Mothering Corner

When I was a stay-at-home mom, I hardly felt bored because I could spend time with my then toddler and baby, and I had lots help from my ex-maid and MIL. In fact, I used to have a lot of freedom and leisure time to enjoy hobbies like knitting, crocheting, attending yoga and belly dance classes, shopping or just hanging out with friends. Things chanced since we moved here!

My life is way much busier now because I’m helping out with hubby’s biz, and we don’t have a nanny. Some times, I wonder if I should just continue to be a stay-at-home mom, but it’s going to be very boring for me. I don’t have a lot of friends here and I can’t afford to go shopping on my own everyday. That will be too pathetically boring.

If I don’t have a job, then maybe I will think about making money from bento-ing and baking. I can’t bake actually, so I must attend some classes if I’m serious about this. LOL! Anyway, I admire those blogger friends who make a living from baking at home. It’s great to be making a living from a hobby. Besides that, it’s a good start and one can venture into running a little cafe when the timing is right.

There are a couple of small cafes in our neighborhood, which are operated by housewives. They just run their cafes in a small room in their gardens, and it seems like business is running quite well. If you are interested in running a cafe, check out the Bakery display cases and restaurant equipment by Tiger Chef ya? There are a wide selection of kitchen tools at affordable price, so it would be a great source to set your budget.

Talking about cafe, I think I will drop by one of the little cafes near my house these days. I miss the carrot cake!

I’m not good at gardening at all, in fact, I hardly take care of my garden. We pay our next door neighbor to mow the lawn and some times, he waters the plants too. My mom said I might as well just stay in a condo as my garden is in a mess, with lots of dried leaves. LOL! She couldn’t take it each time she comes visiting, she will help me to sweep the leaves.

Nonetheless, I would love to have a nice garden some day, if I have my own house. Even if I’m so lousy at taking care of the plants, maybe I will try my best to learn! There are a lot of DIY gardening and landscaping books available, so it wouldn’t be too hard to learn some skills. By then, maybe I will get some tools and garden furniture, just like those shown by Homebase.

Oh well, it might be a dream come true to have a house in a nice garden here in Bangkok.

I’ve finally picked up the knitting needles again and work on hubby’s knit tee after abandoning the project for some months. Before I moved here, I could easily finish a project in a month or 2 and proceed to the next week without fail. But since  time is pretty limited now, I can hardly knit, and even if I do, it’s only a few rows at a time. So, the progress is pretty slow.

I supposed to give hubby his tee as his birthday present 2 years ago, yeah, I have delayed the present for 2 years! But last night, I realized that I’m out of yarn, and might have to get a new ball when I’m back to Malaysia. On the other hand, maybe I should try the local knit shop here, but I doubt that I’m in much luck.

Actually, hubby is not particular about gifts, that’s why I can’t be bothered to check out Presents for men on special days. To me, it’s best to just keep the money than spending it. If I would to get him a surprise on hot air ballooning Melbourne, I think he would scold me on burning his hard earned money into ashes! LOL!

So, a knit wear done by his wife should be a better choice.

School holiday starts next week, and I shall take a break from bento-ing. Maybe I will fix something if I manage to squeeze some time, or maybe not. Kids will be tagging along with me at the office and I’m not sending them off to holiday camp this time. They deserve to take a break before transferring to the new school.

We won’t be going for holiday this year because the budget goes to their school fees, which are actually double the price of we paid last year. However, we will take a short break back in Malaysia during Songkran. As much as it’s a joyous celebration in Thailand, I don’t like it. I still have phobia being sprayed with metal hose and white flour being spread all over my face on my first Songkran 10 years ago in Khao San. Everyone was having a jolly good time but I was so p*ssed of getting dirty. LOL! Sorry, I really dread the idea of getting dirty in public and getting splashed at for 3 consecutive days.

Nonetheless, my kids began to enjoy Songkran last year. Previously, they were so scared of getting sprayed too. It’s only last year that they began to enjoy splashing water at others, after getting the approval from us. LOL! I reminded them that it’s only allowed during Songkran but not at other time of the year.

