Bloom
what coincidence! Yes, the CC has been mandated to close for 10 days
I actually asked if they could coincide the training within these 10 days, but too bad, it is a fully-paid overseas trip and they were not able to cancel. So who will be caring for your child during these 10 days? I will be working from home with her, so I am stocking up on activity books, jigsaw puzzles etc. Hope we don't drive each other insane during this period!
re Fresh Milk
My dd doesn't take much supplements, only the Bioglan fish oil for DHA, and probiotics, but she loves yogurt and cheese. Not too sure What are the fortified nutrients in FM that she might be missing? I leave a carton of PURA milk with the school each week, sometimes replenish towards end of the week. I like that I don't have to wash bottles, dispense and pack FM for her school bag every night.
Re Lizard - I am quite tolerant of lizards, but deathly afraid of cockroaches. There was a huge cockroach on my bathroom vanity top last night, but hb was not able to catch it. So now, I had to stand on the threshold, and scan the bathroom before I dare venture in. Hopefully it had disappeared down wherever it came from *shudder*
Re overseas vs here
I think for me, I would be happy wherever my family is, i.e. my family unit, my parents and sisters as we are close-knit. Which pretty much means staying here. When we were younger and footloose, hb and I had considered venturing overseas, just for the experience. But I couldn't do that then because my grandma was old and ailing. Now that she had passed on, I still couldn't bear to up and go, cos I wanted my dd to grow up, surrounded by family who loves her.
(A) Live in a western country where you are a FTWM, with a job that is not too stressful, with proper weekends, but you have no maid so you have to do EVERYTHING for your young kids (food, washing, school, pick-up etc) as well as housework.
The above closely describes the life that my friends have built for themselves in NJ. We just visited them last year. Basically the suburban life-style, sprawling house, 2 cars, no maid. They work for the same company, located like 5 mins drive away, so they work from home most of the time. On a regular workday, they could be hard at work, or they could be by the pool waiting for their kids' swimming lessons to end. The eldest girl (8 YO) goes to a school which mandate no homework allowed on weekends. Their weekend comprises of trips into NY to visit the MET museum, Scholastic Bookstore etc, so yes they are happy with their life there. My hb was very sold on the lifestyle there after our visit with them..but too bad, I have ties that bind us here.
On a different note, I remembered that one time my friend returned, not to visit but for her dad's funeral (they have not been back for a couple of years prior to that). I thought that was a very sad and regretable situation. Another friend who has built a life in UK also returned home for her dad's funeral. I can still remember vividly her heartbreaking account of how she received that phone call in UK, and how helpless she felt being half-way across the world from her dying dad.
(B) Live in S'pore as a FTWM with a more stressful job but have a maid to help out with the kids and housework?
Which would you choose? "
Put this way, I would choose A over B because a maid would probably stress me out more, on top of the stressful job. Personally, a good worklife balance, maid or no maid is more important to me, hence my decision to downshift years ago.