Busy Friday

I had a busy day. 

I had invited some friends over for morning coffee. It was good to have friends over and chat. Some adult conversation is needed but I have an overdose of baby talk for the last 2 months. We talked about everything. Our grievances with the country, the lack of hot water / heat, the school, losing weight etc... 

Morning coffee was followed by lunch. Aivee went to school to collect both Lucas and Cayden. Lunch was Tau Yew Bak (but instead of pork, I used chicken). Lucas ate fast, but Cayden was slow & distracted as usual. I told Aivee that we should swop kids during lunch, since Cayden generally eats fast and eats everything at her place. 

After lunch, Cameron woke up from his nap and we proceeded to Aivee's place for a while. The boys had FUN, playing everythig from trains to ball pools to play acting pirates. While watching them play, it dawned on me that my first born is no longer a toddler. He is now a BOY. Playing big boy games. 

 

Since Lester wasn't coming home for dinner, once Cameron fell asleep, I agreed to let Cayden watch "The Little Mermaid" in my room. I allow him to do that once in a while, during weekends. He was so happy and told me "Mama! I am so excited to watch Little Mermaid!" 

He really tried to finish watching the movie, but he didn't. Since he did not have a afternoon nap earlier, and he had such a full day playing, he finally caved in at 8pm. He told me "Mama, my eyes cannot open so well..." haha. I tucked him into bed and started my own reading. Peace & quiet.


 

Cameron's Weight

Weighed the little fella today. He is now 8.4kg. Thank god he is putting on weight. On the other hand, mama needs to lose weight. :-p

Struggle

Here I am, close to 2 weeks after returning to Mongolia, I am still struggling with 2 kids. I have no idea how the other mothers can do it and still keep their sanity. The craziest hours for me is 1pm and 5.30pm. That's when I am trying to feed Cayden his lunch / dinner, while trying to carrying Cameron (coz he is whining) or keep Cameron asleep for his nap. Its been such a trying time. Not the best time of my life.

If only, if only I can find more help. If only I can find a reliable helper to help with the cleaning and handling of 1 kid while I handle the other.

Or maybe, if only Cameron follows his routine faithfully, then maybe I can make this work.

This time around, with Cameron, I have to admit that I have not been very consistent, which is not the best thing to do when I want to fix Cameron on a routine. I have to "make-do" coz now I have another child to take care of and to think of. My temper is also very short. I get frustrated easier and by smaller things.

I really want to do better. I really want to handle things better. But so far, I can't.

I am really hoping things for change for the better real soon.

Me

This is me, getting ready to go out to do our usual Sunday errands... go to the supermarket, Mercury market for fresh green veg and then lunch. Had lunch at Sakura, the Japanese restaurant at Kempinski Grand Khan Hotel. Yum...

Doing The Karen Cheng

I have been a silent reader of Karen Cheng's blog for a long time. I admire her - her parenting style, her creativity, her fashion sense etc... She is the hippest stay-at-home mom I know, and I draw inspiration from her. 

Anyway, she has been photographing herself, showcasing her outfits, her moods, her hairstyle. Its great! So I will do the same. I shall start to photograph myself, since there is no one here to photograph me! I think I'd better take more photos of myself while I am still young, in case my life past me by without "documentation"! Its a great way to remember as well. 

I am totally inspired. I shall start tonight, coz I will be going out for dinner with hubby and one of his colleagues from Singapore. 

Me

A pic of me taken before we went out for dinner with Edmond, Lester's colleague from Singapore and Uwe, Lester's colleague in Mongolia. We had a lovely dinner at The Silk Road. The beef dish that I ordered was a Jamie Oliver recipe! I found it in one of my Jamie Oliver cookbooks. 

Facebook

Facebook - I am sure practically everyone has a facebook account now. Its great, coz it helps me get in touch with many people whom I have lost touch with many years ago. Its especially useful for me, as I live overseas and it helps me keep in touch with my friends back home. I like it...

