's room, a dresser for Emily, a huge wardrobe/closet for the guest room, a couple of mattresses, two patio chairs, tv unit, dishes, glasses, rugs...basically the works.  I am not sure how I would have furnished a whole house in a week without this place.  It took two guys to gather our stuff and after 15,000 Ringit (local currency) later it was delivered to our house.  Now since the big trip we have been back at least twice for all the incidentals and organizational stuff.  We have moved from furniture to trash cans and baskets.  All in all the place is coming together.