I hope to see as many friends and relatives as we can during our trip back home. I sooooo miss home!

Did I mention that I love babies? Even if I won’t be having another baby of my own anymore, but I have always loved to see friends and family expecting a new baby. I can feel their happiness, expectation, and anxiety! Hey, it can be pretty nervous if a baby is coming in your life when you are least expected! But still, it’s a good news.

That’s why I can’t resist myself from checking out the cute baby clothes at the malls, again, I’m not expecting any baby ok? But I really love the designs. Babies can be very fashionable these days.

Another thing is, I love to check out strollers and cribs. My kids are not into strollers and cribs when they are younger, and we hardly used them. Both slept by my side so that I could easily nurse them at night, and they preferred to be carried when we were out. My hubby said babies can see more from a better view, and stayed in conversation if we carried them. That’s why we hardly used any strollers until they were much older, when I couldn’t handle their weight.

Why am I blogging about babies all of a sudden? It’s because I have a few friends who are expecting rabbit babies this year. I bet there might be more next year, for the year of dragon!

I only play a few games with my iPhone, especially those stimulation games which don’t take much of my time. I will check on my farm once a day, for a couple of minutes to harvest and plant and that’s it. Then the virtual cafe to cook and serve, and that’s all. I don’t pay for add on items too. To me, I would rather spend on anti aging products than virtual games.

I used to be very vain and discipline with all my beauty regime, but things changed after I moved here. Without a maid, I can’t leave the kids to anyone even for 2 hours to have some pampering. So, you bet my last spa was like more than a year ago!

I signed up a skin treatment package a couple of months ago, vowed to have discipline to go every alternative week, but still I failed. Luckily, I didn’t sign up more packages such as deep cleansing facial, the best acne treatment at the clinic or the gold facial which I’m dying to try.

I’ve void some packages over the years, so I am very cautious in buying long term packages now. All these will have to wait until I have more personal time.

After 2 and a half years in Thailand, my perception about transsexual has totally changed. Before that, I haven’t really come across anyone in person, so I couldn’t accept the idea. But after knowing my neighbor, I would say that we can’t judge anyone just by the way they dress or decide on their bodies. If their parents and family have no problem about it, who are we to judge?

In fact, most of the transsexual Thais whom I know are very friendly. They work hard like all of us, and trying their best to make a living. I mean they do have normal jobs. Not to mention, some are very pretty or handsome. They are open with their preference, and I think they deserve some respect. I heard from the locals that, if the parents know about their kids’ choices at very young age, and if they support the children’s  decision, they will even get pregnancy pills (for boys) or testosterone booster for the kids. That’s why you might come across some male transvestites who you can’t really tell that they used to be men.

In my opinion, we are all human. We shouldn’t judge, as long as everyone is doing good deeds and has a kind heart.

I love traveling but I can’t do much of it after having kids. Going on holidays abroad with a family of 4 can be quite costly, if I don’t plan the budget well.

I would love to rent an RV one day, and go traveling with my family at a nice countryside in New Zealand, just doing nothing but idling around. Buying one here is out of question because I don’t want to be tied up with rv loans, and RV is not so common in this land of smile.

Besides that, traveling in Thailand won’t be very expensive, if you manage to find some nice boutique hotels.

Happy days passed by faster, don’t you think so? We had a great reunion with hubby’s family, and the kids enjoyed seeing their cousins again, especially since they only meet each other once or twice a year. The little juniors have no problem warming up with each other, especially if all of them have some gadgets to share. Of course, they played and interacted with each other too, and gadgets were only allowed at certain time of the days. Who would want to play with gadgets with you can try hand paddled boats, mini motorcycles and ATV?

Maybe we will have another junior joining us next year, and we might need to get organic crib mattresses for our annual family reunion at some resorts. Oh well, we haven’t decided on which country yet for next CNY’s reunion, and hopefully, it’s not Bangkok again!

I hope that everyone has had a great CNY reunion.