Mothering Corner

The world is watching the chaotic political scene in Bangkok and since the bloodshed on Tuesday morning, everyone is very worried about the condition in Bangkok. My friends may even postponed their trip to visit us, so I might not be expecting them next week.

Actually, for those of us who stay out of city, we are not affected. But of course, things might get worse, so we are following the news closely. If it’s too dangerous to stay in Bangkok, we can just fly back for a while until things settle down. We haven’t hired any Collection Agency to collect those pending payments from our previous customers, so hubby has to go back to do the job. Frankly, I hope that this is the last resort. I would rather get the collection agency to do the job for us, and we can reduce our frequency of traveling to and fro as my kids have started school. I really hope that they don’t have to travel much.

Anyway, I hope that the situation will get better in days to come. It’s unpredictable in politics, but I hope that the PM will think from the people’s point of view. No one wants to see Thais attacking fellow Thais.

I can’t leave without my laptop. I used to rely a lot on it when I was blogging frenzy. These days, I am still using it but not as frequent as before. I still like to bring it around when I’m traveling and I like to be connected at least once every few days. It’s nice to chat with other mothers online and getting in touch with my friends.

My laptop is one year old now, and sometimes, I wonder if I should get a new one? LOL! Too bad I can’t join the Charter Laptop-a-Day Giveaway as 30 HP Compaq Presario C770US Laptops will be given away to those who buy one of three great Charter services online. Of course, not everyone will get it but you will still get a free Shell gas card of $100, and I would love to get it. LOL!

Anyway, I’m not in a hurry to get a new laptop now as my Dell is still working well. As long as I can still MSN my friends, I don’t mind using it for a little more longer.

I’ve just come back from a day trip to The Kingdom of Cambodia. I know that the country is poorer to mine, but still, I got a shock at seeing how the children live on the streets. Most of them don’t wear shoes and walk around the muddy ground bare footed. Furthermore, some toddlers are bottomless, so you can forget about seeing the babies in nappies and diapers too.

I saw a mother breastfeeding her baby by the street which is totally dusty and muddy. She was smiling and telling to sell some second handed shoes even if she’s not wearing one. There was a little boy about my son’s age, sitting by the road begging for money and in his arm, there was a baby about less than 2 months old. My heart sank seeing the baby being exposed to hot sun without proper clothing and furthermore it was rather windy yesterday.

I guess San Diego assisted living homes will look castles as comparing to the Cambodians living condition. It was a reality lesson to my children who are exposed to the other side of the world for the first time.

I’ve been pretty busy lately, but I know how to unwind myself. I shop a lot lately since there is a sale going on in most shopping malls. That’s my way of getting some exercise as I walk and hold most of the bags by myself. I know it doesn’t sound like I’m exercising, but I really use a lot of energy while doing so.

Being a mother didn’t give me much time for leisure, but like most mothers, we will figure it out how to plan our time. Furthermore, it’s more about getting fit and relax ourselves from being stressful. Sometimes, stress will not only kill us mentally, it will bring other health problems too if we are taking good care of ourselves. It’s best to think and plan ahead, so get yourself insured or if you can afford it, store your stem cell for future use. Who knows if we might need it? Check out CNNmoney.com about the latest info on this technologi and check out C’elle Client Testimonial, if you are interested to know more.

My way of relaxing myself is pretty simple, I just need more shopping! LOL! Of course, I eat well, ok?

I know that I don’t update this blog as much as before as we are leaving for Bangkok soon. I have been pretty busy lately and I might still be very occupied for the first few months in Bangkok.

My first priority will be helping my kids in getting adjusted and adapted to a new environment. After that, I need to help hubby with his work. I guess my blogs will not be updated unless it’s necessary, and my Mac memory will be idle for a while as I hardly have time to use it. LOL!

Anyway, it’s a new start, so I hope that things will turn well.