What have I been doing?

Hubby went back to Singapore for a conference and meetings since last Sunday. So what I have I been doing in the evenings, after Cayden goes to sleep? Watch my sob Korean dramas, of course! Its a great opportunity to watch, as I am all alone, and no one will laugh at me if I start sobbing! Hubby always laugh at me when I cry during shows.

This is the second time I am watching this drama. The story line is so touching that I still cry when I watch this second time around! I am hopeless. It helps that the male lead is super good looking too. 

Thoughts

I was reading this book "The Good Life" by Jay McInerney. At the beginning of the book, there is a paragraph that really struck a cord with me. Very aptly written which reflects my thoughts too:

"Manhattan was an existential town, in which identity was a function of professional accomplishment; only the very young and the very rich were permitted to be idle. Russell (the main character;s husband) had initially supported her maternal ideal, though, as the years went by and their peers bought vacation homes in the Hamptons, he couldn't consistently disguise his resentment over their straitened finances, or his sense that his stay-at-home wife had become translucent, if not invisible, within the walls of their loft - a nanny without salary. "

Though I can't say that I am being resented by hubby (that would be very bad!), but it more or less sums up my current situation - feeling like a a nanny without salary. Hubby has not voiced out his resentment being the sole breadwinner of our household, but he does nag quite often about finances. I guess while we are not struggling or worrying about our next meal, we are conscious about our spending and expenses.

As you can see, I am still struggling to decide if I should or should not return to the work force. No answer yet.

Toto

Just went online to check on the Monday Toto results. I won! Out of 7 numbers, I won 4. Ok, the amount is negligible but better than nothing. I won $90! Enough to buy me something pretty to wear for CNY. *Grin*

Mineral Makeup

My sis-in-law from the US got me interested in mineral makeup. We were talking about makeup and she mentioned that she started using mineral makeup. She told me that mineral makeup offered good coverage without looking cakey, and it does not irritate her skin as her skin is acne prone. Plus its all natural. Plus it take all of 1 minute to brush it on your face. That is a BIG plus.

She recommended 2 brands - Philosophy and Bare Escentuals.

So I went online and found out that there is one store in Singapore that brings in Philosophy stuff - True Colors at Ngee Ann City. So I went to check it out at the store. I found that the prices were too extorbitant. So much higher than if you were to purchase from US. They sold the face primer, The Present, for S$64 (approxmiately USD45) but I remembered my sis-in-law telling me that is about USD25.

I decided to go home and check out some US websites and see if I can buy them online. I went to www.drugstore.com (recommended by one of my girlfriends) and saw that they carry Philosophy stuff! I bought some immediately. Bare Escentuals was not available on drugstore.com. Oh yes, I also bought the Hylexin Eye Cream at a fantastic price of USD95! They are selling this eye cream in Singapore for S$218 (equivalent to (USD152)!

Primer - to use before we brush on the foundation powder!

The mineral foundation powder

A seriously good buy! Only USD95!

As drugstore.com does not ship to Singapore directly, I used my vpost account and had them send it to Vpost USA and have Vpost send the parcel to me. It works out because drugstore.com offered free shipping within US for purchases above USD25. Now I am so excited! Just waiting for the parcel to arrive.

Resolutions for 2008

A bit late for my new year resolutions, since its 7th Jan already! But nevertheless, better late than never.

Here is a list of my new year resolutions (listed not in order of importance) :

1. Eat healthier. Less junk food, coffee and red meat! More fruits, veg and MILK! Drink more water!

2. Remember to take my vitamins!

3. Be more sociable. I gotta get rid of my bad habit of turning down an invite because I am too lazy! Also would like to host more lunches and playdates/tea gatherings for friends.

4. Spend more quality time with Cayden. I need to draw up a timetable as a guide for both of us! For example, Monday afternoon is playdate day, Tuesday afternoon is Numbers day, Wednesday afternoon is Alphabet day etc...

