Took leave today especially for this event. I already have so many books at home but cannot resist! Must buy more books! Finally caught the runny nose and cough from the kids but don't care, still must go!
Spent the morning doing stuff with the kids. It's so rare for me to be present during the daytime on weekdays. Cheryl's so happy mummy is at home to play with her. My partner in crime (for the book sale) was my sister. She and her kids came over to my place around noon. The kids had their lunch of porridge first before we set off. We had to sneak off quietly or Isaac will cry if he sees us all leaving. Unfortunately we won't be bringing him to the Expo as he's still too small to endure the warehouse sale. We stopped by at IKEA first as the sale doesn't start till 3pm. The kids played in the ball room while my sis and I had lunch at Subway at Anchorpoint. The IKEA cafe was just too crowded with the lunchtime crowd.
After that it was off to the Expo. There were 2 other major events there and we knew it would be thronging with people, even on a weekday. I shudder at the thought of the crowd during the weekend. One was the John Little warehouse sale and the other was World Food Fair. Food and Shopping! Things that attract Singaporeans like ants to sugar (besides the latest gadgets). The Expo carpark was quite full, but we managed to find a lot a little farther off. Already there was a queue forming outside the hall for the book sale. It's still about 10 min before 3pm. This was a preview sale for members. The actual official sale starts the next day. It's great to be the first to browse as everything was so neatly arranged when we first entered the hall. I headed straight to the children's books while my sis headed to the magazines section. The kids were more interested in playing with the plastic baskets, so we chucked them at a corner with popcorn and other snacks while we did the serious job of gathering the books. Once in a while we returned to this corner to let them read the books we had got.
Generally the book sale did not disappoint. There were mostly good quality books going at really low prices. I got many children books suitable for Cheryl to read, some easy books and a train book for Isaac, and 3 web design books for myself. These were glossy coloured books going at $6 each! They were shrink wrapped, so I opened one to examine the contents. I liked it and got the other 2 without even checking what was inside. Should be equally good. Was quite pleased with the books I got, and spent $101 for everything. My sister spent just under $100 for her books and magazines, mostly on cooking, home design and also some children books. After about 3 hours, the kids sections were already quite messy, with people dumping their unwanted books back. Had to sadly put back some books too. If given a choice, my sis and I wouldn't mind going back again during the weekend, but we're quite scared of the crowds, and also of being tempted to spend more money, so I think we won't come back. Must control...control...
My sister's hubby joined us for dinner at Burger King and after that we popped by at the John Little sale. My sis hubby got some long sleeved shirts. I didn't want to get seriously started on looking at the kids' clothes and other stuff, so I simply walked quickly along the aisles. It's mostly the same as previous sales, so it wasn't too difficult to control myself. Moreover the kids were tired, and I was keen to go back. I only bought a little round pink cushion for Cheryl to be put in the car, so that the 3 girls wouldn't fight over the existing 2 cushions. We didn't even have time to look at the Food fair. Cheryl slept on her new cushion on the way back home. By the time we reached home, it was almost 9pm. I ate some more dinner because Mum cooked kiam chye arhk soup (salted vege soup with duck), my favourite! She said she managed to cook it in peace because the kids were not around to bother her! Felt a little guilty for leaving Isaac at home for most of the day but it's for his own good.
Ahh... a tiring but satisfying day. Wish I could shop longer (without the kids)!...
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