I’ve been pretty busy for the past 3 months. Ever since we decided on relocating to Bangkok, my days were packed with packing, moving, flying to and fro and feeling totally exhausted. We are moving there for good in 2 weeks and after that, we will help the kids to get adjusted to the new environment. It’s going to be a new phrase in our family lives, but hopefully our kids will be able to get adapted soon.

I’ve lost some weight lately, and no, I didn’t use any Anoretix or diet pills. I think I am really tired of moving around and preparing for this relocation. Once we settle down there, I will get back to my yoga and exercise. I think I need to rest and exercise more to keep myself fit and healthy. My body is not feeling as great as before, so it’s a warning sign.

So, I wonder how things will be for us there?

I’m emotionally disturbed by the news about earthquake in Sichuan, and it’s sad to see so many people had been killed but still many were being rescued day by day. I read something touching today. It’s about a policewoman who helped in breastfeeding the orphan babies in her village, even if she had to send her own baby away under someone’s care. She may not think that what she’s been doing is honorable, but I think the rest of us do.

I showed some of the pictures and read the news to my kids so that they can understand what’s going on in China too. I want them to know that while they are being clothed and fed well here, some children out there may not be so fortunate. So, they have to appreciate what they have in their lives and try to understand that life is fragile. Sometimes, we just can’t foresee the natural disaster but we can help by donating or praying for them.

I guess this incident hit me too. I was so caught up with shopping for kitchen faucets, furniture, lightings, and everything for the house and I thought I was so busy in Bangkok. But I should feel blessed that we have a roof over our head now. Let’s mourn for the quake victims in China.

I really don’t understand how can our government changes their education plans every few years until I’m so confused with my children’s future. I personally think that it’s a good move to use English in science and maths, and when I was running my learning center, I taught the first batch who went for UPSR in bilingual papers. They did well, and in fact, there was one Malay boy who did well in these 2 subjects because he has always had a hard time reading the text in Chinese. He studied in a Chinese primary school but he couldn’t pick up like most Chinese kids.

Of course, some children will struggle with English but I don’t think we should go backward anymore. Thus, I really hope that the proposal is not going to be approved. I really feel like our children are losing out if we get back to our own mother tongue. The schools can still decide to teach in bilingual, but English is always a must.

I’m actually glad that my kids are not going to study in Malaysia and they will have a better learning advantage at international schools later. I really hate to see them being “pushed” around with the change of direction by our government.

I’m not sure if I will be back in time to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom and MIL, but I do hope that we can al least have dinners together. We will be leaving soon and we are not going to see them as often as I want next time, so it’s best if we can do something special for them. If only I can afford to get some womens gold watches for each for them, that will be brilliant!

But like most mothers, they just want to see us in person and that is good enough for them. My mom will ask me not to get flowers or anything, just give her cash. LOL! She’s joking though, and she even asks me to stop giving her money because she knows that we need a lot of money for ourselves during the first few years in Bangkok before our business is running smoothly.

Gee…I know that I’m going to miss her a lot. But once we have settled down, I’m going to ask my parents to come over. Let’s see if we can afford to ask my dad to quit his job!

I got a comment from Cynthia about my previous post and it got me thinking about how different people can be especially if we are living in different culture. Maybe my opinions may sound judgmental is some issues, but whose doesn’t?

Even if we are staying in the same country, that doesn’t mean we are seeing eye to eye with each other. I still remember how  much conflicts I had with SIL and MIL regarding my decision in breastfeeding as most of the people around me believe that Chinese don’t have much milk. I don’t know where they got that idea though. LOL! Besides that, not a lot of confinement ladies agree on breastfeeding as most breastfed newborn babies poo a lot and they don’t like to clean so much of dirty nappies!

Anyway, that’s just part of how conflicting things can be. But I am glad to hear a different opinion from Cynthia. Let’s just say that I welcome concrete suggestions and opinions, but if it’s too judgmental and bias, then I will ignore it. That’s what most blog owners will do.