5. Spend wisely! Everything is getting so expensive nowadays!

6. Teaching Cayden to speak Mandarin! So far he knows "Cayden is Ming Hao" but he won't respond when I call him Ming Hao. He repeats after me when I say 1-10 in Mandarin, but he won't say "liu 6" or "jiu 9". Guess he can't master the pronunciation yet.

I guess that's all for now. I am not hard on myself at all, aren't I? :-p

Get Together...

We had a get together amongst ex-colleagues last night. One of our ex-colleagues, Jesley, will be packing up her bags and leaving for Shanghai to work in mid December. This get together is her farewell.

During dinner, I had felt disconnected with my friends. Somehow there is an invisible barrier and exists between us. No matter how I hard I try, I couldn't. After a while, I gave up. I guess this is inevitable, because I am no longer working so we have different lives. On top of that, I live in a another country, so we have lesser things to talk about. I guess now our status is now downgraded from "friends" to "acquaintances"?

But I was still glad to have went for dinner because I could catch up with Jesley. She and me can talk for hours and hours. I am sure to be visiting her in Shanghai soon.

I wonder if its true that as you grow older, you have lesser friends? Or it is just happening to me?

Love the Look

Love the look of Katie Holmes recently - hair and makeup. Every time I see a look that I like, I feel the impulse to go out and buy makeup or have a hair cut! Since recently I chopped off most of my hair, all I can do is to buy makeup. haha!


Love the look and dress...






Because of this look, I went to town and bought a new nude / coral colour lip gloss from Christian Dior today! Lipstick has always been one of my weakness...

Friends?

Feeling quite disappointed with some friends this trip home. Ok, I have to admit that it is not easy for me to make friends. I think its because I can be quite anti social in nature. But I do treasure all the few friends I have.

However, this trip back, I feel like I have been let down by one specific girlfriend, whom I thought I was close to. Despite many of my invites and suggestions to meet up since I returned 9 weeks ago, we have not met up. Yes, I do understand that she has recently started a new job and have been travelling, but I feel that she is not making the effort. What really pissed me off is on one night, she called me. I was happy to see her name flashing on my mobile phone. But after a while of talking to her, I realised that she is only calling me because she just had an argument with her hubby and needed to rant at someone. After she has finished her rantings, it was obvious that she wasn't paying any attention to what I am saying anymore coz all she said was "huh,huh" at appropriate pauses and she sounded distracted.

She told me its too bad that we can't meet up as she was going on a 2 week holiday in 2 days time and she would be very busy at work until she left for her hols. I mentioned that I may extend my stay in Singapore til Xmas. I don't even think she heard me because she had no reaction. Or maybe she did hear me but pretended not to. I don't know. All I know is I am done reaching out to her. Its her turn. If she does not contact me, I won't.

To work or not to work?

Not that I have a choice now, since we are living in Mongolia long term... but I have been thinking alot about this issue recently. To work or not to work? I have been weighing the pros and cons of this issue in my mind, and I ended with this list:

Pros:
1) Financial independence - I can buy all the bags / shoes / clothes I want. I can also spoil Cayden a little more. I do not have to put up with hubby's nagging on how and where I spend money.

2) Contact with the 'real' world.

3) Sense of satisfaction when you see your fruits of labour. Sense of power. Feeling useful. Feeling like I am making full use of my day.

4) Being able to spend more quality time with Cayden. Currently, I have not been spending enough quality time with him, since I am with him all day. I take it for granted. I spend long hours with him, but they are not necessary quality time.

Cons:
1) Miss being with Cayden all day long.

2) No more stress free days.

3) Having to delegate the care taking of Cayden to someone else and they might not do everything to your liking, especially with discipline.

4) No financial independence. Having to account for every dollar spent.

5) I feel like I am so cut off from the rest of the adult world. My world consists of kids stuff, receipes, cooking. They all seem so trival. On some days, I feel like I am wasting my days away.

I am not even sure if I am making sense now.

Computer Saved!

I guess the title of this post says it all, doesn't it? I am so pleased... the iBook is fixed!

On Friday, Constanze helped me to contact Charlie (who is currently staying now in Beijing with her son and daughter til Sep) to see if she knows anyone who knows how to repair a Mac, since Charlie uses a Mac too. She gave me the contact of this man - Tugsoo and so I immediately called him. He told me that I need to transfer all of my important data onto another Mac and to reformat the laptop. He told me if he locates another Mac, he will call me...

Yesterday, he called me! Immediately I went to his office and he (together with another colleague) spent about 3 hours helping me transfer all of my data and to reinstall the OS program for my laptop. And he did all of that as a favour! He did not charge me! I was so grateful... I will have to show my appreciation somehow... I think I will send over some beer and maybe a hamper?

And most importantly, I will go and buy a hard drive and back up all of Cayden's precious photos and videos since birth....

Anyway, life is back to normal now. Phew!

Computer Down!

My worst nightmare has happened! Something happened to our iBook and now I cannot start the iBook! This has to be the worst thing that happens to me because the laptop is my only connection to the outside world! Plus it contains ALL of Cayden's pictures and videos since he was born and we do not have backup!

Why? Why? Why did I have to download iVCD and tried to install in the laptop? There must be a bug in the download. And why? why? why did I not backup all of Cayden's pictures and videos???

Constanze said that one of her friends (Anke) also uses a Mac and she mentioned before that she knew someone who can fix Macs. Unfortunately Anke is currently in Europe now but Constanze will send an email to her and ask her. Hopefully that person will be able to help me. The most important of all is to save all the pictures and videos.

I am now using my hubby's PC to write this post.

This really sucks.

My Wish List

My wish list for this year...hmm... looks like I am going have to start saving a lot more! Only 6 months left!

Narantuul

Today, my helper, Nyamaa & myself went to Narantuul, also known as "Black Market". Initially, I thought "Black Market" sounds very dangerous, but after being there, its not dangerous at all! Sure, there are pick pockets around but which country does not have pick pockets? I was advised to be especially wary of the small boys because they are supposed to be inconspicuous than men.

I normally go to Narantuul without Nyamaa, but this time I needed her help. Majority of the store owners do not speak any other language besides Mongolian, so when I go, I use sign or body language - whichever helps me get my message across! The last time I went, I attempted to buy 2 zips to replace the broken zips of my pillow case and Cayden's sweater. I found the store, but no one wanted to sell me! This time, I brought Nyamaa, hoping that she can either find out why no one wants to sell me the zipper or help me buy the zippers.

It was a fruitful trip! I managed to buy practically everything on my list! The only down side was that some shop owners saw that I was a foreigner and decided to charge me more! When Nyamaa asked for the price of 1 pair of shorts, she quoted her TUG10,000. Then she heard me speaking English to Nyamaa, she changed her mind and said it costs TG11,000! But I was desperate. I needed shorts! When we first moved to Mongolia, I left all of my summer clothes in Singapore, thinking that everyday would be a cold day! So silly of me, right? The weather is getting hotter, and I really don't feel like wearing jeans or sweat pants everyday. Funnily enough, there weren't many shorts for sale in UB. I think the women don't usually wear them.

On our way back, I told Nyamaa that next time, I shall just zip my mouth and pretend to be mute. She will do all the talking. I will just shake or nod my head. I think that's a good plan.

Oh yes, we also bought a pair of fake Crocs for Cayden. Its so cheap! Its about S$1. Its great because the Crocs moulds his feet and its so light. Very cute too!


I can't wait for us to return to Singapore for our home leave in July/Aug! I really need to shop! Did I mention that I am a shopaholic? So you can imagine being here is really quite tortourous for me.